Happy Hut

Ligaya Binuya’s name means “happy” in Tagalog, and she’s been serving Filipino food at her eponymous restaurant Happy Hut for more than a decade. Tokwa’t baboy is popular: fried tofu and roast pork belly cooked with a blend of soy and oyster sauces.

Peanut sauce gives silky richness to the beef and eggplant stew kare kare, and pancit bihon arrives as a small mountain of glass noodles stir-fried with carrot, cabbage and chicken breast.

Halo-halo, the shaved ice and coconut milk concoction, is adorned with vanilla ice-cream, fresh coconut, jelly and preserved fruit. Fridges are crammed with Filipino drinks, and a smorgasbord of packaged snacks includes pan de coco (coconut buns) and ensaymada (cheese pastries).

Happy Hut shuts at 7pm so come for lunch or an early dinner. Or order catering: the Philippines’ national dish lechon (roast sucking pig) is yours for $400.

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