Everyone in the city wants to eat Leila Rosa's Filipino food.
On the footpath, stands hold all manner of magnets, keyrings and souvenirs. The store is filled with Asian spices and groceries. But it's Oriental Mart's lunch counter that has made this a must-stop spot for food lovers visiting Seattle's Pike Place Market.
Until 1987, when she opened the kitchen, Leila Rosa had never worked in hospitality. But it wasn't long before word of her home-style Filipino food spread. Now, cruise ship passengers rub shoulders with off-duty chefs. I mention her lanyard, decorated with the Seattle Police Department insignia. "Everyone eats here," she says with a grin.
If it wasn't for that smile, you might be intimidated by the way the space is decorated. Dozens of signs read, "Think before you ask, it may be the stupid question of the day," "To all you knuckleheads, don't talk to me while I'm cooking" or similar. Over her head hangs one that says, "Remember Leila you love your job!"
There's no fixed menu, although you can be almost sure Leila will be simmering pots of curry, plating up pork or chicken adobo with a noodle dish called pancit, or tempting newcomers with longganisa sausage. But the dish for which she is best known is salmon sinigang. Made using a tamarind soup base, this recipe would traditionally feature milkfish, but "it was too bony for Americans to eat". Instead, Leila uses salmon collars from the fishmongers opposite.
Read more on Explore:
Such is her legend and the eatery's popularity, Leila and Oriental Mart were given an America's Classics award by the James Beard Foundation in 2020.
"I didn't even know what it was when they first rang us," she says. It certainly hasn't changed how things are run. One customer, having devoured their lunch, asks if there's any dessert.
"No, I already do enough cooking," she tells them. "But go down to Le Panier. That's really good." instagram.com/omart1973
