A place for genuine adventure

Want to try a restaurant that offers real value and a unique dining experience? Look no further than JNJ Turo Turo in Quincy, believed to be the state’s only Filipino restaurant.

Philippine natives Jervin and Veronica Erasquin started a catering business in 2006. “We got a great response,’’ said Veronica Erasquin. Customers said, “ ‘You should put up a little store.’ We were thinking ‘What kind of store?’ Since there’s no Filipino restaurant in the area, I said why don’t we try that?’’

The Framingham couple learned that most Filipinos in the state have settled on the South Shore, so they opened a restaurant in Quincy in June 2007.

“We almost gave up the first year - it didn’t pick up right away,’’ said Erasquin. “We didn’t have lots of money to advertise, so we just waited for people to learn about us.’’

Fortunately for the couple, word got around through online food sites and through catering for Boston-area college student organizations.

The décor of the 18-seat restaurant consists of a wall-mounted TV tuned to a Filipino channel. A half-wall near the back hides a hand-washing station, for traditionalists who want to eat with their hands.

So what’s with the name?

Erasquin explains: “The name JNJ is our initials: J for Jervin the cook, N for Nik which is my nickname, and J is for our son Joaquin.’’

Turo means “to point’’ in Tagalog, and turo-turo is a slang expression for fast-food restaurants where customers point to the dish they want to order.

Pointing is exactly what you’ll do at JNJ. Although the menu (which can be found online) offers some three dozen dishes, Jervin Erasquin has about six to 10 dishes prepared for the day. Walk up to the cafeteria-style counter and point to the dish you want, and you’ll get to eat right away. On the wall behind the counter is a list of other dishes that Erasquin can cook while you wait.

Filipino food is a composite of Southeast Asian, Spanish, Chinese, and indigenous culinary traditions. This family-friendly spot is easy on the wallet while offering home-style cooking from a culture not well-known in the area. It’s a must visit for foodies looking to expand their palates.

For beginners, the Erasquins recommend lumpia, adobo, and pancit (noodles). We enjoyed the pork lumpia, which are bite-sized fried egg rolls ($4.50 for six pieces, $6.50 for a larger order). However, it’s the pork adobo ($5.50, $7.50 large) that my kids fought over. The chunks of pork, cooked in soy sauce and vinegar, were tender and delicious. And the sweet and aromatic sauce was great over rice (75 cents small bowl, $1.50 family size).

For more adventurous palates, try the bistek Tagalog ($5.50, $7.50 large), thin slices of beef simmered in soy sauce and vinegar, topped with fresh onions. Or the kare kare ($6.50, $8.50 large), beef chunks and tripe cooked in a thick peanut sauce, topped with Asian greens, and with shrimp paste on the side.

Liempo, grilled pork belly ($5), seasoned with sweet barbecue sauce, was a delicious, if fatty, treat. Less impressive was the lechong kawali ($5.50, $7.50 large), deep-fried pork belly served with a liver paste dipping sauce. The deep-frying reduced the meat to a jerky-like toughness, but with none of the flavor.

Pinakbet ($5.50, $7.50 large) is a traditional Ilocano (northern style with heavy Chinese influences) dish made with a variety of Asian vegetables, including bitter melon, string beans, squash, okra, and eggplant, sautéed in shrimp paste. While the aromatic pungency of the shrimp paste may be off-putting to the uninitiated, we found the marriage of flavors to be a delight.

Sinigang ($4.50, $7.50 large), or pork sour soup, is cooked with tomatoes, onions, water spinach, and flavored with tamarind. The sour lightness of the soup aims to counteract the oppressive tropical heat of the Philippine islands. Perhaps the weather wasn’t humid enough for us to fully enjoy the dish, as we found it a tad too sour.

The most popular dish among the clientele, which is about 75 percent Filipino, said Veronica Erasquin, is dinuguan ($6.50, $8.50 large), which on the menu gets a warning of “super authentic.’’ The savory pork stew is black because it’s cooked in pig’s blood. If you can get beyond the color and the fact that it’s cooked with blood, you’ll find the thick, rich stew to be tasty with a vinegary bite.

For dessert, try halo halo ($5), made with a mix of sweet red beans, white beans, tapioca, bananas, and other tropical fruit with crushed ice, milk, and taro ice cream. Less successful was the leche flan ($3), which, while rich and creamy, was too firm and gelatinous.