I can’t be the only person with a family member who is a liability with customer service—be it checking in to a hotel or sending a dish back at a restaurant. For me, that person happens to be my beloved mom.

My Filipino mother Shellani is a self-described picky lady: choosy about what she wears and whom she spends time with, opinionated about the service she receives (in real time), and also very particular about where she eats and what she eats when she’s there. When eating out, my mom’s picky eating has created its fair share of consternation for me. I often find myself overcompensating with the waiters at a restaurant to prove that there are indeed sane people in this bloodline. Conversely, I’ve also been moved (unexpectedly) by the lessons I’d learn from my mom’s choices, just by trying to see things her way. And I’ll admit, she often has a point, especially when it comes to her preferences with Chinese BBQ.

In honor of Mother’s Day this month, I’m going to share with you a slice of those lessons via my mom’s (somewhat chaotic) list of favorite places to eat in Seattle, plus her go-to orders and pro tips as a picky mom.

Because there’s Asian Verified, and then there’s Asian Mom Verified.

Kau Kau
Generations of Seattle-area Asians and Asian-adjacents have patronized Kau Kau, mostly for its fluorescent red BBQ pork. But my mom has a different take. Because of her Filipino roots, when she thinks of Chinese BBQ, she goes for roast side pork belly—the poster child of crispy pork—similar in style to lechon kawali or moo krob, but certainly in a league of its own. And somehow slept on by the mainstream at spots like this. If your picky mom is turned off by the bright color of BBQ pork, Shellani invites her to the magic (and gout) of roast side pork.

Shellani is particular about how thick the pork is cut (she likes a clean bite), which is an issue for the experienced cleaver-wielder in charge of apportioning orders. “Too thin is bad for the skin,” the chef told us once, which at first sounded like an SPF hack more than the heeding he intended it to be. And yet, in pure Shellani style, she insists on the width she desires. (And she gets it!)

My mom’s pro-tip is to take her roast pork home so she can eat it with her Mang Tomas All-Purpose sauce, an IYKYK for Pinoys (she sometimes brings some in her purse if we’re gonna be driving around). Like mine, I’m sure your picky mom would also enjoy roast pork, and the no-brainer that is their garlic green beans, or their addictive pork fried rice—the color of which makes me know the chefs are going to heaven one day.

Mom’s Go-To Order: Half pound of roast side pork (the crispy shit, not the red joints), no sauces, eat rice at home.

MOTO Pizza
When Lee and Nancy opened the first MOTO Pizza in the “Up” house in the West Seattle Junction, my mom’s primary care doctor’s ears started burning. This is because MOTO and their refreshing, in-your-face approach to Detroit-style pizza would enamor this lady to no end.

Because let’s be clear, I’ve only seen my mom willingly wait in two types of lines: outside the Chanel store, and outside the MOTO Pizza.

Lee, who is also Filipino, has brought a brand of pizza to Seattle that at times makes Seattleites feel unworthy. These rectangle pies are seriously that good, and moreover, they transport your tastebuds to places and experiences that could only be summed up by knowing Lee himself. My mom’s proud to, at one time, have been on a first-name basis with Lee and Nancy in the era prior to MOTO’s pre-Mariner fame.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Filipino-inspired lechon kawali pie that hooked my mom, it was, in true picky fashion, the humble pepperoni, which for MOTO is beyond the standard of most pizza shops: piled on with the curly, cup type of pepperoni that pizza purists crave, dressed with thick lines of their red sauce, all atop the triumph that is their sourdough crust.

It doesn’t take a serious foodie to figure it out, your picky mom will love it, too.

Mom’s Go-To Order: Two pies, both pepperoni (it’s called meal prep).

Oriental Mart
I’m a good son, so periodically I take my mom to Pike Place Market to take pictures. On these pictorial journeys, a non-negotiable for Shellani is lumpia from O-Mart.

Oriental Mart is hidden in the B-side of Pike Place Market (that is, across the way from the building with the fish being thrown around). It’s a reverse Disneyland situation, where the gift shop is at the front of the store, with the real business in the back.

When you walk up, you’ll be confronted by a cacophony of printed-out photos of celebs posing with Auntie Lei, the honcho at O-Mart. There are dozens of colorful, handwritten paper signs that shape the personality of who’s cooking for and serving you, including quips like “We do not accept difficult customers, so know your role!” and “You can’t be making up your own price!”

This place was also a favorite of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. And for Pinoys, even Martin Nievera has written a personal note on the wall. This fact alone was enough to help my mom throw away the #PinoyPrejudice that comes with Filipinos sizing up their own culture’s food being sold to them.

It’s hard to fail with this tried-and-true menu, including favorites like salmon head sinigang (a sour soup often eaten over rice). But the best move for anyone, especially picky eaters, is to go for the lumpia litmus test. Because if you can impress anyone with anything, even a picky Pinay, it’s a good lumpia.

And O-Mart’s lumpia is like no other in a city with many variations. They take some time to cook, which is a good sign that the eggrolls are fried to order. By the time they finally arrive in your hands, encased in an oil-stained white paper sleeve for to-go orders, you’ll know it was worth the wait. The lumpias at O-Mart are long as fuck. Where many Filipinos cut down their lumpias to bite sized portions, O-Mart lets that thang fly. One order gets you three lightsaber sized lumpias that are as juicy as they are crisp.

For my mom, O-Mart lumpia is more important to secure at Pike Place than flower bouquets. 

Mom’s Go-To Order: Lumpia Shanghai, hold the chili sauce, and if she has it her way, a small bit of rice, too.