Restaurant review: Lab Eat, Tsim Sha Tsui - Filipino feast

I walked out ofLab Eat feeling almost blissfully happy, the way you do after a really satisfying meal where you've eaten far more than you should, but couldn't stop. Delicious meals are nothing new, but this was different — it was Filipino food, which many think begins and ends with adobo. I knew it was far more varied and delicious than that, but, not being confident to navigate Lab Eat's menu by myself, I enlisted the help of three Filipino friends.

We ordered far too much, but ate almost all of it. The only dishes we didn't like were, surprisingly, the ones we were most excited about trying. The fried chicken (HK$118) was dry and flavourless, and while the pork belly in the original pork adobo (HK$108) was moist and tender, the vinegar, black pepper and garlic hadn't penetrated the meat. Crispy pata (HK$168) — pork knuckle that's first simmered, then fried until crisp — wasn't bad: the skin was wonderfully crunchy but it wasn't very exciting.

Pork sisig (HK$98) was a delicious, savoury mess. It came sizzling on a hot iron plate — finely chopped pig parts (traditionally from the face), including the ears for a distinctive crunch, topped with an egg and zigzags of mayonnaise, and garnished with a whole calamansi, which we squeezed over everything before mixing it all up. Garlic rice (HK$58 for a large bowl) and refreshing salted egg salad with tomato and red onion (HK$68) were excellent accompaniments.