I dropped in late one evening to grab food and luckily, they were still serving. My boyfriend and I decided to share Chicken + Rice along with the special that day, which was Musubi Tacos. The Chicken + Rice was very flavorful but honestly, I barely remember them because the Musubi Tacos were so damn good. They were wrapped in a thick taco shell that is more like a scallion pancake type of shell rather than a true taco shell and the filling was like a delicious deconstructed musubi. I wish those were on the menu permanently but either way, this will be a go-to place for me at The Block! read more

Balo Kitchen - Musubi Tacos - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

My husband and I had the pig frites and sisig Tacos and they are amazing! Pig frites is sou vide bacon chunks atop crispy double fried fries, drizzled with aioli. We can't wait to come back already. read more

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Got the pork belly banh mi with fries and a fried egg. SO good. Pork literally falls apart in your mouth. Only thing is the fried egg is hard to eat with the sandwich. It looked so good, I had to take a bite before I even remembered taking a picture. The cashier recommended it and it did not disappoint. Definitely recommend if you stop by The Block! read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

A lot of reviews on here say they no longer offer the pho French dip, but it is available as a special from time to time. Had the French dip, curry noodle chicken, and the Taiwanese fried chicken. read more

Updating my initial review because of the customer service. The owner apologized for my meal not meeting my expectations and assured me that my feedback was being considered to make some changes. He then refunded me out of good faith. A good business considers the feedback of its patrons! read more

Comfort food and Asian fusion to the max! Found inside The Block in Annandale, this place serves some uber delicious meals that are fresh and mouthwatering. I have had the belly and rice dish, the fried chicken tacos, and banh mi. The belly and rice meal was super flavorful, especially because of the yummy pineapple fish sauce. The pork belly was tender, juicy, and marinated well. The pickled greens were crunchy and did not taste too much like vinegar, which I find is a mistake many places make when serving pickled mustard greens. So, kudos to Balo for having excellent pickled greens! The only slight downside to this dish is that there is not an equal ratio between rice and pork as there is too much rice and not enough pork. Yet, do not let that stop you from ordering this dish because it is absolutely delightful and your taste buds will thank you. As for the fried chicken tacos, they are incredible! The chicken is crispy, well marinated, and is jam packed in the tortilla. The hot sauce that is on top is yummy and gives the whole meal a nice kick! Additionally, the cilantro is a nice little tasty touch to the tacos. When it comes to the banh mi, it is not your exactly your traditional Vietnamese sandwich, but it is without a doubt full of flavor. I had the soy glazed chicken banh mi with an egg. The chicken is marinated to perfection and delightfully tender. The egg is huge and does not even fit inside the sandwich, so you will have a good, but messy time with Balo's banh mi. The pickled carrots, lettuce, cilantro, pate, and garlic aioli all add to the deliciousness of this sandwich. A good amount of fries are also served on the side, which is not traditional, but it is a nice side dish. The staff is very nice and are quick to serve. Overall, I highly recommend Balo Kitchen when you need a good helping of some Asian fusion comfort food. read more

This place is awesome! I come back here time and time again. Food is always very consistent and has always impressed me. The atmosphere is also very welcoming and I know I'll always have a great experience. read more

First time coming here. It is located in The Block. When I were there, it was a lot people there, and really hard to find a seat. I ordered the pork and rice, I got the big one with egg, it was really delicious!!! I'm really in love with their food. Their service was good, and food came out fast. Overall, I couldn't find anything negative here. read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

I ordered the Pork Belly and Rice and was disappointed. The flavor of the dish was very ver6 lack luster. The overall dish was very "pickley". It was very sour. The portion for what you pay is very over priced. For $11.50 you get about 6oz of pork belly and 4oz of picked vegetables the reminder of the bowl is rice. The only redeeming quality of this dish was the tenderness of the pork belly, however the pork belly itself is very bland not much flavor to it. Their chicken rice is also very bland and taste like regular rice. The best part about this dish is the pickles vegetables. It has a nice crunch and decent flavor. read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

Great comfort food! They really live up to their tagline. My favorite dish to order is the pork belly with rice and I ALWAYS get the soft boiled egg with it! The meat is always tender and well marinated and the pickled veggies and rice are very complimentary. read more

