Jimel’s International Cuisine

We were passing through Winnipeg on the way home from a canoe trip and stopped to pay a visit with my Filipino cousins there. I wanted to take them out to dinner and also introduce my white, American, paddling buddies to the tasty, exotic foods of the Philippines. First, my cousin said there were no Filipino restaurants open at night but then remembered Jimels.
Jimels is a large, open room in a strip shopping center. It’s well lit, tastefully decorated and the menu is extensive. We were a party of seven (a couple cousins couldn’t make it on short notice). It seemed like we ordered two servings of all the highlights, Crispy eggrolls, Spring Rolls, Pancit Guisado, Sisig, Lumpia, Pinakbet, Crispy Pata, Pork Belly, Bistek, Kare Kare, and Adobo, both pork and chicken.
Of course, rice was served generously. We also had two buckets of beers to wash everything down. The food was brought out and placed on a large center lazy susan, just like in the Philippines.
My buddies enjoyed the food, even the Bagoong that came with the Kare Kare and at the end we talked them into having Halo Halo for desert.
I had slipped our waitress my credit card earlier so there would be no argument about the bill but when we were done she came out with a card reader saying I had been denied. I asked her to run it again but by that time my cousin had whipped out his card and paid the bill.
VERY EMBARRASSING.
(I later called my card company and they said there had been a problem recognizing the vendor, but that didn’t help me out much as I looked like a piker).
Jimels is a great restaurant and being Filipino, they also have Karaōke on Friday nights. I heard the owner and waitresses will serenade you.
If I lived in Winnipeg Jimels would be a regular stop.
MASARAP!