Vancouver set to get Filipino restaurant in January

Pork adobo in a rich sauce of soy, garlic, peppercorn and bay leaf. Crispy fried lumpia. Savory peanut butter beef stewed with veggies called “kare kare.”

Does that sound like something you can get in a Vancouver restaurant? It will be in late January when the city’s first Filipino restaurant, Kuya’s Casa, opens in the former Duck Tails spot at 612 N. Devine Road.

Fred Asa, one of the co-owners of Kuya’s Casa, is expanding his Gresham, Ore., location after eyeing Vancouver for years.

“I’ve been thinking about it for several years but couldn’t find a place that’s reasonable and convenient,” he said. “Now you don’t have to cross the river, and there’s quite a bit of Filipinos there in Vancouver.”

Asa plans to open Kuya’s Casa from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Once fully staffed, it will employ about 15. He said he is having typical difficulties finding staff in Gresham, and he’s expecting some of the same trouble in Vancouver.

Kuya’s Casa also brings some Mexican options, and it will serve breakfast, including the popular fried fish, rice with eggs and also Langonisa sausages. Kuya’s has filed for a liquor license, and on the weekends, there will be karaoke.

“You know how much the Filipinos love to take hold of the mic,” he said. “We wanted to bring some fun to Vancouver.”

Visit kuyafredcuisine.com to see the menu.

Filipino restaurants are quickly becoming more popular, with Filipinos being the second-largest Asian American group in the U.S.

Especially in Portland, the cuisine is catching on. The Portland restaurant Magna Kusina’s chef was elected one of Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs of 2021, and there are at least 10 Filipino restaurants in Portland, according to Eater Portland.