Extremely rude service - one of their servers is a tall skinny middle eastern guy with glasses and mustache and he was so unprofessional and rude towards us. We're regulars here and come all the time, so this is not the type of service we have come to expect. Very disappointed! read more

Must try: Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Wings in the Fish Sauce Caramel, & Fries Now if only they can toss the nuggets in the fish sauce caramel. I've previously had ---- 1) Sisig tacos - it was good, but not my fave. I suppose it's because it's a fave dish of mine and just tastes so much better off of a hot plate. 2) Pig Frittes - pork belly on top of fries. TRY IT. I'll keep coming back & push myself to try other things on the menu. read more

i would kill for the chicken tacos , staffs pretty nice too , waits a little long but tacos are 10/10

I will update this review once I try more of their menu but since it's their soft opening week, I'd figure I put my two cents in. I ordered the grilled street bread. Honestly wasn't too special. The topping wasn't evenly coated so you just get lots of plain pieces of baguette slices...Just bread...pretty meh. It just makes you feel bad for eating a load of carbs. Sausages were an additional topping choice but for $2 extra to that $7 sliced baguette....I don't know if it's worth it. Pork belly and rice was pretty good. Nice, crispy and fatty pork goodness with rice. This place has some tasty items but they're nothing special. I do wish they do something different with that street bread, it was pretty disappointing.... read more

The food and service here are top tier, i really recommend the Lo Mein here. Christie was very patient with us and helped us decide on what to get and she's the best for that. my girl and i really enjoyed it and would for sure take our friends here. read more

Been here a number of times. What I love, the chicken nuggets. chicken thighs for life! The cheese steak I had at lunch today was one of the best I've had, and certainly unique. The pork frites are good, but quite fattening. Share with others. The pho bahn mi is good and you get a huge short rib, but a lot of work is required in eating it. The rice and meat bowls are tasty, but I prefer more stuff going on. If you are a lone diner, you'll have to visit multiple times to get a good sampling of the menu. read more

I've been to The Block a couple of times, but just recently tried out Balo Kitchen. This place is the definition of Asian comfort food. We went with the Banh Mi, Pig Frites, and Taiwanese Fried Chicken. The Banh Mi was my fave - the pork belly had great flavor and the sauce really pulled everything together. You can't go wrong with the Pig Frites, either - basically crispy fries loaded with fried pork belly and spicy mayo. This dish had a really smoky BBQ flavor (tasted exactly like Lay's BBQ chips, I swear), so you'll probably really like these if you're into that. The big ol' bowl of Taiwanese Fried Chicken was just alright for me; I wasn't too fond of whatever seasonings they used, but my boyfriend thought it was good. I'll probably try out one of the belly & rice or sisig dishes the next time I'm at The Block. read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

If you're looking for something unique and different this is the place to go. Their menu makes it hard to choose just one so I had to get several. My ultimate favorites are the chicken nuggets and the BLT. This is how BLT should always be served with juicy pork belly. Also the Cheeto pie at the bar, served through Balo, is just genius. Hot Cheetos with kimchi chili and cheese seriously can't have it any other way. read more

It's kinda hidden but as soon as you get inside it's a wonderful place. Bali Kitchen is by far the best food there. My go to place to eat is the tofu and curry: yum!! But any of the many dishes are tremendous! read more

This place is definitely the place to go for "comfort food". We came here after going to a horrible restaurant feeling unsatisfied. We ordered the Taiwanese chicken nuggets and the congee. The chicken nuggets were flavored nicely, and left a kick at the end. The congee was very flavorful, and kind of reminded you of a pho broth. It was a little on the luke warm side, which isn't to my liking, but non-the-less, I would definitely order it again. The portions themselves is enough to feed two hungry individuals. We will definitely come back again to see what other items they have on the menu! read more

Must order item: pig frites. Delicious! Taiwanese inspired bacon fries, I like! The bacon slabs are really thick and sumptuous. Their rendition of Taiwanese ground pork rice is good and comes with a pretty much raw egg for an additional charge. Pay for the egg because the rice is a tad dry without it. The popcorn chicken is good but not exceptional. The battered chicken bites could be a bit juicier on the inside. We're glad we have a fast casual option for our Taiwanese street food fix. You'll find the tastiest versions in Rockville or at Yen's Cafe in Ashburn. For something that requires less effort and wait, Balo Kitchen is good. Wash it all down with a milk tea from Snocream. read more

