How often do you get to try Filipino food (unless it’s your heritage)? My goal in 2023 is to cook and eat more foods from countries I don’t get very often. So, the minute I saw Chee-bog open, plus all of the great reviews, I had to try it for myself.
In 2021, owners Chris “Champ” Peralta and Cindy Tapper-Peralta started selling their food in pop-ups (that I was so sad I kept missing). According to WTEN, They worked out of Carmen’s Cafe in Troy and hosted pop-ups at the Troy Asia Night Market and Wolf Hollow Brewing. Their goal was to eventually own their own space but was just waiting for the perfect small space to start.
In 2020, The Tiny Diney closed and 300 Ontario Street was available. Though businesses locally have Filipino items on the menu, there was a space in the area for a Filipino-focused eatery. In addition to Filipino, Chee-bog takes from spices all over the world like Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian foods.
A few things to know before getting food from Chee-bog: you must preorder your food through their website (found here), they highly encourage carry-out since the space is pretty small and their menu is limited so once an ingredient is gone, you have to wait until they have that menu item again.
When I opened the website, everything looked so good, I had a problem deciding which of the menu I wanted to try. First and foremost, don’t leave without lumpia ([loom-pee-uh] Filipino-style spring roll filled with pork, green onions & carrots — rolled in a thin crepe wrapper & fried until golden brown). From the crispiness to the amazing sauce and how flavorful they are, you have to have them.
For lunch, I ordered the longganisa. I’ll be honest, when I ordered the sausage I was nervous because that’s not usually my go-to but I’m so happy I gave something new a try. It’s a sweet sausage but has a really nice spice to it. It’s enough of a spice where the rice pairs really well but not too spicy where I was looking around for something to drink. The flavors were different from things I usually eat and now, I just want to eat all of the Filipino food. Support not only a family-owned local business but one of the few means to get Filipino food locally. You won’t be disappointed, the food is delicious!
