Cirilo Filipino Kainan

The moment a sizzling dish of sisig arrives beside our table at Cirilo, juices spitting and the rich smell of frying onion, pork fat, and chicken liver in the air, there’s nowhere else in the world we’d rather be than this low-key Filipino spot in Whitechapel. The moody low-lit room suits our favourite kind of date: the one that involves forking moreish pancit Singapore noodles heavy with curry powder into each other’s mouths. But the menu also suits a few people just as much as it does two. Tangy chicken adobo should certainly be on your table as well as lechon paksiw—a plate of golden crispy pork belly that requires you to get all M&S advert with the jug of shimmering, umami-ish soy, wine, and chicken liver gravy on the side.