About two months ago, a user named Ameerah T. left me a compliment on Yelp and suggested I try a Filipino restaurant called Nova’s Grill in Covina, Calif. Granted, Ameerah was simply an advocate for the restaurant, but her compliment was enough for me to give Nova’s Grill a chance.

Upon walking in, I was greeted by a young gentleman who stood patiently behind the counter waiting for my order.

After a quick skim of the menu, I instantly knew I wanted sisig, a dish composed of diced meat mixed with soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi, and jalapeños). Nova’s Grill’s version of sisig uses chopped pork chops as their meat. Oh, sweet baby Jesus.

Just for kicks, I threw in a mango juice pouch for nostalgic purposes.

After about 10 minutes (and some shouting in Tagalog from the kitchen), my food, enclosed in a styrofoam box and wrapped neatly in a typical “THANK YOU” imprinted plastic bag, was handed to me by the gentleman who took my order.

The next 15 minutes changed my life for the better.

The sisig from Nova’s Grill may potentially be the best sisig in Los Angeles County.

Sour from the calamansi, spicy from the jalapeños, and meaty from the diced pork chops, the sisig from Nova’s Grill is enough to give my dad’s recipe a run for its money. Each element in the dish comes together perfectly and reaches that ultimate distinct umami taste. It’s just so dang good.

The best part has to be the crumbled chicharrónes (fried pork rinds) on top. It’s an unexpected topping; I’ve never had that on top of sisig before. And it’s truly amazing. The crunch from the fried rinds is meaty and a bit salty. It goes very well.

If you’ve never had sisig, well, Nova’s Grill’s version is a safe bet. Their sisig is the best I’ve ever had.

Suffice to say, I left happy and bloated.

Nova’s Grill, I’ll see you soon.