Carabao Express
It’s my last day in Austin and before I head out back to New York, I cannot just leave this beautiful city without having one last meal. My friend Colleen has invited me to check out her place, called Carabao Express.
Located at 2309 W Palmer Lane where they have been serving Tex-Fil inspired dishes since last year. They started as a food truck project in 2018 has now matured into a full brick and mortar space. This small family ran business is what kept the family together through the pandemic said Collen. She and her daughter Nina painted the walls of the entire space while her husband Nick built the chairs and other platforms.
Colleen has always been fond of food and growing up in Bacolod she grew up eating local favorites like Inasal and Batchoy. Her inspiration for the menu was initially her favorite recipes growing up and influences from her mother’s cooking. Texas culture though she admits has played a key role in influencing her dishes and she has learned to merge Philippine flavors in Texan dishes. The top selling dishes are their Sisig Birria Tacos and the special Pancit Bihon. The Chicken Adobo over rice is also a crowd favorite along with other Philippine staples like Kare Kare and Lechon Kawali.
I told Colleen that I was starting to get hungry and I was ready to try Carabao Express dishes as my last Texan meal
She started me off properly with their Yum Yum Frito Pie which according to her is a Texas thing. It’s frito chips topped with cheddar cheese and she added a “secret filipino twist” to it.
The “4 square” was our next dish which was a pulled pork adobo sandwich with crunchy shallots sandwiched into 4 sweet Hawaiian buns. It had a light mayo and scallions as well tossed into it.
Now we’re getting to the serious items, as she brought out the Sisig Birria Tacos. This was such a cool interpretation of the dish and the bone consommé even complimented the sisig well.
The Palabok Espesyal with fried soft shell crab was so good and the sauce was nice and sweet. It had the hard-boiled egg as well and the chicharron.
It’s never a complete meal at a Filipino restaurant if you don’t have dessert, we started with the banana turon which are deep fried plantains in spring roll wrappers, and of course, we had to have the famous Pineapple Dole Whip.
Although I am sad that I will be leaving Austin in a few hours, I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to spend a few days here and enjoy the food—Texas style…