Hey, you! 😊🇵🇭
Finally - A Filipino restaurant in Paris! And we FINALLY get to try it. I had the longest internal battle with myself, whether or not I would film this for an IG Reels or Youtube video, but I finally decided that for this time I would let myself truly enjoy without stressing about the angles and lighting and whatever else. I would just eat and that's exactly what I did. 😜
There are currently 2 Filipino restaurants in Paris. It's funny because for the longest time there wasn't any Filipino restaurant in Paris and now there is not just 1, but two! 😅 From what I've gathered, BOBI Filipino Food Restaurant is more on the traditional side and offers the Filipino classics we love so much! The other restaurant in Paris features Filipino cuisine in a more refined and sophisticated way, therefore less traditional. I would love to try this other restaurant someday soon - that goes without saying - but for this trip we only had BOBI in mind.
Simply put, we wanted Adobo, Bicol Express, Kare-Kare, and more Adobo! 😂😂
We started our meal with Calamansi Juice, which was exactly what we needed on this hot day. The level of sweetness was just right and I loved how it was served!
Calamansi or Lemoncito or Philippine Lime is a hybrid between kumquat and another species of citrus and is predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is sour, but with a nice sweet touch which is often used in marinating fish or meat, to season dishes, and added to dipping sauces. It is also enjoyed as a hot or cold juice, similar to a lemonade.
Do you know what happens when a Filipino has not eaten rice in 3 days?? Well, I don't have the exact words to describe it, but trust me, it isn't pretty!
We were four (3 adults and 1 child), but as you can see in the photo above we had food for at least 8 people! Special shout-out to the Kare-Kare which came with Bagoong. This was my favorite dish! The Ukoy (sweet potato, carrots, and zucchini fritters) were also very very good. Fried to perfection, but without that yucky greasy after-taste. I also liked the Bicol Express, but I think I was too full to really appreciate it.
The Chicken Adobo was good but it wasn't the way we are used to having it. It was a bit too watery and the flavours were underwhelming. You have to know that each Filipino family has their own Adobo recipe so it's really a question of habit. By the way, we accidentally got 2 orders of Chicken Adobo, but don't you worry - the Husband finished it all! 😋
I really wanted to order Monggo Guisado, but turns out that during the summer, they switch the Monggo Guisado dish to a Fresh Monggo Salad. I wasn't too happy because silly ol' me really wanted Monggo Guisado, but the Husband's aunt absolutely loved the Fresh Monggo Salad. Refreshingly delicious were her words
Unfortunately, and it hurts me to say this, we were not fans of their Lumpia. They were perfectly fried, but the four of us agreed that they were bland and quite dry! It's too bad because we were so close to a perfect meal, but you know what they say about the non-existence of perfection. Honestly, this little bump in the road will not stop us from coming back here again. We just won't order Lumpia the next time. 😅
I always talk about how service is as important as the quality of the food. Well here it goes beyond that. Somehow from the moment we entered BOBI, we felt at home. I loved the way they decorated the restaurant. The Philippines is not featured in a tacky and obvious way, but I loved the modern minimalist design with bambou touches here and there. The owners are very hands-on and came to talk to us. They were wonderful and we truly felt at home. It was such a pleasure being there!
Most tables were occupied by Filipinos, which is always a good sign! But I also noticed that
several UberEats drivers came to pick up orders for delivery and several customers also got take-out. I absolutely love the idea of non-Filipinos having the opportunity and chance to discover Filipino food, a cuisine unfortunately still very much under-appreciated!