K’s Wow Pao brings Barrio Fiesta taste to Saipan

Been wishing you could taste your favorite kare-kare, crispy pata and pinakbet from Barrio Fiesta while on Saipan? The wishing is over as these and other equally delectable meal items are available right here on island.

K’s Wow Pao, which opened in April this year, has just added a new line of meal choices, which are considered the “specialties” in the Philippines’ famous Barrio Fiesta Restaurant.

Rowena Lampano O’Connor, owner of K’s Wow Pao, says she personally loves Barrio Fiesta food, and knows that many others love it, too.

So she made a way to bring that luxuriously delicious taste to island diners: She hired a cook that used to prepare the food at Barrio Fiesta.

“My cook here is from Barrio Fiesta,” she said.

“You can really taste the difference. It’s not a casual taste you find elsewhere. It’s not homemade taste. It’s the five-star restaurant taste we are offering our customers,” she added.

K’s Wow Pao’s specialties now include one-of-a-kind bulalo, kaldereta, binaguongang baboy/manok, beefsteak Tagalog, and a lot more.

“I’m just so happy that people can finally have their fill of these delicious meals without having to wait for their next trip home,” said O’Connor.

She shares that whenever she goes to Manila, the first thing she would do after the airport is to stop by at the nearest Barrio Fiesta to order her favorite food items.

“I’d always do that,” she said.

DIMSUM HOUSE

K’s Wow Pao continues to offer its sumptuous selection of dimsum and other finely selected food snacks from different places.

The Chinese word “dimsum” literally means “a little bit of heart” but it actually means “food accompanied by a cup of tea, or a pot of tea.”

The contemporary meaning of the word dimsum is “light snack.”

At K’s Wow Pao, several of these light snacks—from seafood, vegetable, meat, wanton soup, siopao, and a variety of noodles—are available.

O’Connor said she personally made a careful evaluation of all entries in the menu, making sure that each one of them is unique in some way.

“They are all my favorites. I find those in restaurants and eating places I’ve visited,” said the well-traveled energetic mom-turned entrepreneur.

She said she has a cook that specializes in dimsum food and other Chinese cuisine.

O’Connor proudly says that K’s Wow Pao makes its own noodles for its use.

“It’s fresh! That’s a guarantee because we make our own noodles,” she said.

She said she also supplies some hotels with K’s Wow Pao-freshly made noodles.

TOAST SUB, PANDESAL

In addition, O’Connor’s said that her restaurant/bakeshop has developed its following for pandesal, the popular Filipino breakfast and snack bread.

At six in the morning, people would be seen going to K’s to buy pandesal.

“It’s a click. People love it,” she said.

Pandesal is available from 6am to 11pm.

Toasted sub is another favorite entry.

This is similar to Subway sandwich but K’s Wow Pao makes use of freshly cut meat and freshly baked bread.

THREE DAUGHTERS

If anyone is wondering about the name, O’Connor said she named her restaurant/bakeshop after her three lovely daughters—19-year-old Kathryn, 10-year-old Kallie, and two-year old Kiara.

O’Connor said she put out the restaurant business with a goal that it’s going to have a nice ambiance and is affordable.

She said the pricing caters to minimum wage earners.

“Quality-wise, it’s superb but it’s cheap. You can eat the fine food you’d find in expensive restaurants, but we have it here at a low price,” she said.

In terms of serving, she said that K’s Wow Pao meal size is good for two persons.

K’s Wow Pao is located beside CIC Centre along Beach Road in Garapan, Saipan.