There is a growing pride in Filipino cuisine in Montreal, with the opening of establishments like JunJun, which “gastronomize” traditional dishes. This work of refinement is sometimes a necessary step to bring a cuisine out of its anonymity. That said, if some claim that pancit is the new pad thai, I would be very surprised if the specialties of the Southeast Asian archipelago dethroned those, so fragrant, of Thailand.
I recently ate at the world’s first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in Chicago. Kasama is a place with two personalities. By day, you can brunch or dine on Filipino classics like lumpia (fried rolls), adobo, and longanitsa sausage, plus indulge in co-owner Genie Kwon’s divine pastries. By night, Kasama offers a very delicate (and expensive!) tasting menu inspired by the cuisine of the Philippines, the home country of the other co-owner, Timothy Flores.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Eric Lazaro Magno is the chef and owner of Buboy.
Closer to home, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Eric Lazaro Magno sometimes holds affordable and informal gastronomic evenings in his tiny 12-seat venue. There is one of these “Sarap sessions” (“sarap” means delicious) on Sunday, June 30.
But normally, Buboy is more of a carinderiaa simple restaurant that serves affordable, family-style cuisine. Born in Montreal, Eric was first a mechanic, before going on a culinary discovery trip to his parents’ country – “everywhere I went, I ordered the entire menu,” he told us – and then enrolling at ITHQ upon his return. He also cooked at the now-defunct Le Petit Vibe and Tadhana. His dishes are therefore “typical,” but with a chef’s touch.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Bulalo is a “soup” made with beef shank and marrow.
Bulalo is Buboy’s signature dish, a specialty that dates back more than 400 years. After Spanish colonizers and Chinese traders brought livestock to the archipelago, locals developed this hearty soup-meal recipe made from beef shanks and marrow bones that were boiled for hours.
I expected more flavor in this dish. The richness of the broth extinguished the umami of the fish sauce and the acidity of the calamondin juice. That said, the meat was very tender and flavorful, and the thick egg noodles were cooked to perfection.
The kare-kare is just as rich, with its peanut sauce, but the balance of fat, salt, and acidity was more present. The oxtail is as tender as the shank of the bulalo, but it is surprisingly the thin fried eggplants on top that provide the texture and some of the depth of taste of the dish.
Palabok is a rich noodle dish topped with nice big grilled shrimp. A fun detail, but not really tasted: the chef adds popcorn to the sauce. The flavors are powerful—for smoked and fish lovers only.
We also ordered the Sinigang fries, from the new summer menu. They are bathed in a tamarind sauce that is a little too tangy.
My 16-year-old son, baffled, says, quite rightly, “I think these are tastes we’re just not used to.”
He does, however, enjoy the steamed bun stuffed with pork to dip in a sweet-sour-spicy sauce. Eric’s aunt makes them.
The teen also dives into the halo-halo, this ultra-colorful dessert served on crushed ice. All the elements of the cup, whether it’s the ube (purple yam) ice cream, the delicious and dense homemade flan, the turon (banana roll), the sweet beans or even the small brightly colored jellies are excellent and go well together. We can’t help but fall back into childhood in front of this dessert, perfect for the upcoming heatwaves. The excellent cheesecakes from Fifth Floor Bakehouse can also be shared on site or taken home. At home, I nibbled on the yam one for several days.
There are plenty of other items on the menu that could have been tried, including a decadent marrow burger, sandwiches that look quite indulgent, and the famous lechon (roast suckling pig with crispy rind), served on Wednesdays only. We’ll have to come back, but be aware that the food can be uneven.
Price
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Buboy is a narrow room with about a dozen seats.
A meal here will be generous without costing you a lot. Expect to pay between $15 and $19 for a plate or bowl and $11-12 for a sandwich.
Good to know
Buboy is not a wheelchair accessible place. The narrow, snack-bar-style room seats about a dozen people, and you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom.
Information
Buboy is open Tuesday to Sunday, day and evening (except Sunday when the doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.)
5976 Monkland Avenue, Montreal