Mom’s Filipino Cooking at the Mall – Pinoy Pam’s Best
Scott Mindeaux, Editor
7 Disguised Foodies commented on this...
So today a co-worker of mine told me about a place he found on Yelp. He was just doing some random searches and found this place in Laguna Hills. It’s called Pinoy Pam’s Best and it is located in the Food Court of the Laguna Hills Mall – of all places!
I was intrigued at the idea of a Filipino restaurant located in a food court. Was Pam getting alot of foot traffic sales or was the bulk of her money coming from her catering side? I figured she was preparing all her catered foods in the same kitchen. Pam’s Best opened about two weeks ago. She is occupying the space that used to be a Sushi place. Now let me start by saying that I love Filipino food. One of the problems is that it doesn’t present very well and Filipino food isn’t pretty food. Just by looking at the choices of the day, unless you ask what it is, you may not be able to tell what it is just by looking at it.
As with most food court places, Pam’s offered a combo deal, rice + entrees. The pricing is reasonable and the portions are pretty good. On this day they had a selection of some familar dishes:
Talakitok Sinigang (Fish in Tamarind Soup)
Beef Affritada (Stewed beef and potatoes)
BBQ Pork Skewers
Pinakbet (Vegetable Stew)
Shrimp and Mussel Ginataan Shrimp and Mussels in Coconut Broth
Pancit
Garlic Fried Rice
Crispy Pata
Unfortunately there was no lumpia, lechon (my favorite), adobo or Kare Kare today. My friend Tim came with and between us we had the Sinigang, Beef Afritada, BBQ Pork Skewers, the Pinakbet (with lots of Boogoong), steamed white rice, Pancit and the Shrimp and Mussels.
Everything was good. The pinakbet was my least favorite only because of a textural thing. The magic of pinakbet is when the vegetables get really soft in the broth. Just not my thing, but it tastes great! :) Even Tim enjoyed the Boogoong (salty shrimp paste). The pork skewers invoked memories of numerous Filipino potlucks in the park growing up as a kid. The sinigang was a whole fish of Talakitok. Talakitok is Trevally or Jack fish. It has a firm, white flesh. I used to luv when my mom would make sinigang (a broth made with tamarind) and just have that with freshly made rice. the pancit was good, I could have had several bowls of that alone. Some kalamansi (lime) juice with the pancit would have made it perfect! In addition to the food, they also had some desserts listed on the menu. I almost got some halo-halo, but it was time to get back to the office. Halo-halo is a shaved ice desert usually served with red beans, ube (taro root), macapuno strings (coconut), evaporated milk and sugar.
Several of my coworkers are Filipino and we have scheduled an outing to Pam’s Best in the Mall. Filipino restaurants are hard to find in Orange County. For those lucky enough to live near Cerritos, you have more choices up there. I hope that Pam continues to grow and can’t wait to try some of their other foods. Pam’s had a very steady stream of Filipino customers the entire time we at our lunch. More American’s should be adventurous and try something new, but this goes back to how Filipino food doesn’t present well – so don’t judge a book by it’s cover! :)
If there was one con today it was that they don’t take credit or debit cards, only cash. So when you go, make sure to pick up some cash beore you get to Pams.
Pinoy Pam’s Best
24155 Laguna Hills Mall, Suite # 2360
Food Court on the 2nd level
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Time and again I’ll ask my Filipino friends: “Which restaurant would you recommend for someone who’s never had Filipino food?” Almost everyone would reply: “None.” Being Pinoy myself (well, last I checked I was) I know there’s a GINORMOUS difference between home cooking and restaurant quality when it comes to our cuisine. Hopefully Pinoy Pam closes the gap. I wish them well!
The problem here in The OC, is that there aren’t really any places to recommend. Sure there is a place up the road on El Toro but they are a market that happens to serve Filipino food. If I was up in LA or Cerritos, there are probably a few places to recommend. Give Pam’s a try. Pam’s recipes are pretty good and she was a home cook that happened into catering. She’s not a chef or trained, she just loves to cook and feed people. Everyone who was there was enjoying her food for sure!
Went to the mall today and as usual it was dead. The food court is on life support. Half the restaurants were gone. I was over quizno’s, over sbarro’s. Saw Pinoy Pam’s best. I love discovering different cuisines and have never had Filipino food. Man have I been missing out. Told the lady up front to hook it up. Give me what she would eat. I think she gave me chicken adobo and crispy pata. I was blown away. Going back there tomorrow for sure. And yes, every store in the food court had empty lines except for Pam’s. It was like Filipino’s were coming from every angle. I had no idea there were that many Filipino’s in Laguna Hills. The line was backed up the entire time I was there. Check it out.
[...] Pinoy Pam’s Best opened at the Laguna Hills mall. It sells Filipino food. Review: Foodie in Disguise blog. [...]
My wife and I live in South Orange County and there isn’t a multitude of places that serves freshly-cooked Filipino food to choose from. First off…we are AND will continue to be regulars at Pinoy Pam’s Best!
This was a pleasant surprise, tucked in the food court of Laguna Hills Mall. Our first encounter was at lunch time on a weekend, sampling the lecho kawali and marinated bangus with steamed rice. VERY nicely-prepared!!! To top it off we had turon saging … WOW! This was a great first time experience with Pam’s, especially in the middle of a weekday lunch hour! I want to point out that there was a line waiting for Pam’s, so that was a great indication that this may be to our liking!
Our biggest critics, our two boys, joined us that Saturday. MY GOODNESS … fresh lechon! They were slicing it off the roast pig right there! We decided to buy an assortment of entrees, but I chose a $5 tray of lechon … and finished most of it by myself (and the serving size was plentiful!).
We’ve since come back a third time to Pam’s and continue to have nothing but positive experiences from sampling Pinoy Pam’s Best! We’ve met “Tita Pam” and she’s right in the thick of everything … Keep up the good work, “Tita Pam!”
OakleyOC on Twitter
That food looks amazing! I would love to try Pinoy Pam’s Best, thanks for the idea.
Stay away from Pam’s Best. It should really be Pam’s Worst. They are irresponsible and unresponsive when you need them to be. They ruined my party by not delivering the food as promised. In addition, one of the chicken trays had raw chicken!
Pam’s Best should not be in business. They will ruin your party like they did mine. They will try to resolve issues by either being rude and/or ignoring your calls.