New Filipino restaurant opens in Modesto’s Century Center after pandemic delay
Modesto’s only dedicated full-service Filipino restaurant has opened, and while the cuisine may be new to many in the area, some of the dishes should sound very familiar.
Tatum Hontiveros has opened Kusina, which means “kitchen” in her native Philippines, in east Modesto’s Century Center. The new eatery, which had its soft opening last month, serves lunch and dinner with a menu full of authentic and fusion Filipino dishes.
The Southeast Asian island nation brings many influences to the table, largely from its centuries of colonization. The result is some dishes whose names will be instantly recognizable to many in the Central Valley. Think adobo and menudo, but prepared in the Filipino way.
Hontiveros and her husband, Dr. Vic Pidlaoan, moved to Modesto about three years ago after Pidlaoan got a position as physician with Sutter Health. She moved to the United States from the Philippines in 2008, and then as Pidlaoan pursued his medical career, they lived in a succession of cities including Detroit, Dallas and Columbus, Ohio.
It was when they came to Modesto that Hontiveros got serious about opening a restaurant, after having to always drive to Tracy or Stockton to get their Filipino food fix. But as a first-time restaurateur, and mostly home cook, she faced a significant career change.
COVID paused Kusina restaurant opening
Hontiveros also has her medical degree, like her husband, but said “life happened,” so raising their two kids — now ages 5 and 11 — became the priority while she worked in medical research. She wanted to start her new venture prepared, so she is working on her master’s degree in food business from the esteemed Culinary Institute of America and expects to graduate later this summer.
She settled on Century Center, in a vacant end space next to The Ice Cream Co., in early 2019 before anyone had heard of COVID-19. She planned to open in 2020, but then the pandemic hit. With a background in medicine, she decided to pause work on the project until the outbreak was more under control and safety restrictions had been loosened.
She has opened with a small menu, including choice of plates, platters, appetizers and desserts. In the coming months, she will add more items, including family-style spreads and new entrees. But for now, the selection provides both an accessible and more advanced take on Filipino food.
Combination plates run $10.99 and include fried lumpia, bihon (a popular Filipino noodle dish), rice and choice of meat, fish or vegetarian main dish. These include everything from chicken or pork skewers, chicken or pork adobo, grilled pork belly, milkfish (a mild, meaty white fish), pinakbet (a mixed vegetable dish) and dinuguan (a stew made from pig’s blood, which despite how it might sound to some, is rich, savory and darn tasty).
Some Filipino dishes familiar due to colonial past
You’ll also find an assortment of popular lumpia, the well-known fried kind that are similar to eggrolls and the fresh crepe-style that are a special only on the weekends (and made by Hontiveros’ mother, Edna). Also special to Fridays and Saturdays, and made only in a limited quantity, so reserve ahead, is lechon — a slow-roasted pork dish that is considered a celebratory meal and prized for its crispy, crackly skin.
Like adobo, menudo and caldo, lechon is a Filipino dish that evolved from its years under colonial rule. Spain was one of the first nations to claim the archipelago, which is why some of the dishes will sound familiar to those who know Latino cuisine.
Hontiveros plans to expand the menu with less traditional items like a pork belly sandwich, as well as possibly adding a Sunday brunch. In about a month, she’ll start to serve beer and other cocktails, thanks to a full liquor license.
The restaurant also has a small selection of Filipino breads, sweets, snacks, sauces and other essentials for sale that Hontiveros said can be hard for those in the community to find. She even has large boxes, called Balikbayan boxes, that can be filled with products and then mailed back to family in the Philippines. Sending the care packages has become a custom for many Filipinos living overseas, and are traditionally delivered for Christmas and other special occasions.
Kusina, at 2401 E. Orangeburg Ave., Suite 640, in Modesto, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. For more information, call 209-432-3636 or visit www.facebook.com/KusinaModesto.
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
