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KAWALI GRILL
5300 Rainier Ave. S.
Seattle, WA
206-723-6179

www.kawaligrill.com

Cash, Visa, and MasterCard accepted

HOURS

Tues-Thurs
11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday
11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday
10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday
10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

March 2008

by A.V. Crofts

© Copyright 2007 ColorsNW Magazine

Filipino Flavors
 

Seattle's Kawali Grill

Filipino cuisine gets no respect. Traditional Filipino fare is adored and consumed in great quantities by the local Filipino community, though it’s no secret that Filipino cuisine suffers from a lack of understanding and exposure here in the Northwest.

To wit: When was the last time you dined out at a Filipino restaurant?

The Filipino community makes up the largest Asian/Pacific Islander demographic in Seattle, but you’d never know it based on its restaurant presence. Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants could fill a phonebook each with their array of eateries, while the collection of local Filipino restaurants would fit nicely on the back of a cocktail napkin.

Chef Gerold Castro is out to change all that, one order of lumpia at a time.
Castro is the talent and vision behind Kawali Grill, his new sunny establishment in Hillman City – south of Columbia City in Seattle – that embraces the culinary traditions of his homeland. (The Tagalog term “kawali” refers to the metal fry pan used throughout the Philippines.)

Castro first arrived in Seattle with his family as a teenager in 1991, having grown up in a farming community in the northern province of Ilocos Sur in the Luzon region of the Philippines. His father was hired as a steward at the Washington Athletic Club, which first exposed the young Castro to the food industry. “I saw the guys having fun cooking,” he says, “The executive chef asked me if I wanted to learn.”

Learn he did, and within a few credits of completing a degree at Seattle Central Culinary Academy, Castro was snapped up by the Hilton Seattle to be its executive sous chef – at the ripe old age of 18. By age 20, he was the executive chef for its top-floor restaurant “Top of the Hilton,” and two years later, Castro was elevated to executive chef for the hotel’s entire food operation. This dizzying ascent was a testament to Castro’s capabilities and ensured him a permanent career in the upscale hotel industry. But despite his success, Castro always knew his heart lay elsewhere. “Before I turned 35,” he says, “I wanted to own my own restaurant.”

A few years shy of his 35th birthday, but with a baby face that would still place him in his twenties, Castro and his wife, Rhmalynne, who manages the front of the restaurant, have made his dream a reality. “At the Hilton I had two restaurants, banquets, and room service to manage,” says Castro, “Now I wake up in the morning and the restaurant is my own.” Those morning wake-ups can be unforgiving for a small-restaurant owner, but Castro is thriving with his latest challenge. “This is the first time that I’ve been cooking from the opening to closing,” he says. “I put in long hours, but I love it.”

When asked about the region’s lack of Filipino restaurants, Castro shares a couple of his theories, starting with the Filipino community. “We love to eat. It’s Filipino pride. However, I know some folks say, ‘I can cook better – why would I go and pay money for a dish that I can prepare for myself?’ ”

In terms of the broader community, Castro understands his challenge to change diners’ perceptions. “People think Filipino food isn’t appealing, so I’m trying to educate customers about Filipino food by presenting Filipino cuisine in a different way.” By marrying his high-end hotel presentation with authentic Filipino dishes at Kawali Grill, Castro has struck a perfect balance with his menu.

The first thing I order when I step inside a Filipino restaurant is the lumpia, the dish that introduced me to the cuisine a decade ago. Lumpia is a delicate fried appetizer roll, which is the centerpiece of any Filipino gathering that includes food (which is to say, all gatherings). Kawali’s offering of Pork Egg Roll Lumpia ($4.50) starts the meal off strong. Castro rolls ground pork, bean sprouts, cabbage, celery, carrots and spices into wrappers, fries them and presents the six pieces on a bed of fresh sliced cabbage and with sweet chili dipping sauce. Try not to order another place before your entrée arrives, I dare you.

While the Philippines is “Pork Country,” according to Castro, Kawali does offer a delicious Vegetarian Fresh Lumpia or “Lumpia Sariwa” ($4.50). Unlike their fried cousins, the veggie versions are freshly wrapped with diced sautéed tofu, green beans, carrots and cabbage, and arrive in two larger wraps. My dining companion and I found this vegetarian alternative decidedly tasty – not to mention healthy. (It’s not on the menu, but if you’re feeling naughty, you can ask your server to fry the vegetarian option, just ask.)

