Death by Crispy Pata at Fely J's

Last week, we took our aunt who's visiting from the U.S. out to dinner. She came home for my wedding last year and now she's back for my cousin's wedding (which is gonna happen next week!).  My aunt's a hardcore foodie and every time I went to visit her in the US, I'd gain 5 to 10 pounds in just a couple of days!

She and her husband are such amazing cooks and food scientists. You can imagine the feast they put out for us each time I or any of our relatives visit.  It was our turn to pay her back.
 
She had been craving for Filipino food so we immediately thought of Fely J's since she hadn't been to the Greenbelt area yet on this particular trip.

This was my second time going to Fely J's.  Oddly enough, the first time around (which was a year ago), I didn't really get to enjoy the food.  I left the place unimpressed.  It could be because at that time, I was too busy chatting up a storm since we were entertaining my dad's British friend.  Or could it be that the cooking and the ingredients got better since then?  I'll never know for sure. 

Anyways, we, meaning my family and I, were willing to give the place another shot. 

So here I am, a year later, paying homage to some of Fely J's signature dishes.  We ate A LOT of food but I'll only be featuring those extra special dishes that we extremely enjoyed.

My dad's side of the family is Kapampangan, so we figured my aunt would enjoy the camaru/camaro at Fely J's.

Camaru Mekeni Php 240.00

They had removed the legs of the camaro, and stir-fried it over high heat in a savory sauce.  Everyone at the table was raving about it, even Yuri!  Everyone agreed to that it was even better than the camaro at the famous Everybody's Cafe in Pampanga, which is also where I tasted camaro for the first time way back when.  I let my Kapampangan family down though haha!  I psyched myself out.  I shouldn't have stared at the crickets for too long before biting into it.  I felt the crunch and squish and I was done.  LOL.  But yeah I did love the sauce and if you're up to the challenge and would like to sample this unique Kapampangan delicacy, then I'd suggest you start at Fely J's.  They remove the legs you see, and the sizes of the camaro are consistent and small.  It's pretty hard to stare down a fully-grown cricket much less chew on it if you know what I mean.

Piniritong Hito Php 255.00

I went ahead and chose another traditional Kampampangan dish for the group.  This is one of my favorites.  Deep fried hito (catfish), served with mustasa (mustard) leaves on the side, and balo-balo.  Balo-balo/binurong hipon is essentially rice and shrimp that's cooked together, placed in a jar and fermented for 3 days or more.  One of my aunts on my dad side sells balo-balo at the Salcedo market.  Her balo-balo definitely packs a punch!  Fely J's version was very mild in taste and virtually odorless which is surprising.  My basis for comparison of course would be the balo-balo cooked by my relatives at family reunions and what not.  Now those were real stink bombs.  My dad had us microwave it one time and I tell you our whole block smelled like balo-balo.  Anyway it really is an acquired taste... errrr and odor, but once you get the hang of it, it really livens up your food.  It adds a certain kick and character to your meal, what with it's slight tartness and aged taste.  It goes really well with bitter vegetables and works well in removing that certain fishy taste in some dishes.  Again, a good place to start for newbies would be at Fely J's (or Abe which is their sister resto). 

Crispy Patang Bawang Php 575.00

Finally, we come to the highlight of the night.  The crispy pata a.k.a crispy pork leg!  It's a simple dish really, but savored by Filipinos everywhere.  Fely J's Crispy Patang Bawang (crispy garlic pork leg) really is one of the best ones I've tasted in a long long time.  Tita Gina felt the same way and she is one crispy pata connoisseur.  The skin was oh so crunchy and the meat was moist and flaky.  Everything was seasoned nicely and this particular crispy pata had more meat to it that fat, which I luuuuurve.  The ingredient that truly made this dish stand out was the garlic.  The crispy pata was drowned with loads and loads of chopped fried garlic.  Mmmmmmmmm.  I'm crazy about garlic so I went wild for this dish.  I usually don't eat that much pork anymore but I couldn't pass up on this.  Tita Gina and I decimated the dish!  The served it with their special dipping sauce which probably consisted of soy sauce, calamansi juice, chopped onions, chopped garlic and a little bit of chopped chili.  This made every bite that much more sinful.  I had the soundest sleep that night.  My body felt all warm and lethargic after all the crispy pata I consumed!  Haha.  A crispy pata coma as my hubby would call it. 

I washed the whole meal down with a really jazzed up glass of sago't gulaman.  It's an especially pricey glass of sago't gulaman but it does make for an authentic experience.

Sago't Gulaman Php 95.00

A meal at Fely J's may strain your wallet but if you stick to their signature Pinoy dishes, and steer clear from their the Asian ones, the trip will be well worth it.  I heard that their KKK (kare-kare) is spectacular and the same goes for the Lamb Kaldereta.  Other interesting things to try too would be Fely J's Dilis-cious Rice and the Biringhe.  Me?  I know what I'm coming back for.  I've completely fallen in love with the crispy pata.  There is no other crispy pata I'd rather block my arteries with than the one at Fely J's. :)



Address: 2/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. #: 728-8858