Eating authentically prepared food lets you taste the very essence of a country and draws far fewer angry glares than chewing on its national flag. Diplomatically nosh on foreign eats with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of modern Filipino fare at Green Banana Leaf in Chino Hills.

Green Banana Leaf’s cuisine innovators dream up a menu of traditional Filipino eats transformed by contemporary twists. Chompers crunch through the house-favorite crispy kare-kare, a pork leg seasoned with a peanut-based sauce that's great for delighting taste buds and prompting splash fights ($15.50). Chefs dunk an entire chicken in the deep fryer before slathering on banana sauce in the signature GBL fried chicken ($10) and grill up squid barbecue-style for the inihaw na pusit ($11.50). Dates and reconciling sailors end gastronomic symphonies on a sweet note by feeding each other bites of the GBL Delight’s sweet banana pies topped with mango sauce, chocolate, and toffee ($6.50).

Green Banana Leaf’s interior mirrors its exotic menu, with crimson walls wrapped around a gurgling stone fountain that's adorned with scarlet flowers. Live tunes float across the eatery every weekend as patrons chow down at or play plate hockey on marble-topped tables sporting floral centerpieces.