Slave girl and I were in the mood for chicken sandwich in Chinatown. After we got there, the line kind of reduced our appetite and that was when we noticed Lasa.
What I loved about Lasa was they actually had a very spacious dining area inside the restaurant. If fighting over seats in the middle of the strip mall isn't your thing, Lasa is way to go for sure.
During lunch time, the restaurant served a simple menu of Filipino styled rice bowls. We went with "drunken pancit" and "our chicken adobo". We also opted in for combo that came with fried pork (or veggie) lumpia and freshly made juice.
The drunken pancit used egg noodles mixing with Chinese pork sausage, greens, crispy shallot, pickled Fresno chiles, and bagoong XO. It was colorful and packed with a lot of flavors. Personally I liked them a bit more salty so I asked for fish sauce, and it was great after some drops.
Chicken adobo was interesting. The main protein was vinegar braised chicken leg and thigh over adobo Jasmine rice with crispy garlic, radish, and scallions. I know the chicken was supposed to be vinegar braised, but mine was bland. The rice however had plenty of vinegar in it. Eating together, this dish was tasty. However, when I ate the chicken and rice separately, not so much there. I also don't understand the sliced radish in the rice bowl. It was not pickled or seasoned in anyway, just two slices of plain radish sitting there doing nothing for the dish.
The lumpia was pretty good. It was hand made filled with pork. The sauce was mild and perfectly matched with lumpia. Very good side choice.
Overall we enjoyed everything. The staff was very friendly and he even checked on us while working in the kitchen. The food was better than expected. I believe during dinner time, the restaurant offers something more extensive and exciting. We will have to come back for that.
