I’ve been to Krystal’s Café on First Avenue and 10th Street in the Village a dozen times, but not since I finally learned to make chicken adobo and sinigang on my own, using the recipes my fellow Filipino friend Rosalie gave me off the top of her head. Krystal’s Café is a reasonably-priced, earthy restaurant serving authentic Filipino food. Last week I revisited Krystal’s with Rosalie, as I wanted the opinion of a life-long native Filipino. Likewise, I made a point to order classic Filipino dishes such as chicken adobo, and lumpiang, an egg roll with pork or chicken, both dishes popular enough that many non-Filipinos are familiar with them. Ever since I was little I could eat a whole platter of lumpiang. Although Krystal’s serves them with sweet and sour sauce, I asked the waitress to bring me a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar and I started dipping them in and putting them down.

Rosalie ordered a drink called sago gulaman and told me to try it. I didn’t like it as much as she did; it’s a mixture of tapioca and gelatin with heavy brown sugar and vanilla. It’s an acquired taste that most native Filipinos naturally have. This just shows that there are many dishes on the menu that are authentic Filipino dishes and not Americanized or pan-Asian. I opted for the native Filipino San Miguel beer and a glass of wine.

Minutes later the waitress brought large portions of chicken adobo and something Rosalie had ordered called ginisang ampalaya with shrimp, a sautéed vegetable dish of bitter melon with shrimp. I tasted it but the bitter melon was too exotic for my taste, though it was indeed tasty. Again, an authentic Filipino dish. I finished off the lumpiang and attacked the chicken adobo, marinated in vinegar, garlic and soy sauce. I prefer my homemade version, because I prefer it more vinegary, but Krystal’s chicken and pork adobos have their own unique tastes.

In time, I will try every last thing on the menu. Although I’m Filipino I’ve never been to the Philippines—a shame, I know—but I have eaten a ton of homemade Filipino food over the years. Other favorite dishes of mine on the menu are pancit bihon, a Filipino spaghetti with thin rice noodles, vegetables and either chicken or pork; kaldereta, a beef stew in tomato sauce with cheese, vegetables and spices; binagoongan, pork in shrimp paste; sinigang na baboy, pork with vegetables in tamarind broth—and above all kare-kare, oxtail cooked with special peanut sauce and vegetables. Krystal’s has an extensive entrée list sure to satisfy true Filipinos and their friends who long for the whole range of native dishes to remind them of the 7,107 islands. For dessert I had halo-halo, mixed fruit in crushed ice and milk, and then I had leche flan. At this point I was stuffed but wanted more.

I am going back to Krystal’s on Saturday morning for the eggs and fried rice which Filipinos really know how to make. Krystal’s also serves lunch. The restaurant has a big screen on which you can watch the Filipino Channel, or a Filipino movie in Tagalog, or on weekend nights karaoke, which is big with Filipinos, who love to perform, whether in singing or dancing. In Woodside, Queens, the main Krystal’s Café is located at 69-02 Roosevelt Avenue (69th Street); Rosalie says the food there is even better. But for Manhattanites like myself who are either too lazy or time-conscious to go out to Queens, just take the 6 train downtown or the Second Avenue express bus, for an authentic Filipino experience at a reasonable price. At the grocery counter you can get pan de sol bread, sardines from the Philippines, the sweet coconut spread macapuno, coconut gel, jack fruit and other delicacies. In the little café and bar, happy hour is 4-7 p.m. with $2.50 beers. From the bakery you can take home fresh Filipino cakes and pastries, as well as salted, hard-boiled duck eggs.

To view the menu of Krystal’s Café, click here.