The quality of a spring roll is subject to the preparation and ingredients — and the cook. As with meatloaf, cooks don’t seem to waste much time thinking of ways to improve upon vegetables wrapped inside pastry. It is what it is. But it doesn’t have to be.
Sari Sari’s lumpia — the Filipino spring roll, essentially — is an inspired edition of the standard Asian restaurant fare. Served scorching hot, Sari Sari’s lumpia is a concoction of vegetables wrapped in pastry and lightly fried for the ideal crispy consistency.
The vegetables include carrots, onion and cabbage, but none of the veggie flavors overpower the others. The dish is served with soy sauce infused with onions, adding a jolt of salty, tangy flavor. The well-calibrated vegetable mixture and soy mean the lumpia does not wear on the palate like cabbage-heavy egg rolls and spring rolls.
A generous five pieces are served, a bargain at $4.95. Sari Sari proposes the lumpia as an appetizer, but it’s a big enough dish to make a hearty lunch. If you order the lumpia as an appetizer, beware: It’s easy to gobble to fill your stomach before the main course arrives.
