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