Photograph by Andrew Doench
Owner Yvonne Chew hails from Malaysia and has introduced Malay cuisine to the UC crowd. The “tea” part of the name references a long list of bubble teas, including durian milk tea. As for the “bowl,” the best sellers are curry laska, a creamy coconut-based broth noodle soup, and nasi lemak, which contains rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, and infused with blue butterfly pea flowers. 211 W. McMillan St., Clifton Heights, (513) 744-9800
The menu is nearly thick as a novel—taco salads, spaghetti, margaritas, and seafood—but owner Christine McDay’s Filipino roots shine through. Specialties include pancit, egg rolls, pork skewers, and Filipino soup as well as Filipino breakfast staples like tapsilog (marinated thinly cut steak served with two eggs and garlic rice) and longsilog (sausage links, fried eggs, and garlic fried rice). Don’t forget to save room for the halo-halo! 3360 Westbourne Dr., Bridgetown, (513) 574-1273
Gabriela is named after revolutionary leader Gabriela Silang, who died in 1763 trying to end Spanish colonization in the Philippines. The fusion of Spanish and Filipino food is reflected in the lechon rice bowl (slow-roasted pork belly, crispy skin, and housemade sweet and tangy Mang Tomas sauce), chicken adobo, longganisa (garlicky sausage), and a bakery selling Filipino desserts. Order the ensaymada, a brioche pastry made with butter, sugar, and cheese. 2750 Park Ave., Ste. E, Norwood, (513) 275-7664
This hidden Filipino gem has a lengthy menu covering everything from lumpia to seafood like pompano escabeche (sweet and sour fish) to mang inasal BBQ chicken. Besides the restaurant, there’s also a bakery. It’s difficult to choose from banana turon (sliced bananas rolled in spring roll wrappers, fried, and coated with caramelized brown sugar), and halo-halo. Might as well get both. 11707 Lebanon Rd., Sharonville, (513) 883-8932
In 2023, _Bon Appétit named Paul Liew’s prawn mee (thin and thick noodles in a soup) one of the best meals of the year. The chef, who grew up in Kuala Lumpur, rotates the Cantonese-Malaysian menu, including lamb samosa and nasi lemak with beef rendang (a spiced dry curry). Sometimes there’s char kuey teow street noodles, roast duck noodles, and BBQ pork noodles, but every day, the place offers comfort food in the form of soups and noodles. 1004 Delta Ave., Mt. Lookout, (513) 321-0982
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