Pook Ni Butchukoy

Loosely translated, the name of the restaurant means «Butchokoy’s Place» in Tagalog. Butchokoy was the name of the previous owner.
For those of you have been to the Philippines, any Filipino with skills in the kitchen is capable of establishing his or her own ‘karenderia’ or mini restaurant — oftentimes converting his/​her front yard or even driveway into a makeshift bistro offering traditional Filipino dishes like dinuguan, bopis, ginataan, barbecue, fried fish, adobo, Filipino spaghetti (yum!) and more, served on a plate of hot, white rice. These main dishes usually on display on a table in the pots they were cooked in or behind a glass panel that patrons can point at and order ala «turo-​turo» style. The latter being the case at this restaurant.
Probably considered a dive, Pook ni Butchokoy, ideally located in one of the more diversely populated sections of Toronto, caters to local residents and tourists alike looking for some Filipino comfort food. We ventured there today after attending Sunday service at the Holy Family Parish 2 blocks away.
Walking into the establishment, we were warmly greeted by Rebecca, the owner, and her associate, Ellen, both of whom are fluent in a few of the several dozen languages in the Philippines. Conversing in the Cebuano dialect, Rebecca gave me a little history of the place and was eager to promote her cuisine. For about $ 7 per person, the 6 of us in our group tried 8 of the 12 dishes that they had for the day: the pork barbecue was a generous serving of tender morsels of well marinated meat; the fried ‘bangus’ (milkfish) was deboned to perfection, crispy skin and seasoned with just the right amout of soysauce and garlic. Filipino spaghetti was not too sweet and did not have enough hotdogs but, nevertheless, brought back memories of Jollibee’s spaghetti. The bopis was good (my father-​in-​law mastered this dish, so my expectations are high) as was the giniling (sauteed ground pork). The dinuguan was a bit on the dry side but otherwise well prepared. The ginataan gulay (vegetables simmered in coconut milk) was likely prepared using canned coconut milk (unfortunately) and lacked that freshly grated coconut flavor but otherwise delicious. And the adobo was, well, adobo — classic Filipino pork cooked in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce and black peppercorns. All of the dishes were served over a generous plateful of steaming white rice.
After enjoying this feast and the friendly company of our hosts, we left with full stomachs and new friends, promising to stop in the next time we are in town. Definitely worth a visit — and I personally recommend the pork barbecue.

Finding Filipino food (say that ten times in a row) is not easy.
I googled some of the places people recommend but so many are out of dowtown Toronto and far from where I live.
I discovered this place about two months ago. If you are like me and sometimes have a craving for home food, you‘ll eat anything. However, nothing ever compares to Mom‘s food.
They are a takeout place. No loitering around to eat your food.
I had a great time talking to the owner about her place and the food. She was saying if you really want a particular dish you have to come early. Otherwise, your faves will be gone.
They have your usual cafeteria style fair: pancit, tilapia, pork with potatoes as well as a dish that had tofu. The tofu dish they say is really good but that it is not at least to me a traditional dish. LOL. Although they kept saying, like a mom would ‘you should eat it — it‘s good for you.“
Best thing I have had, the dinaguan. I would translate it for you but I want you to try it before you dismiss it. Suffice to say, when I got home to eat my choices, I inhaled it.
They also a small selection of Filipino baked goods like pan de sal available.

Keepin’ it real with my three star rating for now.
I went back last night and got a mountain of food for around $ 7. Not bad at all.
This place closes around 8pm but most of the day’s cooking is finished before 6. There were a few things on the small menu that were just about done so the lovely lady behind the counter just loaded me up with everything.
They were out of veg last time I was there but this time I tried their roasted potatoes and peppers. Very nice.