Divisoria Market

Address: 1743 Carling Ave, Ottawa, ON
Hours: 11am – 6pm (Sun & Tues); closed Monday; 11am – 7pm (Wed – Sat)
Website: Facebook only

After donating blood in the west end, I wanted to take the opportunity of being outside my usual environs to try some new food and to replenish my lost red blood cells. Filipino market/restaurant Divisoria is just a few blocks west of the donation clinic, and it would give me another chance to dive into the delicious Filipino food options in Ottawa.

Divisoria is divided into two halves, with the neatly-stocked shelves and coolers of the market on the left side, and seating for the restaurant takes up the right. After sitting down for a couple minutes, I clued in that things might be fairly casual here and went to the counter for service.

Food is done cafeteria-style, with several types of proteins, starches, and veggies in warming trays. You can order a few different types of combos, which include varying kinds of proteins, or get single containers of a given item.

There were a lot of things that were quite new to me, like dinuguan (a pork and blood stew), as well as more familiar items like chicken adobo and pancit noodles. I settled on the longganisa sausages and the dinuguan for my proteins, with pancit instead of steamed rice. With a bottle of water, my pile of food came to a mere $12.75.

I was impressed by the mass of rice noodles that I received. Cabbage and onion were the main mix-ins for veggies, and there were a few tasty slices of fish balls as well. I was a bit disappointed that the noodles were cut up – not because I’m a superstitious traditionalist, but because they’re more fun and easier to eat that way.

Sausage goodness is here

My favourite part of my meal was easily the longganisa. The three short, plump sausages were vibrantly red and while quite sweet on the first taste, they had some heat on the back end to balance things out.

Let there be blood

I’ve never quite fallen in love with some of the more the… acquired… tastes of international cuisine. This mainly includes the more potent forms of offal and blood-based dishes, but I’m always willing to try something new! The dinuguan was the sort of dish that smelled worse than it tasted, with a very rich, deep flavour that wasn’t too –  uh – bloody. It was also chock full of moist, shredded pork. I could practically feel new hemoglobin being produced!

As one of the few Filipino markets in Ottawa, Divisoria is a big part of the Filipino community in Ottawa, and they’ve got fantastic prices on lots of great food that can fit with any palate.

Well, maybe not vegetarians.