Bela Fiesta: Filipino Food Cravings Sorted at M50

Bela Fiesta is currently the only restaurant dedicated to Filipino food in Shanghai, serving up regional cuisine at Shanghai’s M50 Art District complex in Putuo district.

The Space

There hasn’t been a Filipino restaurant in Shanghai for some time now, let alone one that does a solid rendition of the greatest hits. Bela Fiesta has even received a shoutout from the Philippine Consulate.

Bela Fiesta is located at the back of the main M50 Art District complex. It's a simple and humble eatery. The dining room is split into two areas, a cafe-like space and a dinner space in front of a small live stage. They also have a covered terrace with outdoor seating.

The Food

I’m a fan of Filipino food, but specifically, Dinuguan, Sinigang, and Sisig, and Bela Fiesta does all of them justice.

Dinuguan is a savory stew of pork simmered in a dark gravy of pig blood, chili and vinegar. It’s tart from the liberal amount of vinegar and goes swimmingly well with rice.

Dinuguan

Similar on the tangy note is Sinigang, a tamarind flavored broth usually with pork belly. Bela Fiesta does theirs with seafood, a mix of mussels, clams, and prawns along with vegetables. It’s a lighter version than I prefer, but still hits the spot.

Seafood Sinigang

Sisig is a chopped pork dish seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi, onion, and chili. A truly authentic sisig has texture, derived from crunchy bits of pig ears and chewy bits of skin along with tender pork shoulder and belly.

Sisig

All three are available a la carte, or you can get that and more with the Philippine Classic Platter.

Philippine Classic Platter (¥208)

The Philippine Classic Platter comes with pork sisig, chicken adobo, dinuguan, beef kare-kare, seafood sinigang, pancit guisado (fried noodles) with grilled chicken.

Kare Kare Beef

Chicken Adobo

Pancit Guisado with Chicken

They also do the iconic Crispy Pork Pata, a whole pork leg that’s boiled until tender and then deep-fried.

Crispy Pork Pata (¥168)

It’s served with the traditional dipping sauce of made with soy sauce, vinegar, diced onions, garlic, sugar, and fresh kalamansi. It’s crispy crunchy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside.

Then, there's Palabok, a savory vermicelli noodle dish topped with shrimp and smoked fish gravy.

Palabok (¥78)

And they have Halo-Halo (¥35), served with actual ube ice cream! A few places have attempted to do Halo-Halo in the past in Shanghai, but this is the first time I’m seeing good quality purple yam ice cream. The serving of this shaved ice dessert is generous, and comes with a myriad of flavored jellies, nata de coco, red beans, yam, and flan.

Halo-Halo

Bela Fiesta also hosts live music performances and open jam sessions on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

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Bela Fiesta
Click here for the venue listing.