SPRINGFIELD – By 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, nearly every table inside The Lumpia House was occupied.
Servers moved casually between customers carrying plates of vegan sisig, pancit and lumpia while conversations echoed through the colorfully lit dining room on Springfield’s west side. Some of the patrons had come specifically for Vegan Night, the restaurant’s new event held on the second Wednesday of every month. Others were trying Filipino food for the first time.
Near the counter, owner Rolando Cabral – known affectionately by many customers as “Kuya,” a Filipino term often used for an older brother – greeted guests while discussing his next restaurant endeavor – which will be in Springfield and is already under construction – with his guests.
“All Filipinos are restaurateurs, we just don’t all have restaurants,” joked Rolando Cabral alongside his wife, Myrna Balabag Cabral – known inside the restaurant as “Ate M.”
Originally, the couple had been caught off guard by their own entrepreneurship when they moved to Springfield from New York five years ago. They weren’t planning on opening a food-establishment, but life can surprise, and this is why Filipinos say “mabuhay” – let’s live!
What began less than two years ago as a food truck has become one of Springfield’s growing local restaurant success stories, fueled by a mix of traditional Filipino cooking, hospitality and a willingness to adapt dishes for new audiences without sacrificing authenticity.
Earlier this spring, The Lumpia House food truck could also be found downtown near the Illinois Capitol during the large No Kings protest rally, where long lines formed beside the truck as demonstrators, families and state workers moved through the crowd, reflecting how “Lumpia’s” comfort food has increasingly become part of Springfield’s larger public gatherings and community events.
At one point during Wednesday’s Vegan Night, every seat in the restaurant appeared occupied with empty seats being vacant only momentarily as customers refilled their plates from the family-style buffet.
“We were asked to join the vegan challenge,” Cabral said while serving dessert to customers. “So I tried to come up with ways to convert Filipino food into vegan dishes.”
One of those dishes – vegan sisig – helped The Lumpia House win recognition during Springfield’s Vegan Chef Challenge last year and has since become one of the restaurant’s signature menu items.
Sisig, traditionally made with chopped pork and sizzling seasonings, is widely considered a staple comfort food in the Philippines. Cabral said rethinking the dish without meat required experimentation, but he wanted the vegan version to maintain what he calls “the spirit of the original.” So when replacing the pork with tofu, Cabral uses a special technique to blend seasonings differently while maintaining the right flavor profile.
The approach reflects a broader philosophy shared by Kuya and Ate M. “I hate restaurants that mess with the authenticity of the food,” Ate M says.
Even when adapting dishes for vegan diners, the couple insists the flavors, textures and experience should still feel recognizably Filipino, a balance that appears to be resonating in Springfield.
Inside the restaurant Wednesday night, longtime regulars mixed with first-time visitors asking questions about calamansi – a small citrus fruit common in Filipino cooking – as trivia questions about Filipino food culture and menu items displayed across digital screens.
The Cabrals originally moved to Springfield from New York for careers in health care. Rolando Cabral worked in information technology leadership at Springfield Clinic while Ate M continued her nursing career. Running a restaurant was never part of their original plan for relocation.
But in October 2024, the couple launched a Filipino food truck as a passion-project that quickly developed a following. The popularity of dishes like chicken adobo, pork belly bowls and lumpia eventually led to the opening of The Lumpia House in a renovated restaurant space along South MacArthur Boulevard.
Now, less than two years later, Cabral says they are preparing to expand again.
