Let your taste buds go on a culinary journey at this hidden inner-west delight!

As a Braybrook local, Janine Barican, owner of Chibog, loved the inner-west and knew the locals would love her Filipino flavours. 
 Janine used to take regular trips to visit friends and family in The Philippines, where she would enjoy every bite of the delicious cuisine, knowing it wasn’t available back home in Australia. On each return to Melbourne, Janine would miss the flavours of home and think about the gap in the market. 
When she felt a yearning to take her career in a more passionate direction after eight years in nursing, Chibog was born out of her combined love of food and travel.
Janine bravely took it all on, the challenge of a career change and the lease of a space in West Footscray, not too far from Stockland Orion. It was nerve-wracking, but she was brave enough to do it and has found a huge amount of personal satisfaction in going ‘back to her roots’. 
With Chibog open only a month before COVID hit, it could have gone either way, but Janine says it was popular immediately. The food-loving locals were curious and once they tried it, they kept coming back. Impressively, Chibog has managed to build a cult following through six lockdowns of the city. “The community has been very supportive,” says Janine.
What the locals have been loving is Janine’s classic Filipino dishes with a modern twist and a bar serving delicious cocktails. “My target was to get Filipino food out there for everyone to try as it wasn’t being served anywhere. Most of the options on the menu are my own recipes with a modern spin.”
Janine says she loves seeing her regular customers try different dishes from the menu each time and would recommend starting with popular menu items Pork Sisig (triple cooked sizzling crispy pork), Kansi (tamarind soup), with crispy Leche Flan for dessert and of course, a cocktail from the bar. 
During lockdown, a popular initiative has been their ‘Boodle Kits,’ a home delivered meal for two. Presented as a meal kit that customers can put together at home, it comes with banana leaves for serving instead of plates to provide an authentic Filipino eating experience. “We mix up the daily delivery postcodes within 10km so that everyone gets a turn.”
Janine’s favourite part of working in her own business is the customers. She has thoroughly enjoyed seeing her customers celebrate milestones at Chibog and it has been memorable for Janine to watch her customer’s children grow during the time they have been open.  “It’s the regulars bringing their friends, supporting us during COVID and checking in to see how we are going. We check in on them, too. We do promos and try to make them happy!” 
“It feels like we are part of a family in this community. When our customers bring their family and celebrate milestones at Chibog, they remember that, and I remember that. It is very special.”
Only a short drive away from Stockland Orion, Chibog is located at 553 Barkly Street, West Footscray. Find out more at chibog.com.au.