Shameless Buns

For the time being, it appears that restaurants have it tough considering that they are paying for rent and are limited to the amount of people who can dine-in.  Furthermore, the fixed costs in running a restaurant aren't exactly something they can stop paying for.  Fortunately, some are able to pivot and do more takeout and offer other options.  One type of food purveyor that seems to be able to weather this storm are food trucks.  All of the costs involved with a food truck are not going to waste and they do not need to worry about offering a dine-in space.   With that in mind, Jacqueline and I made our way out to the Clayton Community Farmer's Market in the parking lot of Clayton Heights Secondary to make the long overdue visit to Shameless Buns.

Known for their sammies (hence, the name Shameless Buns), we tried the Tapa Dat Bun consisting of marinated beef, chipotle cheese sauce, sarsi caramelized onions, sriracha mayo, chicharron and green onions on toasted pandesal.  This was messy, yet ultimately delicious.  Tender and practically fall-apart tender, the beef by itself was on the saltier side, but combined with the soft sweet bun and the spice from the mayo, it was balanced and complete.

Since we are in October and we both love Spam, it was only fitting to try the Pumpkin Spice Sir Spam-A-Lot topped with a fried farm egg, onions, green onions, fried garlic and smoky maple mayo on toasted pandesal.  We really enjoyed this as the pumpkin spice was not overwhelming so that the Spam was able to do its salty and fatty thing.  Again, this meshed well with the sweet bun and the sharpness of the onions.

The most surprising item we tried was the Filipino Spaghetti Lumpia with chipotle cheese sauce.  Okay, I've had lumpia and Filipino spaghetti before, but not combined into one item!  I was skeptical because of the carb on carb premise, but holy moly this was outrageously good.  The outer wrapper was firmly crunchy and held the whole thing together successfully.  Inside, the al dente spaghetti was its usual sweet self with sausage.  Cheese sauce added the necessary moisture and spice.

Another majestic-looking offering was the Adobo Fries sporting crispy AF (yes they were!) sinigang fries, braised chicken adobo, garlic calamansi aioli, tomato, green onion and fried garlic.  Literally, this ate like a meal since there was so much tender chicken on top!  Loved the hints of acidity from the adobo and aioli where it helped brighten the dish.  The fries remained crispy despite the plethora of toppings and even after our incessant picture-taking!

Along the same lines, we also had the Sausage Party with the same crispy AF sinigang fries, longaniza, garlic calamansi aioli, sexy farm egg, sriracha mayo, green onion and fried garlic.  There was some similarities with the adobo fries except the sausage added sweetness while the egg yolk was at its silky best.  So if it wasn't obvious to you, the food at Shameless Buns isn't your typical Filipino fare.  There is plenty of creativity and risks being taken.  From what we tried, the result is Food Network worthy eats that tastes as outrageously good as they appear.  Definitely recommended.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Creative take on Filipino food (modernized)

- No shortage of flavour

- Truck moves to multiple locations

The Bad:

- Not diet food.  LOL...