Pampangueña

There’s a reason why people have been driving from as far as Key West to get their Filipino food fix at Pampangueña in Cutler Bay for the last 22 years. The grocery store operates as a restaurant three days a week (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) when sisters Josie Magtoto-Lacsina and Elsa Magtoto-Burger cook dishes they learned from their mother in their hometown in Pampanga (hence the name). The dishes change regularly and each cost $6. The last time we went, they had super-comforting ginisang munggo (mung bean sew), deep-fried bangus, fried lumpia, sinigang with salmon head, and denengdeng (similar to the vegetable stew, pinakbet, but with the addition of more leafy vegetables). Also, don’t miss the leche flan, which they sell by the slice or as a whole, and is the perfect mix of silky, smooth, rich, and creamy. Since they have no set menu, Pampangueña welcomes advance orders and special requests too.