Not one to rest on his laurels, chef Ross Pangilinan, who proved anything is possible when he managed two restaurants and opened another during the pandemic, jumped at the chance to join a cadre of fellow chefs celebrating Philippine cuisine all through October via Tikim Fest. The festival, brought to you by FilAm Arts, attracted the chef whose dishes fuse European techniques with Filipino flavors.
As part of his contribution, Pangilinan has put together a festival exclusive at each of his restaurants: Mix Mix Kitchen Bar and Terrace by Mix Mix in Orange County and ReMix Kitchen Bar in Long Beach.
At ReMix, located at the Long Beach Exchange, the soft-spoken chef arranged a kamayan spread for one, a play on the communal-style Filipino feast where food is laid out on banana leaves and eaten without utensils. The spread features crunchy chicharrones served with a spicy vinegar dip, shrimp lumpia, pork cheek adobo served over a bed of garlic fried rice, fried chicken drizzled with a calamansi honey, vegetable escabeche and, to top it all off, a mango sorbet and ube ice cream sandwich — all the Filipino-inspired fare served at ReMix.
“You know, traditionally, adobo is made with chicken or pork butt, or even pork belly,” Pangilinan says, “but I use pork cheeks, which has great texture and great flavor. Our lumpia, I do with shrimp. I add a little bit of Thai curry to it as well as vegetables and herbs. Our fried chicken, we serve it with calamansi honey, so it gives it a nice sweetness.”
Anchovy fans will delight at the Tikim special offered at Terrace, Pangilinan says, a Filipino pizza, topped with pork cheek, kalabasa, shrimp essence, tomato and mozzarella.
October may be Filipino American History Month, but, in a serendipitous turn of events, Pangilinan has even more to celebrate, as it also marks the fifth anniversary of Mix Mix. So, obviously, he pulled out all the stops with a five-course tasting menu featuring:
- Seared hamachi, calamansi sauce vierge and pork crackling
- Crispy pork cheeks and maitake mushrooms with a jalapeño-lime aioli
- Branzino and clam sinigang
- Hanger steak, purple potato puree and onion rings, served with a toyomansi brown butter emulsion
- A tropical verrine consisting of coconut panna cotta, fruit, mango sorbet, ube ice cream and macadamia nuts
Look no further for next-level Filipino fare.
Mix Mix Kitchen Bar — 300 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
Terrace by Mix Mix — 3333 Bear St. Unit 316, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
ReMix Kitchen Bar — 3860 Worsham Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808
Chef Ross Pangilinan is one of Tikim Fests’ featured chefs. He’s prepared a special prix fixe menu, with proceeds benefiting FilAm Arts. Los Angeleno is a proud partner of Tikim Fest 2021, co-presented by Farmfluence.