Palabok House Restaurant
• 10525 51 Ave | Edmonton, AB | T6H 0K5
Average User Rating:
7.17/10
7.17/10
Recommended by:
100%
100%
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"Busy, hit-and-miss spot"
R John
October 2009 — "The Palabok House Restaurant is a Filipino and Chinese restaurant on Edmonton's inner south side, just off Calgary Trail on 51 Ave. It's a fairly uninspiring hole-in-the-strip-mall style restaurant, but on Saturday afternoon, when we visited, the large space was nearly full. There was a birthday party with a karaoke host in full swing, most tables had small children in tow, and the parking lot was crowded.
The karaoke party is a good indication of the type of restaurant it is. On several walls were big-screen TVs tuned to some Filipino talent show. Table tops were glassed over, and the place had a community feel.
Service was fast, in spite of the crowding, attentive and helpful. Our order was taken in moments, and the first dish came within ten minutes of us ordering.
We tried several Chinese dishes and a Filipino dish.
The pinakbet came first, and was described in the menu as "green beans, okra, eggplant, squash and bitter melon, sauteed w/ shrimp sauce." What this failed to mention was the major and tragic addition of salt pork, fairly large, glutinous strips of it. The smoky flavour of the pork fat defined the character of the dish, which was overwhelmingly fishy-smoky. The veggies were somewhat overdone, adding to the glutinity of the plate. The squash stood out as actually quite pleasant, the okra passable, there was no sign of the bitter melon, and the rest was inedible for both of us.
We also had the pineapple chicken balls, chicken with mixed vegetables and vegetable fried rice. The latter was very good, decently flavoured with a touch of egg, perfectly done small veggie pieces and not overcooked rice. The chicken with mixed veggies was adequate, although it too had a too-smoky flavour underlying the typically oily stir-fry. The chicken balls were also typical - quite adequate, really, but about what you'd get at any strip-mall Chinese cafe.
Portions, as is often the case, were huge. We had some of each dish to take home with us, although we passed on the pinakbet. Four dishes for under $40, before the tip.
Overall, the experience was a bit better than OK, with a sub-par food experience brought up by the excellent casual service and the generally happy, if noisy, ambiance. Not worth a long trip, but not a place to be avoided, either.
"
User Rating
7.17/10
7.17/10
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DescriptionPalabok specializes in Filipino cuisine. Found in a strip mall, they offer a casual environment to enjoy classic dishes such as pinakbet. Several Chinese dishes are also on the menu.
Location Information10525 51 Ave
Edmonton
AB
T6H 0K5
