Myrna’s Cafe & Catering

My boyfriend took me here yesterday. I had longsilog and now I’m suffering from food poisoning. I can’t even look at a longanisa anymore.

When in town I have to stop by for filipino breakfast, in particular the bangus. My breakfast is always fresh and fish a bit on the fatty side (just how I like it). And, the singanag is always fried and garlicky… mmm! They don’t know how to make this in the west coast (incl. US). Other than the breakfast, we love their fried chicken, which seems to be a very popular item. We like to order a large tray for parties. And, if we’re lucky, we get to speak to the owner Julio who’s 1 of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

What a disappointment. Went for the first time today, was not really impressed at all, the food and place. Numerous people have mentioned that this place is good and reading the comments here made us think that this place was actually good. Wrong! The only good thing about this place is probably the cheap prices. That’s why I gave it a star.
From the time you walk in, the place smelled like old food. The tables and chairs were sticky, which means that they haven’t been wiped properly. The place just looked dirty. If the dining room looks and feels like that, I wonder how clean they actually keep the kitchen. As for the food, well I’ve had better. We tried the «chocolate meat,» bangus and caldereta. They were all too salty. The bangus tasted like it was cooked yesterday, instead of being fried fresh. The rice was unacceptable. I mean how can you get the rice wrong? The fried rice (garlic rice), also tasted like it was cooked yesterday. Nothing in this place was cooked fresh. If you want fresh food I suggest looking online for the recipes and making it yourself. I’m sure it will taste better.

I had never tried Filipino food before, and did not really know what to expect. When I saw that Winnipeg had not one but numerous Filipino restaurants, I knew I had to try at least once in my life.
It was around noon and the owners forgot to turn the OPEN sign on, but there were plenty of customers already inside. I ordered the mami soup and lumpia. I tried to order the fresh lumpia, but they said they were all out, so I ordered the fried version. Both were very good, and Filipino food is now among my favorites. The mami soup would be better described as a stew with egg noodles, beef, chicken, and a hardboiled egg, while the fried lumpia were little egg rolls (12), somewhat different tasting from the other egg rolls I had had.
My friend had pancit, and she gave me a taste. It was also very good. Be sure to make liberal use of the vinegar concoction they have in old Sriracha containers.
The tab came to about $ 11 with a soft drink included (but not tab). Be advised that this is a cash-​only operation.

Great Filipino comfort food. Try the beef tapa with rice and eggs ($ 6) or the popular pork tocino with rice and eggs ($ 6). The palabok (thick rice noodles in a wonderful semi thick sauce) is great for sharing. Caldereta on rice (I think it’s $ 7 or less) is also good but not as good as my moms of course! Caldereta is a mildly spicy beef stew with main ingredients of potatos, carrots, and tomato sauce. This dish is one of my all time favourites and is a popular dish served during special occasions and a regular in every Filipino cookbook. Myrna’s version is quite good. Could use just a pinch more salt. The food is prepared fresh. If not fresh at least on the day of.
This place is known for it’s good food and doesn’t try to establish itself as fine dining. When it’s slow the server will take your order. When it’s busy, expect to get your own water at the water cooler… it gets that busy. The value is excellent because of how much delicious food you get. It gets really busy late mornings on the weekend and at lunch during the week. If I need my fix I’ll just call for take out.