Pinoy Oriental Niles - Overeating for $5

On my quest for galangal and keffir lime leaves, I decided to try Pinoy Oriental on Milwaukee just north of Dempster.

No produce to be had at all, but an interesting array of philipino groceries, good looking meat and fish, and a lunch counter at the back. There were several saucy dishes but what caught my eye were the empanadas: pork for $.85, chicken for $1.00, about the length of my palm (I've got big hands, though). Banana egg rolls were also intriguing.

So for $5.29 with tax, I got

• a 20oz Coke (nothing to report there)
• a skewer of chicken barbecue, generous portion, good chicken flavor with a somewhat Open Pit-like sauce
• chicken empanada: minced white chicken, mildly seasoned, bits of onion and possibly something fruity (didn't look too closely but it had a citrusy flavor)
• pork empanada: minced dark-colored pork, still mild but more seasoned than the chicken, with raisins
• 3 banana egg rolls (I only wanted one, but the guy insisted on selling them 3/$)

Overall, a delicious quick stop for food to eat whilst driving. The empanadas would have improved with 10 minutes in a warm oven, but were quite enjoyable as is. The banana egg rolls were tart inside, sticky and caramel-y outside. Warmed and topped with ice cream and you'd have a gourmet desert.

anyone been recently ?