I first heard about Charles Olalia through the food he prepared at Rice Bar in downtown Los Angeles. At the time, I was working at Trailer Park and we had a food delivery service called Eat Club which featured certain offerings from various restaurants. I always looked forward to the weeks when Rice Bar offered their longanisa garlic rice bowl and egg which reminded me of my childhood breakfasts. 

After I left Trailer Park, I co-chaired the Training Committee at RPA Represent and I was looking for a more organic way to present other cultures and their food and traditions. A coworker suggested I watch Migrant Kitchen and that is where I first was introduced to Charles’ story and his struggles of finding work having been fully educated in the Philippines. I appreciated his tenacity, his drive and how he finally honed in on what he wanted to see in a restaurant which was a return to the basics and roots of Filipino cooking. One could tell that Rice Bar and all its simple dishes embodied that sentiment.

When I heard about him opening a sit-down restaurant, Ma’am Sir, I was beyond excited. It took a while to make my way over because I wanted to share the experience with friends so we could order a sampling of dishes. We finally headed to Silver Lake last night and had our feast.

The meal started off great with two brown bag orders of piping hot pan de sal which can be described as hot dinner rolls. We ordered the house made Pandan curd which had a creamy coconut taste to it. 

Then we were served with the hangover rice which was spectacular. On my first bite, I got a bit of crispy garlic, some of the yolk from the egg and the savory fatty juice of the  sausage. I could have easily eaten that whole bowl by myself because it had layers of flavors which reminded me of home. 

Next to arrive was the lumpia which got mixed reviews. Instead of the usual ground pork, it consisted of shrimp mousse with a small dollop of uni on top and a white vinegar dipping sauce. Though the egg rolls were tightly wrapped and perfectly crispy throughout, a few of us felt that this missed the authenticity of Filipino cuisine. 

The chicken adobo bowl, however, was perfect and an upgrade in presentation and flavor combination from the standard Filipino food fare. The chicken was perfectly moist. It tasted like something my mom would have cooked for me as a child. 

Next on the list was the happy birthday fried chicken. There were only 3 small pieces so we each shared one since there were 6 of us. I chose the breast because it was closest to me and sadly most of it was quite dry as white meat typically is. However, once I made my way to the less meaty portion, that is when the true brilliance of its flavor, seasoning and texture started to shine. It reminded me of my grandfather’s fried chicken, which was marinaded in Sprite and cooked in lard, leading to superbly moist meat on the inside and crunchy, crispy skin on the outside. It tasted like heaven in a bite. 

The pork entree came in two parts as a plate of crispy lechon and a pork stew in a bowl. This was most expensive dish that we selected. The pork stew was fine as the meat was moist and had the traditional Filipino subtle combination of soy sauce, black pepper and vinegar. The lechon was a disappointment. Though I was lucky to have tasted a portion which had a crispy skin, the meat was so chewy, oily and grisly, it was inedible. I had the great fortune of recently visiting Cebu in the Philippines and was lucky enough to have eaten at Rico’s Lechon where each heavenly bite of lechon was perfectly crisp on the outside and meaty and juicy on the inside so I have a recent and accurate frame of reference how this dish should be executed.

The fish entree called bangus which is a milkfish was heavily draped in a sweet soy glaze. I think that was a mistake as less is always more in traditional Filipino cuisine. Though the fish was tender, the overpowering sweetness took away from the subtle flavor of the fish. Traditionally, whole fish is fried and seasoned with salt and pepper in the Philippines so this offering was a departure from that style of cooking.

Our last dinner entree luckily was exceptional and though it was more of a fusion dish, it deserved applause. It was crab noodles with a large dollop of lime creme fraiche on the top. The noodles were perfectly al dente, topped with coconut and basil with a light savory taste. It was delicious.

We ended the evening with their two dessert offerings. Though I didn’t have the mango verrine because of my mango allergies, our friends really enjoyed the combination which resembled a parfait. The banana bibingka was fusion as it didn’t resemble the traditional round rice cake served in a banana leave. It was a sliver of cake with a crispy coconut  top layer and a dense center. The whipped cream on the side was truly the icing on the cake because it added just the right amount of flavor to make it a perfect bite.