Restaurant and bakery Mama Lor is serving up a little slice of Filipino culture out in Werribee.
First, the bakery. A fresh selection of ube pandesal (Filipino bread rolls with a purple yam and cheese filling), hopia baboy (a pork-filled mooncake-like pastry), fudgy brownies, chocolate crinkles, pan de leche (milk buns) and more Filipino sweets and breads are pumped out from the venue’s in-house bakery daily.
Then, the restaurant. Mama Lor stands out for its barbecue dishes — the very heart and soul of Filipino street-food culture. Options such as the inihaw na pusit (a grilled whole squid stuffed with onion and tomato) or the inihaw na liempo (a grilled marinated pork belly, topped with homemade barbecue sauce) are stand-outs. Sizzling dishes are also served up; the sisig has pork cuts mixed with chopped onions and capsicum topped with chilli, mayo and an egg on top.
Located on the busy Watton Street, Mama Lor is bustling most nights of the week. To secure some of those pre-packaged pastries and breads, it’s recommended you get there early – from experience, they fly off the shelves within minutes.