Restaurant, store offer taste of the Philippines
Jing Franklin said she loves to talk, but at Filipino Asian Mart, having a one-on-one discussion without interruptions can be a challenge.
As people stop by the small dining room to order food, pick up takeout orders and browse the array of imported products on the store shelves, most of them stop to chat with Franklin—the co-owner of the store—before digging in to the establishment's Filipino dishes.
"[Filipino Asian Mart is] unique in the sense that when people come in here they automatically adopt the ambience, like a family," Franklin said. "And we want it to be that way. You can dine in here and you can talk to somebody you don't even know for the first time, and it's very welcoming."
Family-style seating and friendly staff play a role in the restaurant's laid-back atmosphere, she said.
Franklin says her fondness for good conversation is largely rooted in her family's culture. She was born in the Philippines and moved to Austin in 1989. She and her husband, Craig, opened Filipino Asian Mart in October 2010. Customers can order at the counter and dine in or take food to go. Three dishes are permanently on the menu: chicken adobo; pancit, or vermicelli noodles; and lumpia, or fried egg rolls. The restaurant offers a soup of the day; flavors have included tomato, tamarind, guava and ginger.
"Filipino cuisine is a mixture of Spanish and Asian [food]," she said.
Daily specials—"whatever is on the board," she said—vary. Typical dishes include palabok, a noodle dish with seafood gravy and shrimp; lechon kawali, a crispy pork dish; and fresh lumpia, another version of the egg roll that is not fried but instead is topped with gravy, garlic and peanuts. Pricing is by the plate: two entrees with a side of rice are $6.99; three entrees with rice are $8.99.
In addition to shoppers from nearby retail stores and students from Akins High School, customers include Philippines natives who feel homesick or want to reconnect to their culture, she said.Some customers have even come to eat and through casual conversation discovered they are related, she said.
"Austin is very friendly and very open. People like to share their stories," she said.
The store
In addition to traditional Philippines cuisine, Filipino Asian Mart sells spices, sauces and snacks from the Philippines as well as ingredients used in Thai, Korean and Japanese food, co-owner Jing Franklin said.
Items include:
- imported Asian spices and ingredients
- sauces and condiments
- soup and sauce mixes
- T-shirts
- beauty products
- flip-flops
Franklin said shoppers can also ask about remittance—sending money to relatives in the Philippines—and phone cards.
Halo-Halo
The Filipino dessert ($4.75) combines layers of tropical fruit, chickpeas, and red mung beans topped with shaved ice, condensed milk, evaporated milk and a scoop or two of Filipino-made ice cream, co-owner Jing Franklin said. Ice cream flavors include mango (pictured), coconut, jackfruit and purple yam.
Franklin said the name "halo halo" means "mix-mix," and the best way to eat halo-halo is to mix everything up and eat it together.
"It's like treasure hunting," she said.
Filipino Asian Mart, 615 W. Slaughter Lane, Ste. 110, Mon.–Sat. 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m., Closed Sunday. 512-291-8135, www.facebook.com/FilipinoAsianMart
