Inside Calgary's newest Filipino fusion brunch restaurant – and what to order
Calgary has just got a brand-new brunch spot, serving up some delicious Filipino fusion dishes.
Lasa by Cara has been brought to life by Rachelle Lucis and her fiancé, Carl, who are bringing a fusion of Filipino and Western flavours to Calgary’s Inglewood neighbourhood.
“We both went to culinary school at SAIT, and brunch has always been our favourite thing. Then one day it came to us. What if we blend a Filipino modern fusion with brunch? And here we are,” Lucis told Dished.
“Lasa,” which means flavour or taste, is something that is rife in Filipino cuisine, with an abundance of different flavours to explore. Lasa, the restaurant, offers an opportunity to explore Filipino cuisine through familiar dishes.
While only opening in October, Lucis said the spot had garnered plenty of attention since opening.
“Everything has been such a wild journey so far. We have a lot of customers coming in from different nations as well, trying our food. It’s really good.”
What you should order
Charlie Hart/Dished
Lasa offers a wide menu of classic brunch dishes, each offering a taste of Filipino flavours from Longganisa and Pork Belly Adobo to ube.
“The Ube French Toast has been the hit on Instagram. It’s a mixture of sweet, creamy, and it’s very vibrant,” Lucis explained.
For Lucis, another favourite that she regularly recommends to guests is the Tocino Benny, with the traditional Filipino cured pork served with poached eggs and hollandaise, served on pandesal bread, an excellent fusion of Filipino and Western flavours in one.
Of course, we take recommendations very seriously, so the Tocino Benny and Ube French Toast were the first things we ordered.
The Benny was everything you know and love, with perfectly runny eggs that get absorbed into the soft bread, while the Tocino added some sweetness to an otherwise savoury dish.
Charlie Hart/Dished
However, for us, the star of the show was the Ube French Toast, with slices of fluffy brioche, filled with ube custard, before being pan-seared and topped with a nice dose of ube ice cream and coconut flakes.
Not only did it look beautiful, but it was decadent without being overly sweet, pairing well with the fresh fruit served alongside it.
While Lasa is only serving brunch for now, the restaurant will soon be offering dinner service with even more dishes. Now that’s something to get excited about.
Lasa by Cara
Address: 1117 9th Ave. SE, Calgary
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