How to Pronounce Filipino Dishes | Barrios Halifax
How to pronounce sisig, pancit, kare-kare, inasal and other Filipino dishes, with simple sound-it-out cues for the Barrios menu in downtown Halifax.
Barrios Restaurant & Bar
11/10/20263 min read
How to Pronounce Filipino Dishes: A Friendly Guide to the Barrios Menu
Filipino dish names can look harder on the page than they are to say. This guide from Barrios Kitchen & Bar, the Filipino restaurant at 1571 Barrington Street in downtown Halifax, gives you simple sound-it-out cues for the dishes on our menu and at our Sunday brunch.
First, the most important part: you do not need to say anything perfectly to order. Point at the menu, try the name, or ask your server. Our chefs are all from the Philippines, and nobody here is grading anyone.
How to read this guide
The syllable in capitals is the one to stress. The stressed syllables follow standard Tagalog dictionary entries. Filipino families, regions and languages do not all say every word the same way, so if a Filipino friend says it differently, go with your friend.
Five things that make it easier
Keep the vowels steady: a is "ah", e is "eh", i is "ee", o is "oh" and u is "oo". Every vowel gets its own beat, so bagoong has three: bah-goh-OHNG.
Ng is one sound, the one in the middle of "singer", and it can start a syllable. Sinangag, garlic fried rice, is see-nah-NGAHG.
The stress often falls on the last syllable, which English speakers do not expect. Pancit is pahn-SEET, not PAN-sit.
In a doubled name, say both halves the same way: kah-REH kah-REH, HAH-loh HAH-loh.
Some words end with a small catch in the throat, like the break in "uh-oh". Lumpia, calamansi and halo-halo all have one. Leave it out and you will still be understood.
Mains and rice plates
Sisig: SEE-seeg (some say see-SEEG). Our sisig is chopped roasted pork with soy sauce and chili on a sizzling cast iron plate. Mix the raw egg through while it sizzles, then squeeze the lemon over. $20.
Kare-kare: kah-REH kah-REH. Crispy pork belly and vegetables in a rich peanut sauce, with steamed rice and bagoong, a shrimp paste. It contains peanut, which cannot be left out. $22.
Chicken inasal: ee-nah-SAHL. Chicken marinated in citrus, garlic and spices, then grilled, with garlic rice. $22.
Lechon kawali: leh-CHOHN kah-WAH-lee. In Tagalog, lechon is often spelled litson (lit-SOHN); it is the same word. A kawali is the wok-style pan the pork belly is fried in. $19.
Crispy pata: PAH-tah. Pata means the pork leg; ours is pork hock, simmered in spices and then deep-fried. $27.
Beef caldereta: kahl-deh-REH-tah. Slow-braised beef brisket in a Filipino tomato-based sauce. $24.
Beef tapa: TAH-pah. Ours comes with garlic rice and two eggs, which makes it what Filipinos call a tapsilog: tahp-see-LOHG. $18.
Bangsilog: bahng-see-LOHG. Bangus (bah-NGOOS) is milkfish, sinangag is garlic fried rice and itlog (eet-LOHG) is egg. $17.
Noodles
Pancit: pahn-SEET. It means noodles, and you will also see it spelled pansit.
Pancit bihon: pahn-SEET BEE-hohn, thin rice vermicelli. $17.
Pancit guisado: pahn-SEET ghee-SAH-doh (hard g), vermicelli and chow mein noodles together. $17.
Palabok: pah-LAH-bohk. Rice noodles in a shrimp stock sauce with boiled egg, shrimp and crispy pork belly. $20.
Vegetables and small plates
Pinakbet: pee-nahk-BEHT. Squash, beans, okra, eggplant and crispy tofu, made without shrimp paste or fish sauce. $14.
Torta: TOR-tah. Ours is tortang talong (tah-LOHNG), an eggplant omelette. $12.
Lumpia: loom-pee-YAH. Our spring rolls are lumpiang shanghai, the fried pork kind. $9 for four.
On the side
Bagoong: bah-goh-OHNG. The salty shrimp paste served with kare-kare.
Calamansi: kah-lah-mahn-SEE. A small Philippine citrus. At the table we serve lemon.
Kanin: KAH-neen. Plain cooked rice.
Sunday brunch words
Our Filipino brunch runs every Sunday from 10:30 AM to 4 PM, $29 per adult. These are the names you will see on the spread.
Longganisa: lohng-gah-NEE-sah. Filipino pork sausage; ours is sweet and garlicky. On the spread every week.
Tocino: toh-SEE-noh. Sweet cured pork. Every week.
Pandesal: pahn-deh-SAHL. Soft bread rolls. Every week.
Sago gulaman: sah-GOH goo-LAH-mahn. A sweet drink with tapioca pearls and jelly.
Adobo: ah-DOH-boh, and sinigang: see-nee-GAHNG. Both are part of our Sunday brunch rotation, never guaranteed on a given Sunday.
When the chef has them on
Halo-halo (HAH-loh HAH-loh, "mix-mix") and leche flan (LEH-cheh flahn) are occasional specials. Ask your server if the chef has one on today.
Prices shown are from our current menu and may change.
Quick answers
How do you pronounce sisig?
SEE-seeg, with the stress on the first syllable. Some speakers say see-SEEG.
How do you pronounce pancit?
Pahn-SEET, with the stress on the last syllable.
How do you pronounce kare-kare?
Kah-REH kah-REH. Say both halves the same way, with the stress on the second syllable of each.
Is it lechon or litson?
Both. Lechon is the Spanish spelling and litson the Tagalog one. They name the same thing.
Is it rude to get a dish name wrong?
No. Trying the name is a kind thing to do, and pointing at the menu works just as well.
Visit Barrios
We are at 1571 Barrington Street, open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 AM. We close at 9 PM Tuesday to Thursday and 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is Filipino brunch from 10:30 AM to 4 PM, and we are closed on Mondays. See the full menu, book a table or call 902-444-2515. For groups of 7 or more, please call ahead.