“I love everything about food…you can do so much on a single ingredient.” This is the culinary ethos of Rex Quizon, Chef and Owner of SiSiG in Los Angeles’s Historic Filipinotown neighborhood.
A native of Cabalantian, a town in the Pampanga region of the Philippines, Chef Rex moved stateside in 1990. He grew up doing a lot of cooking in his household — and still does, noting he has visitors visit his home almost every weekend.
Three decades later, he decided to trade in his general contractor hat for a toque and enroll in the Culinary Arts program at ICE Los Angeles.
“At first I thought it was too late for me because of my age,” he says. “It’s actually not like going to school, it’s more like cooking with friends.”
Chef Rex's restaurant, SiSiG, is a Filipino barbecue named after the traditional dish from the Pampanga region made from pork jowl and ears, pork belly and chicken liver.
“Mainly we are serving comfort foods,” Chef Rex says. “Not just for Filipinos, but for everybody.”
What started as a small concept with a limited menu of just six or seven items has grown to a beloved neighborhood spot with 22 menu items. Chef Rex retooled and expanded the menu after graduating from ICE. Menu items include barbecue chicken, loco moco, halo halo and, of course, sisig.
We stopped by to catch up with Chef. Watch his full interview and get a glimpse at SiSiG below.
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