My friend and I met for lunch on Friday at Fat Jakks (10126 107 Avenue), a restaurant of her choosing. I had never been before, but really, what better guide could I have at a Filipino eatery than the person who introduced me to the cuisine in the first place?
Though I was able to walk to Fat Jakks, I noticed parking was quite tight around the area. And as the restaurant doesn’t have its own designated parking lot, I would recommend arriving early in order to guarantee yourself street parking.
My friend was a few minutes late, but that allowed me time to preliminarily survey the buffet, menu, as well as the decor. My friend told me later on that the space had been fully renovated after the former owner of the Palabok House (another popular Edmonton Filipino restaurant) moved to this new property. Fat Jakks features a dance floor, a flat screen television, and all new furnishings – I would imagine they are hoping to host their share of holiday and special occasion functions in the coming months.
Interior
The menu was surprisingly short, though filled with dishes I couldn’t help but be curious about. In particular, there were three types of spring rolls (Vietnamese, Shanghai, and Manila) listed on the first page, and another catch-all page with dishes from Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Like most Asian restaurants that attempt to be more diverse than their kitchen should be, I decided to stick with Fat Jakks’ Filipino roots and paid the most attention to the section of the menu titled “Philippines’ Best”. My only knock on the restaurant was the inaccessibility of this page, as none of the dishes were explained. Though I’m certain the friendly waitress would have been more than happy to elaborate, for the patron’s ease, I would have appreciated brief dish descriptions underneath each name.
At any rate, once my friend arrived, she decided the buffet was the best way to go, as most of the dishes contained on the “Phillippines’ Best” page were represented in the buffet. Just $9.95 (offered only on Thursdays and Fridays), I couldn’t think of a better deal to sample 15 hot dishes plus a number of desserts.
Buffet line
Many of the dishes seemed very similar to ones I’m used to eating at home, so though the meal was filling and thoroughly satisfying, I didn’t find it a wholly unique experience. That said, I did have a few favourites, including the stir-fried vermicelli noodles, stir-fried beef, and the oh-so-tender beef brisket. The Manila spring rolls turned out to be very similar to the Chinese version I am used to, except that the filling looked and tasted like it had been compounded together with a mash of some kind, as opposed to visually distinct individual ingredients.
My first plate
My friend’s first plate (we had two each)
By the time we had our fill of the entrees, we barely had time (or room) for dessert. Of course, it was difficult for me to pass up an opportunity to try some Filipino sweets, so we headed to the hidden table to investigate our options. I ended up with a piece of custard-like coconut dessert and part of a tart made of cassava. The former was my favourite – not overly sweet, and light enough not to tip me over the scale.
Our dessert plates
Given that the restaurant was only graced by five other parties during our stay, I am hoping that the word spreads quickly about Fat Jakks. Clean, efficient and economical, their buffet is hard to beat.
Fat Jakks
10126 107 Avenue NW
(780) 485-2557
Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm, Sunday 12-9pm, closed Tuesdays
Only Here for the Food 
None of those items on your plate looked very Filipino…? Or is that just because you’re showing the plate with stir-fried vermicelli noodles, stir-fried beef, and beef brisket? What Filipino items did they feature on the buffet? (looks like that bottom item might be pochero?)
I once ate at Palabok House and it may have been my dining mistake of the year. Our crispy fish started off well, but it was all downhill from there and I actually felt ill on the drive home. 😦 I’m genuinely curious about Fat Jakks, and would like to try the cuisine again, but it’d take a lot more than a haphazard pseudo Canadian-Chinese buffet to get me out there so I’m curious on what you thought of the Filipino items you had.
As this was my first foray into Filipino cuisine, I really can’t tell you the specific names of the dishes I had. I do trust my friend (who happens to be Filipino) however, and she enjoyed the meal.
At $9.95, I’d say it’s worth the trial (and possible error).
I agree, none of them looked very Filipino; though the “pancit” (vermicelli noodles) and “lumpia” (spring roll) look familiar.
If you do foray into Filipino cuisine again, ask for “adobo” (which some jokingly say is the national dish of the Philippines — meat with a vinegar-based dark sauce), “kare kare” (it’s meat with vegetables and peanut sauce), and “palabok” (noodles with eggs and some egg type sauce). That pretty much runs the gamut of the top 3 most popular and notable dishes.
My mom told me that after talking to the owners, that Fat Jakks’ name was derived from the initials of their children. And because everyone is a bit tubby. Ha. 🙂
Thanks for the comment, Lea, and for the food suggestions. I had meant to ask the staff how the name of the restaurant was derived, but was in such a rush to get back to work that I forgot – thanks for the tidbit!
they might have played safe with their menus,these are not so much filipino food as i can see your plate,i woul love to open a filipino food restaurant and show u guys the exotic food we can share..
Thoughtful and interesting, thank you. I was brought up in the philipines but moved to england at such a young age I barely remember anything apart from the delicious food. I finally found some authentic Filipino recipes if you want to take a look, I thought I’d share it with you!
Your restaurant looks good inside but we got disappointed when we had our lunch there for the first time last week. There’s only one table with 3 people occupied when we got in and those customers were almost done. So in other words only the the 3 of us who had lunch were the customers then. The server is like an all around there being alone just right because she got no other table to serve anyway. To our dismay she kept coming back to our table and cleaning up our dishes from time to time as if she was hurrying us up. It’s not a first class restaurant or a kind like in a starred hotel where lots of guests are dining in and keep abreast with hundreds of guests. So there’s no point of hurrying up, cleaning up the table to the insult of guests. Why can’t she take her time and just clean up later as she has nothing to do anyway as no are customers coming in. It’s far better eating in chinese restaurant around where servers can wait for their turn to clean up even how busy the place is. It was okey to do such if the table you were into are getting crowded and messy with dishes. If you are a customer getting some service like this won’t you get feel awkward and feel uneasy? The server said they do that like in a hotel setting. BUT ALAS YOUR RESTAURANT IS NOT IN 5 STAR HOTEL NOT EVEN CONSIDERED TO BE A LONE STAR ONE. Please put your style of service depending on the situation of an event.
Well Fatjaks is owned by a Chinese hubby I guess and a Filipina wife…they just mixed some Filipino foods of their mean Chinese Menu…
Alfredo Tan, you are low class and a jerk
Alfredo Tan… I guess ur such a low class person maybe u should go to tha fast food which after u buy the food they dont care of you n whatever mess u make it doesnt matter!!! U dork!
I have enjoyed their food with my family and do not mind going their again, their food have chinese and filipino blend. Overall experince is good moderate pricing with good dining atmosphere. Most importantly you have to ask server/manager on duty about their food and flavours and how it should be eaten OR you can request your personal notch into the food like spicy,hot or typical canadian sweet.
we must support every small business with positive feedback and constructive reviews. I have no relation to these people at all.
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