Wow. It introduced me a new world. I don't know what they did but their pork belly bowl was another universe. Crispy outside, juicy inside. All the flavors coming from spices! How about chicken nuggets? I could live there forever. I was mad at myself ignoring my destiny this long. Can't wait for the next visit. read more

The banh mi with fries is to die for! I've come to the block before and was always under the impression that all the food here isn't gonna fill me up since most of the portions seem to be a bit small. But the banh mi comes with a lot of meat (either chicken or pork) and you can add a fried egg if you want even more food!! The fries are a bit of a strange combo with banh mi but it was well cooked regardless so I didn't mind. The wait is not that long if you go before dinner time anytime between 12-6 pm (about 10 mins or so). Pricing ranges from 11-13 dollars if you wanna add the extra stuff. A bit pricy since you can get banh mi for less at your typical Viet stores but I guess since its a fusion kinda place, they gotta make it more fancy and so it costs more. read more

Balo Kitchen - Banh mi with pork and egg (I added extra chicken too) - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

The portions were good size but quite pricey. We always order soup (laksa is very good). The rice meals are average. I was unhappy though when I mistakenly agreed to a 20% tip (default on their machine) since I already put money on the tip jar. I asked if the 20% can be refunded to me and they seemed not happy about it. The guy did his thing on the machine and said all done - refunded. It wasn't! read more

Food looked good to start. We tried the dan dan noodles, a dish I have had many times in different countries and different restaurants. This variety was not authentic and was unnecessarily stupid hot. I love spicy food but can't recommend this. I'm definitely willing to try their other offerings, but wasn't thrilled with the dan dan noodles. read more

We are so lucky to have a reason to frequent the wonderful Block and grab yummy food at Balo's. Highly recommend anything they have on the menu from nuggets to delicious brussel sprouts! Highly recommend. read more

Kids love the wings and nuggets. Generous portion. My fav dish is the taco and the curry noodle. Super tasty! Definitely recommend!

TL;DR: Lives up to the Asian Comfort Food label with different foods from different countries. Wow, Balo. What can I say other than that? Okay, I'll say more. We came on a Sunday for some take out because we just wanted to go home, but their food didn't disappoint even when we took it back to Fairfax and ate it 30-45 minutes later. First off, their food tastes like they make it as soon as you order, so even after nearly an hour, we had food that tasted pretty great and fresh. We got the Taiwanese fried chicken, which tasted like the way we had it in Taiwan, so super kudos there. We also go two types of wings: Fish Sauce Caramel and General Tso's. The General was nothing outstanding, but holy cow the Fish Sauce Caramel was simply amazing. The complex flavor of the fish sauce as I remembered it as a kid and the caramelization was just downright awesome. The sauce that it comes with only complements the flavor. Finally, we had the Belly and Rice, which had some really good pork belly. Nice and soft and tender, it hit the spot that I was looking to hit. The fish sauce that I know and love also complemented this dish very nicely. We will definitely be back later to try more of their menu, but so far we were not disappointed by their food at all! read more

Get the tacos! The shrimp tacos are amazing. So are the vegetarian tacos, which come with vegan mayo, however, if you are vegetarian but not vegan, I recommend trying these with the smokey Sriracha mayo. Soo good. Love this local business. read more

Very good foods and good service, but i am hoping them to have side broth since they are selling soups and noodles.

I have been eating at this place since it first opened. The options are great and the meals have always been delicious. I particularly like the Brussel Sprouts, Banh Mi with fries, the short rib pho French dip, and the pork belly in their different dishes. I highly recommend it to anyone. read more

I love eating here and love the service! The food is delicious, authentic, and beautifully presented.

