Skillful charcoal grilling and ace baked goods await at this family-owned Filipino bakery and restaurant in Rooty Hill

Western Sydney suburb Rooty Hill has a large Filipino population, so it should come as no surprise that there are a number of Filipino eateries dotted about the local area. From the bunch, Mama Lor Restaurant & Bakery stands out for its barbecue dishes — the very heart and soul of Filipino street-food culture, as well as a range of baked delights prepared in the restaurant’s very own in-house bakery. On the barbecue, 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. As for the baked goods, there’s the ube macapuno cake, a sweet purple yam confection with sweet shredded coconut, or the cheesecake flan, a flan variation made with cream cheese, egg and milk. They’ve also got many pre-packaged Filipino-style breads and pastries you can buy, just in case you get hungry again on the way home.