With a nod to his Hilton days, Castro offers a smattering of non-Filipino dishes that wouldn’t be out of place a the hotel menu (Penne Pesto, anyone?). For instance, Kawali tosses up a generous Green Salad ($4.50), which combines fresh romaine greens, tiny plum tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and your choice of oil/vinaigrette or ranch dressing. While many menu salads are uninspired mingling of iceberg lettuce and anemic tomatoes, Kawali Grill bucks the trend and doesn’t skimp on the fresh vegetables, as its salad easily serves two.

One particularly cold day I was a happy camper after ordering the Wonton Noodle Soup ($6.99), which combines pancit egg noodles, tiny bundles of finger-pinched wontons with shrimp filling, baby bok choi and capped straw mushrooms. Don’t expect any spice to swirl amongst these morsels, as Filipino food isn’t known for its heat index. At first glance, I was disappointed at a soup that looked somewhat bare by comparison to its other Asian counterparts, but when I tasted the savory chicken broth and filling wontons I was converted by its clean and uncluttered presentation and taste.

Kawali Grill offers daily specials, where many of the traditional Filipino dishes reside, from Oxtail Kare-Kare (a stew) to Pinakbet, a vegetable stir-fry that originated in Castro’s home province of Ilocos Sur.

As an archipelagic nation, the Philippines is known for seafood and the Sinigang Na Bangus (Milkfish) Belly Boneless ($7.99) entree is one of the dishes where Kawali Grill highlights the feast of the sea. This particular recipe is served in a rich tamarind-infused stew of fish fillets, tomatoes and bok choi, with rice on the side. The milkfish has a strong flavor and fell apart at the touch of the fork.

Another one of the most traditional dishes at Kawali is one of the most memorable. I could write poetry about Castro’s Pandan Fried Chicken ($8.99). The dish presents tender pieces of thigh and breast meat that have been marinated in a combination of coconut milk, ginger, soy and pandan leaves for a riot of flavors. (Pandan leaves are found throughout Southeast Asia and feature prominently in cooking. They are known to be chock full of antioxidants and antiviral properties.). The chicken is then fried to perfection and served with a generous side of rice and steamed broccoli.

Seattle is a brunch town and Kawali Grill boasts the standard favorites (hotcakes, French toast and omelets) and a welcome string of Filipino favorites. Sweet Sausage and Fried Eggs “Longsilog”($7.99) are served with my favorite garlic-fried rice (rice that is pan-fried in garlic and onions). The dish is served with two links of sweet sausage that are as fat as they are long and candy-apple red. Somehow these Filipino standard links have taken the taste of maple syrup and infused it to wonderful results. The eggs are fried in a puddle shape and set atop the generous bed of the addictive garlic rice. (“Longsilog,” like many Filipino dish names, is a contraction of “long,” sweet sausage, “si,” garlic-fried rice, and “log,” eggs.)

Kawali Grill doesn’t treat desserts as an afterthought (my kind of place) and the “Sweet Treats” section of the menu reflects both authentic Filipino confections and standards such as cheesecake or mud pie. The Coconut “Buko” Pandan ($3) is a shocking-green coconut-flavored gelatin served in a sturdy goblet drizzled with coconut milk and a spoon, and I slurped the contents down happily, appreciating the contrast to the heavier fried foods that composed the earlier part of my meal. The “Bibingka Special” rice cakes (Coconut rice cakes served with vanilla sauce for $2.75) were not available when I was last at Kawali Grill but I look forward to trying them in the future.

And finally, skip the Mango Juice ($2), which is out of a can and nothing to write home about, and instead revel in your first sip of Kawali Grill’s Calamasi ($2), or fresh Filipino limeade. Kawali Grill’s version is the real deal that will have you puckering the first instant and smiling with the sweetness the next.

Judging from the diverse crowds at all of my visits to Kawali Grill, in six short months, Castro’s menu has attracted customers from the Filipino community and beyond. In fact, I found the greatest cross-section of diners at Kawali Grill that I have seen in all the restaurants that I have reviewed during my three years of writing the Taste Buds column. Clearly, Castro has been successful at staying true to his culinary roots and defying the odds. “I could have gone the pan-Asian route,” he admits, “But I decided that I wanted to highlight my culture.” Lucky us.

Please pour me another calamasi and pass the lumpia!