Definitely one of the best Bahn Mi's in the area! I got the porkbelly bahn mi and it was fantastic! I would have liked the layers to be spread out a little more, since there were a few bites of just pork, or just pickled veggies, but all in all it was really good! Probably my second favorite behind roll plays in the area. I wish I could have gotten it without the fries for a few dollars less (maybe I could have if I asked), because it came with a ton and it was already a big sandwich to begin with. read more

The creator of Phowheelz decided to come inside from the food truck for a little while and started Balo Kitchen inside The Block food hall. His menu incorporates things like Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings and Pork Belly with Rice, making it an ultimate destination for food induced comas. The pork belly is especially good (no surprise considering it being the star of phowheelz as well) and can be had with an egg to completely ensure a nap will be required later in your day. Balo also has a rolling cast of specials that have all been great so far, including dishes like Chicken Pho (available dry, with the broth on the side), Congee (which I very much hope they bring back soon) and fried chicken tacos (always sell out before I can try them). Balo also supplies all the food for the Block bar, which explains why the bar bites are so great. read more

3.5 stars.... All the restaurants in the Block are a bit overpriced but it's expected. We tried Balo's pork belly and rice and the chicken nuggets. The pork belly was slightly dry but we also came during their soft opening so can't judge completely since they were overwhelm with people. The nuggets were surprisingly very good. read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

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I love the concept but not the price or flavor. Had the basil chicken which was good but the other dishes were a disappointment for the price. The rice is sometimes overcooked. I feel like all the stalls other than snocream at The Block are overpriced and food is eh. I'd rather just go to the real standalone restaurant and get more for my money and taste. But its a cool hang out place for a drink or two. read more

The best pork belly dish I've ever tried was from Balo Kitchen at the Block. Served with Singapore style, chicken rice, with pork belly that's been marinated for 24 hours. Melts in your mouth. Amazing! I will definitely return soon. read more

Balo Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

Brought the chicken nuggets once a long time ago and it was great! I just brought it again two days ago and had the worst stomach ache ever. It was just hours and hours of pain. I couldn't sleep until 4am and I had a midterm the very next morning. I eventually threw up and that's when my stomach stopped hurting. It seemed like the oil was too old since the chicken was very burnt and dried. I don't think I want to come back :(( read more

I've eaten around the menu, and it's excellent. You will not be disappointed with anything on the menu. Here's the details: The Good -Great flavors in all dishes, period. -Easy order, relatively quick preparation, no complaint on price/quality ratio. -Huge portions on everything...you're NOT hungry after eating here. -Basil chicken nuggets are authentic street food. -Laksa noodles are insanely on point...but used to be served in a proper bowl ;) -Belly and rice, belly and anything is wonderful. -The "over rice" dishes that come with pickled vegetables are pleasing, kind of a N. Vietnamese take. -Pig Frites is excellent, can't be improved. -Banh Mi is large and plenty of meat. I like a more traditional Vietnamese Banh Mi, but it's a very solid sandwich. You won't complain. The Bad -The noodle dishes are good, but not on par with the rest of the menu. -On 2 occasions they gave me the wrong noodle choice (ramen, vermicelli, etc.). Not a huge deal because it is still tasty, but make sure. -The kid with the nose ring and sh*t attitude forgot the sauce for our pork belly twice. Unacceptable considering the price point. -The Loco Moco used to be 2 patties smothered in gravy with an egg. Now, it's 1 patty with little gravy and the egg. Kind of not worth it anymore. -The difference between "small" and "large" dishes is just the amount of rice. Take that as you will. Ironically, the stall next door to Balo is consistently unimpressive and overpriced. It's had 3 different vendors in the last 18 months, which should signal the need for change. Pretty mediocre Thai, some fried chicken experiment, and now dumplings have occupied the space in less than 2 years. All felt overpriced and average. Word gets out. You'd think the owners of The Block would realize just to expand Balo next door and double the menu/offerings of Balo. No, instead they keep trying crappy ideas because they feel a need to "offer" diverse options. The Pokeworks is great, the ice cream is great, the tea place is great, and Balo is worshipped. Take the opportunity to expand Balo instead of rolling over the place next door every several months when they realize it's a failing venture. In the meantime...eat at Balo! read more

ChickenAsian Fusion Noodles, Nuggets. Noodles and nuggets had great flavor! Food came out hot and quick. Delicious food, great service.