Chicken inasal burrito in London

I’ve been on a side quest for the best Filipino-Mexican food in the world since 2010 (the year Senor Sisig in California opened). The UK was the last place on Earth I thought I’d end up looking for “Fil-Mex,” but alas I’m here.

Manila is growing with its own “Fil-Mex” cuisine, despite having been a 400-year-old conduit for the earliest Filipino-Mexican exchanges in food: cacao, papaya, tomato, and tamales being just a few of many “OG Fil-Mex” foods, you could say. If you disagree with me, you probably won’t disagree with the sinigang burrito I tried in Timog, or the kare-kare burrito in Maginhawa. More about that some other time.

In London is Filishack. Their chicken inasal burrito is the latest rendition of this culinary (and colonial?) fusion that I’ve tried. It was smoky, flavorful and juicy. All I needed was chicken oil, sili (chili peppers), and toyo (soy sauce), but by itself I was already satisfied. I was initially there to try their adobo burrito but unfortunately it was sold out. This was definitely a good sign that I was in the right place.

Neon signs seem to be a thing these days in many places.

Shout out to London’s own Adobros for the recommendation.