When Enrico Manalo, chef and owner of Tambayan at Kainang Filipino Restaurant, was a child in the Philippines, he spent his time in the kitchen. It was there that he learned traditional Filipino recipes and developed a deep love of its unique flavours. When he was older and living in Malaysia, he started a restaurant with his family using those same recipes. It was a success, and soon he had an entire chain of restaurants serving up his family’s home-style dishes. Then, in 2015, he set his sights on expanding to an unlikely place: Calgary.
Tambayan at KainangFilipino Restaurant is the first international location for the restaurant chain and the only location in Canada. Enrico chose Calgary because he saw he could do something different in the local food scene. “A lot of the Filipino food here wasn’t authentic,” says Enrico. “The recipes are often changed to fit more closely to familiar foods already here. But our food is authentic.”
