Victorville's Bahay Kubo is a one-stop destination for Filipino cuisine in High Desert

Kathy Young, Victorville Daily Press
·4 min read

nullWhen Noel and Aida Tizon opened Bahay Kubo Filipino Store and Restaurant in Victorville just two months ago, they celebrated the second location of their Asian food “adventure.”

The first store and restaurant are in the town of Ridgecrest. It is larger, and, in Noel Tizon’s words, “it has everything.”

The smaller Victorville establishment focuses on special favorite food items on its combo and special plates menus, as well as the most famous traditional Asian drinks, snacks, and essential ingredients for preparing your own Filipino dishes at home.

The original opening date for the Victorville location was delayed due to the pandemic, but Bahay Kubo Victorville store and restaurant are open now, and business is booming.

What’s in a name?

Talk about colorful: This is caldereta, a tomato-based beef stew with potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, olives and peas from Bahay Kubo Store and Restaurant.
Talk about colorful: This is caldereta, a tomato-based beef stew with potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, olives and peas from Bahay Kubo Store and Restaurant.

The name “Bahay Kubo” comes from an icon of Filipino culture, the traditional stilt house made of bamboo with a straw roof. While this sense of tradition is found in the name and the menu and on store shelves, Bahay Kubo Store and Restaurant expands on tradition.

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Snack items include Hi-Chew sweet and sour candies, Squez’n’Bites and Lychee Gummy Candies. Food items include Chinese-style sausage; several different noodles; rice paper for wraps and jars; and cans of sweet and savory items, like sugary palm fruit and regular or spicy sauteed shrimp paste.

Diners know when they place an order; it will be prepared and served up quickly and delivered to your table or packaged for taking out.

Word of mouth is the best advertising

“High Desert Foodies,” a Facebook group with nearly 22,000 members, celebrates all things food and food-related. Upcoming food events within easy driving distance of the High Desert and restaurant reviews are advertised on their page.

Bahay Kubo Victorville has developed a vocal fan base. The reviews are high, and the variety of menu items available brought Bahay Kubo to the attention of Dining Around.

And here we are.

Many choices in a tidy space

Advertised on Facebook as a Kapampangan Filipino restaurant and Asian food store with cafeteria-style foods — the Combo Plates — plus cook-to-order dishes — the “Special Plates”— Bahay Kubo also offers boba drinks and teas.

Menus change slightly on Fridays when bakery items, including breads and rice cakes, become available.

Combo delights

“Foodie” favorites include lechon kawali; pork belly slabs deep-fried in a pan or wok; and pancit noodle dishes with variations, including the type of noodle used, method of cooking, and ingredients.

This is pork pinigang, a tamarind-based sour soup with spare ribs, string beans, eggplant, okra and daikon.
This is pork pinigang, a tamarind-based sour soup with spare ribs, string beans, eggplant, okra and daikon.

Bahay Kubo’s chicken pancit is a particular favorite for meals and a popular choice for party trays.

And, of course, there is lumpia, the Filipino spring roll with sweet or savory fillings tidily contained in a lumpia wrapper. Fried or fresh, lumpia is always a tasty choice.

Each entrees is served with rice.

On the day we visited, the Special Plates included beef bulgogi (Korean-style grilled or roasted meat) with rice and daikon relish, bistek (steak) with rice and chicken pancit.

Desserts include Halo-Halo, coconut gel, sugar palm fruit and sweet beans mixed with crushed ice and served cold.

Traditional recipes

Noel Tizon has worked in food service since 1984. After 20 years in the United States Navy, he went to the Culinary Arts Institute and specialized in American and French cuisine. After serving as head chef at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, he and his wife decided to open their Ridgecrest, California, restaurant and store.

Every dish on the menu is made from “strictly traditional recipes” that Noel Tizon keeps in his head. Aida Tizon is a home cook with a “superhuman” sense of smell that “tells” her if a recipe lacks an ingredient or needs more or less of something. He calls his wife a “super taster.”

Ginisang ampalaya is bittermelon sauteed with tomatoes, pork and shrimp.
Ginisang ampalaya is bittermelon sauteed with tomatoes, pork and shrimp.

Party trays

As mentioned earlier, Bahay Kubo Victorville offers party trays for special occasions. Order time depends on the dishes you select. The best bet is to order in advance to ensure perfect preparation and pickup time before your event.

You can also get the latest menu on the Bahay Kubo Victorville Facebook page. Daily updates on specials and other menu information.

When you go

Bahay Kubo Victorville Filipino Store and Restaurant, 15080 Seventh St., Unit 9, Victorville. 760-261-4448. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Menu, photos, videos, and daily entrees on Facebook @BahayKuboVictorville. Dine-in, take-out. Party trays are available. Phone orders are welcome.

Dining Around

If you would like your restaurant profiled in Dining Around or want to tell readers about your favorite eatery, please get in touch with Kathy Young at the Daily Press by text, 760-953-8682, or by email at kyoung3@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Bahay Kubo in Victorville a one-stop destination for Filipino cuisine