“Filipino cuisine reimagined.”

That is the tagline for Sampa Los Angeles; a Filipino restaurant in the Arts District of Los Angeles serving up Filpino fusion dishes like no other.

Sampa made for the perfect place to celebrate my birthday this year. Being Filipino; I’ve always had an appreciation for Filipino food and am always intrigued with different restaurant’s takes on classic dishes. Sampa defintiely puts a new spin on some Filpino favorites.

Our meal here started with a Filpino crowd favorite; Kare Kare. The Kare Kare here is not your ordinary Kare Kare. Here at Sampa, owner/Chef Josh Espinosa gives a very modern and unique take on Kare Kare with Kare Kare Tamales. The tamales are filled with tender braised oxtail and smothered with peanut butter velouté and sprinkled off with bagoong dust. I am a fan of both Kare Kare and tamales and so I felt that this was a true match made in heaven!

No birthday is complete without some pancit. They say noodles bring long life and so it’s a must for any birthday celebration. Here at Sampa; their pancit consists of Duck Pancit. It’s garlic pancit topped off with 8 oz duck breast. It is definitely one elevated take on pancit.

We also got to try Sampa’s Lechon Fried Rice. This one was my favorite. I love how the rice was topped with lots of crispy bork belly, atchara and a poached egg. This dish was full of ingredients and packed with flavor!

Last but definitely least was dessert! This birthday girl got to make a wish with some Halo Halo Tres Leches cake as well as Kopiko Creamy Blanca gelato. The Halo Halo Tres Leches was different take on traditional Halo Halo. Instead of ube jam; this Halo Halo had ube cake with jackfruit whip surrounded with all the different Halo Halo ingredients like sweetened kidney beans, Sago and Gulaman (gelatin). This was such a sweet ending to my birthday celebration here!

Sampa Los Angeles definitely is all about “”Filipino cuisine reimagined.” I was so happy to be able to celebrate my birthday here and if Filipino cuisine can be reimagined; hmm then I can’t wait to see what the next year reimagined looks like for me 😉

For more smiles; please check out my Yelp Review on Sampa Los Angeles.