Kauai’s loss is our gain now that the family restaurant Tiano’s has moved from Lihue to Waipahu. It’s a Filipino-American restaurant with the kind of breadth that, when just perusing the menu, scares me. How such a small kitchen can turn out so many different dishes always seems improbable to me. That they do it so well and in such a timely manner is impressive.
The restaurant is sited in the spot that was formerly home to Futaba Restaurant and Catering, across the parking lot from Waipahu Festival Marketplace. The new restaurant is a welcome addition to more than just the Filipino community, with its wide-appeal pasta, local- and American-style entrees ranging from kalua pig nachos ($6.99) to prime rib ($16.99 to $26.99).
Tiano’s has evolved further to have a social media presence (#EatAtTianos) that allows the restaurant to get the word out about its 2-5 p.m. daily dine-in early-bird special of 20 percent off the entire menu, and BYOB status.
Filipino cuisine is not for everyone, but I find this portion of the menu has evolved to suit more local palates, easing up on the patis (fish sauce), bagoong (fish and shrimp paste) and vinegar that, even with our chop-suey culture, often has many turning up their noses. Those who can’t get enough of the fermented fishy vapors, don’t worry, you can always get your hands on more of the condiments to add at will.
The restaurant’s interior is nondescript, aiming only to feed the hungry, not set a mood. Tables are small and plates generously sized, so larger parties might want to commandeer more tables than needed to accommodate multiple plates.
One of the most popular dishes is the adobo fried rice omelet ($8.99), big enough to feed three people, with the thin egg folded beautifully over moist fried rice.
If you order the plain pork adobo ($8.99), you’ll see where the liquid in the rice comes from. The pork arrives in a pool of stewlike gravy. Maybe it’s a Kauai thing. I prefer to see meat and peppercorns only.
One of the healthier dishes you could order is the mixed vegetable sari-sari ($8.99), served here in a sweetened broth with an instant saimin soup base. Filipino food is one of the few cuisines offering a variety of vegetables. Even the furikake salmon ($16.99) here is topped off with bitter but nutritious mustard cabbage.
The sari-sari offers a combination of squash, carrots and ong choy, with a choice of slivers of pork ($8.99) or shrimp ($9.99).
In Waipahu, lechon kawali ($9.99), the twice-cooked crispy pork, tends to be served in a liquidy stir-fry of tomatoes and onions. I prefer places that keep those ingredients separate. I mean, what’s the point of serving crispy pork if the tomato liquid renders it soggy? Again, that’s just a style point. I imagine lots of people like nothing more than enjoying the entire mixture poured over rice, without the intensity of raw onion.
The peanut butter-oxtail stew kare kare ($13.99) was rather one-dimensional and far too salty for my taste, though it was helped by a side offering of bagoong.
Pork "Ryno" ribs ($16.99 half-rack, $26.99 full) were tender and better than most ribs in town, slathered in a basic barbecue sauce that you can rub off to get at the sublime pork flavor.
There is so much more to try, but that would easily take four or five more trips. Among dishes I need to get to: pork guisantes ($8.99), pinakbet ($8.99), chicken papaya ($8.99), fettuccine chicken alfredo ($13.99), salmon penne ($12.99), kalbi ($9.99), oxtail soup ($11.99), Hawaiian teri burger ($11.99) and Mama’s meatloaf ($9.99), to name just a few.
The family-oriented restaurant also has a keiki menu more vast than usual, including pint-size orders of prime rib ($7.99), BBQ ribs ($7.99) and pepperoni or cheese pizza ($6.99). These prices include a soft drink.
For dessert there’s a deluxe halo-halo ($6.98) that refers more to size than scope of ingredients, which is pretty scanty. The Filipino shave ice is topped with a scoop of ube ice cream and leche flan, but I missed the sweet beans, candied fruit and macapuno (baby coconut).
A crisp banana lumpia drizzled with caramel ($5.99) can be upgraded with a scoop of ube ice cream (99 cents).
