Happy Hut
Charming, cheerful cafe-slash-grocer.
Critics' Pick
Filipino$
Ligaya Binuya’s name means “happy” in Tagalog, and she’s been serving Filipino food at her eponymous restaurant Happy Hut for more than a decade. Tokwa’t baboy is popular: fried tofu and roast pork belly cooked with a blend of soy and oyster sauces.
Peanut sauce gives silky richness to the beef and eggplant stew kare kare, and pancit bihon arrives as a small mountain of glass noodles stir-fried with carrot, cabbage and chicken breast.
Halo-halo, the shaved ice and coconut milk concoction, is adorned with vanilla ice-cream, fresh coconut, jelly and preserved fruit. Fridges are crammed with Filipino drinks, and a smorgasbord of packaged snacks includes pan de coco (coconut buns) and ensaymada (cheese pastries).
Happy Hut shuts at 7pm so come for lunch or an early dinner. Or order catering: the Philippines’ national dish lechon (roast sucking pig) is yours for $400.
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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/vic-good-food-guide/happy-hut-20241115-p5kqwp.html