Filipino Food Love: Magic Wok in Artesia

July 7, 10:03 PMLA Ethnic Restaurants ExaminerAbby Abanes

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When it comes to the cuisine from one's country, Mom's home cooking is generally best, but sometimes Mom is just not available.  Short of getting yourself invited to someone else's home for their Mom's home cooking, sometimes the only solution is to head out into the restaurant world as an alternative.  Being Filipina and always on the lookout for good Filipino restaurants, I thought I'd share with you some of my dining experiences.  To learn more about Filipino food in general, check out my article, The Global Cuisine of the Philipines.  On this Filipino restaurant journey, let's start with Magic Wok in Artesia.

Walking into Magic Wok, there's not much ambiance to speak of, but what is present is a dining room bustling with primarily Filipinos.  The walls are plain and had a variety decorative Filipino  items hanging on them.  It's definitely not fancy, but Magic Wok isn't about fancy, it's about the food.

Before we get to the subject of food, let's talk Filipino beverages first.  If you have a sweet tooth, then you may consider ordering either their Cantaloupe or Gulaman and Sago drink.  The Cantaloupe Drink is made up of freshly shaved cantaloupe mixed simply with water, ice and sugar while the Gulaman and Sago is a sugar-syrup drink with agar gelatin and tapioca balls/pearls.  Both of these drinks were a bit oversweet for my particular palate, but they may be to your preference. 

My experience with both these drinks really varies from restaurant to restaurant, with some having a heavier hand and other a lighter hand when it comes how much sugar is added. Made from calamansi which is a  popular Filipino fruit that is both sour and sweet, the Calamansi Drink may be more to your taste if you prefer more tartness in your beverages.

Our meal started with Sinigang, which is a  tamarind-based soup that  uses sour vegetables to enhance its tangy flavor profile. Ingredients vary according to whoever is making this soup.  Generally, the type of vegetables would include some or all of the following:  eggplant, radishes, tomatoes, peppers and any variety of leafy greens like bok choy or napa cabbage.  Considering that Filipino food is very meat based, this is one of the few dishes that can be enjoyed by a vegetarian/vegan; however, ingredients could also include shrimp, pork and other types of meat and seafood.  I always feel like I'm tasting the Philippines when I eat this soup since the Filipino palate favors sour, tangy and vinegary flavors.

Along with the soup, we also shared 5 other dishes.  A thing to mention is that Filipino dining is all about family-style where all the dishes are shared at the table.  One of those 5 dishes was the Garlic Rice, which along with steamed rice, is also a popular accompaniment to Filipino main dishes.  Unfortunately, the Magic Wok version just wasn't garlicky enough and leaned more towards the dry side.

As mentioned, the Filipino palate favors food that is sour, tangy and vinegary which is represented well by the next 3 dishes.  First, there was the Fried Bangus.  Bangus aka milk fish is a very popular fish in Filipino cuisine. Bangus can be prepared many ways, but in this case, the bangus is marinated in vinegar and garlic before being deep fried. A plus to this dish is the deliciously crispy fish skin.

Next is Paksiw na Lechon, which is pork that can be slow-cooked in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, peppercorns, bay leaves, sugar, salt and liver sauce.  After a large party, the left over lechon (remains from a whole roast pig) is cooked the next day with either a canned or home lechon sauce aka liver sauce. This Paksiw na Lechon was a little sweeter than I've had in the past, but there were still a lot of different flavor notes from tangy to salty to peppery to sweet that made it a tasty mouthful.

When it comes to the Chicken Adobo, this is a staple dish in Filipino cooking and one you'll see on the menu of any Filipino restaurant you happen to visit.  It's a very simple dish that features chicken stewed in soy sauce, vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf and black peppercorns.  Although chicken is the main protein of choice, other meats and even seafood can be cooked as an adobo dish.  So what's the sign of a good Chicken Adobo dish?  For me, it's all about that sauce the chicken is cooked in. If I can't stop spooning it onto my rice to eat along with my chicken, than I know it's a good Chicken Adobo. The Magic Wok version actually reminded me of my Mom's Chicken Adobo and those aren't words I say lightly.

The last two dishes of our meal were Pansit Bihon and a String Bean Dish.  The Pansit Bihon is made up of rice noodles stir-fried with vegetables and generally pork.  The Filipino twist to this dish is adding a squeeze of lemon juice and some soy sauce to give this dish a little different distinction from Chinese noodle dishes which the Pansit Bihon is based on.  The String Bean Dish was basically string beans sauteed with tofu, pork and onions and was the least impressive of the entire meal.  It was underseasoned.  One could even say that it wasn't seasoned at all.

To end, if you're looking for a restaurant that is pretty close to Filipino home cooking, Magic Wok really hits the mark.  Even my Mom agrees!

Magic Wok
11869 Artesia Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701-4002
(562) 865-7340

If you enjoy Filipino Cuisine, check out:

The Global Cuisine of the Philippines