Do you ever miss something or you miss eating your favorite comfort food? Or a homemade meal or even your home. For many Filipino immigrants we always say “Di siya tulad sa Pilipinas,” which translates to “ It’s not like the Philippines.”
When you want to eat something around 11:00pm in the United States some fast food restaurants are already closed by 8 in the Philippines they would be still open til mid night mainly due to different culture here in the United States. In the Philippines you’re going to see some small businesses cooking food like Barbeque,Kwek-kwek (Quail-eggs), and some small restaurant that serves lutong-bahay(Home-cooked).
That’s why for me there’s no place like home, especially when my Grandmother starts cooking my favorite dish which is adobo paired with lumpiang shanghai and even rice. When I was a child I loved eating her food that she made for me. Unfortunately I’m no longer in the Philippines since I had immigrated here in the United States. Thankfully there’s a Filipino town here in Los Angeles and had a lot of Filipino establishments that served authentic Filipino cuisine. But there’s one establishment that stood out to me which is located in Rampart and Temple and it’s named Tita Lina’s.
(First picture) Lumpiang Shanghai (Spring-roll) it’s usually made with pork paired up with ketchup.
(Second Picture) Pork adobo is the most famous and known Filipino dish.
Tita lina’s story started way back in 2010 when they used to be located on Witmer and 6th street under the name “Asian Fast food & Grocery” and later moved to Rampart&Temple and changed its name to Tita lina’s in 2021. My mom was always eating there after her school when they were still located in Witmer and despite them moving location my mom was a loyal customer to Tita lina’s.
When I first tried Tita Lina’s it was amazing it instantly brought me back to the Philippines. The taste was authentic and was made with love. And it’s like my grandmother was cooking it without her being there. Which is why I love Tita Lina’s because it’s like I was back home in the Philippines.
And if you haven’t tried any Filipino food I would highly recommend going to Tita Lina’s, just take the 10 and get off at Rampart and temple and you would have a chance to eat authentic homemade style Filipino food. Despite not being familiar with Filipino cuisine or encountered something similar with Filipino cuisine, I would still recommend trying it. And the Filipino food I would recommend to you is Adobo that could be chicken or pork since adobo is taste bud friendly if you’re still new to Filipino cuisine.
