My friend and I consider trying new buffets one of life's little pleasures. Whenever we come across…read morea restaurant that looks delicious, we save it and eventually make plans to visit together. I came across this restaurant on Instagram and had been wanting to try it. Since it's a regular restaurant that offers a buffet only on Wednesday evenings, we decided to visit on a Wednesday night to enjoy the buffet. They're open from 4 p.m. for the buffet, and we arrived around 5 p.m. The restaurant was already packed! It's a medium-sized restaurant, and fortunately, we only had to wait about five minutes before being seated. Before entering, we paid first and were told that the dining time was limited to 90 minutes. When we got to our table, I thought the neatly arranged placemat setting was adorable. The plates were wide, clean, and white. Unlike the stainless-steel or plastic plates you often see at buffets, these were ceramic, which I really liked. It made the whole experience feel a little more special--almost like we were being treated to something extra.There was a nice variety of beef, pork, and chicken dishes, and salmon was the main fish option. They had egg noodles, a beef soup dish, short ribs, and lobster!! There was also crispy fried pork skin with meat attached. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back and eat again. Haha. As I was making my way through the food selections, someone who I believe was the owner kindly struck up a conversation and asked if it was my first time there. When I said it was, they welcomed me and told me to enjoy the food. For drinks, there was water and tea. The tea was on the sweeter side. I didn't ask whether other drinks were available to order. I had a lovely time chatting with the gentleman at the table next to us while enjoying our meal. The owner also kept coming by to check on us and make sure we were enjoying everything. Haha. Our plates were cleared quickly, too. The overall atmosphere felt like being invited over to a friend's house for a meal. Cozy, warm, and family-oriented! It had a kind of welcoming vibe that's hard to find at restaurants these days, and we had such a pleasant and enjoyable evening. I was especially happy because my friend enjoyed the food so much, too! Overall, almost everything was delicious, but the roast beef was particularly good. I also really enjoyed the lumpia. The lobster was probably somewhere in the middle in terms of flavor, but honestly, expecting too much from a $38 buffet would make me feel like I was asking for the impossible. Haha. You can really taste the care that goes into each dish, and the overall quality was impressive. I'm already wishing Wednesday would come around so I can go back!

This is the second review I am doing for Mekeni Pinoy's Pride. We already know their food items…read morehere are of good quality and taste delicious and we also experience great and friendly service whenever we dine here. We have held a baby shower party for our daughter here and she and her husband were happy with the turnout and the outcome then. With such wonderful experience here, we decided to celebrate my wife's milestone birthday with a buffet lunch here last Saturday, July 25. I really appreciate the great collaboration through easy communication and coordination with Jenny, their manager here. She helped me ensure all went well from preparation to execution of the celebration. Almost all our guests raved about how good and delicious the foods were, even their lemongrass iced tea, which a lot of them loved. The costs were fair and reasonable as well as some special accommodations and a couple of complimentary food items by the owner for us for hosting our party here at their Mekeni Restaurant. Thank You and Kudos to the staff for their friendly, consistent, reliable and great overall service their crew and staff rendered to us that day. The team was headed by Jenny, Vanessa and Robert! Aside from the fact that they could have had more electric fans there that day to regulate the uncomfortable warm temperature inside the restaurant that day, everything else went very well and wonderful. We highly recommend Mekeni Pinoy's Pride for dining in, picking up and also having parties to celebrate special events. Let us all continue supporting this Filipino restaurant which makes truly very good quality and delicious Filipino dishes at reasonable prices! Let's Come on down to Mekeni's!

First day back home from our trip to New York and now we were craving some Filipino food. With many…read moreto choose from in the Cerritos area, we decided to go to Gerry's Grill. When we got in and got sat immediately we could not decide on what we wanted. My wife wanted the Chicharron bulaklak, and I wanted Pancit bihon. We also added an order of Bichol Express with Lechon kawali and a grilled boneless bangus. Service was good. Food came out quickly and correctly. The taste was exactly what we were looking for. We decided not to have dessert there as their halo halo was over priced at $16.00. The food here has changed over the years for the better. The bichol express had a nice consistency from the coconut milk and the spice was not over powering. The bulaklak was nice a crispy and did not have an oily texture. The pancit also has pieces of Lechon Kawali which is not traditional but have a. Ice texture contrast. Last was the grilled bangus. Nicely grilled and charred with a fresh accompaniment of tomatoes and salted duck egg. It was a nice meal to bring us back to reality and why we live in this area that has so many Filipino restaurants.

ambiance... well half good half not so good. They have the section of the bar area full of to go…read moreboxes and just not set up as a bar anymore. Then the table by the bar became employee breakroom area where they are eating made it really look bad. I wish they had a divider or something. food- first off i could not stand the rice they use bec it is not a hood quality rice. It is tough and dry... had the bangus sisig its ok nothing special... the bicol express 2/5 lacking seasoning and spice.

Tony's Barbeque in Artesia is one of many locations/franchises of the larger Tony's, specializing…read morein authentic Filipino-style grilled meats. My wife, her mom, and I stopped in for a weekday lunch at the Artesia location. We found the service to be friendly and prompt, and the food (portion and taste) to be great. This visit was a direct result of Yelp reviews, specifically for the pork barbeque sticks that have gotten such great feedback. They were great, but for me, there was a dish that was far, far superior. It's a fast food set-up, with space behind glass for a point-point type of set-up. However, all the food is made fresh and it makes a huge difference. We waited in line for a bit, looking at the menu on the above monitor. It's small, with most of the items being combos. Once we placed and paid for the order, found seats and waited for the food to be brought out. I was warned that the third dish ordered would take a while, but was super glad that I still ordered it. Drinks are in cans and they will provide ice in a cup if requested. There is also a self-serve ice water dispenser. They do push their Java rice (which I don't like), but they have good and simple white rice as well (no garlic rice though). A decent egg drop soup is provided as well, which came out first. Then it was the 3 Pcs Pork ("marinated pork on skewers char-grilled to perfection" for $16.95). In addition to the rice and soup, it came with a small container of finely julienned green papaya achara. In this case, I think the picture taken does do the food justice. They used nice cuts of pork butt, not too grisly but still containing fat. Both my wife and her mom really liked it, saying it was very good and definitely worth the price. My wife especially liked that they used a thin flavored soy sauce as the marinade/basting liquid, instead of a banana ketchup sauce which she does not like. My mother-in-law was happy that the pork shoulder contained a bit of fat...definitely 'Lola approved'. We also got the Pansit Bihon & Canton mix ($16.95), which we all liked. It had been mixed fresh and served piping hot. Sometimes one gets used to buffet steam table pansit so much, that they forget how good freshly made pansit tastes like. I saw something on the menu that I've only seen at a couple of other Filipino restaurants: grilled tuna collar $17.95 (inihaw na panga). My goal was to go over to the nearby Hawaiian mixed plate restaurant and get a beef rib plate to go for later, if my tuna plate disappointed. It did not. The first time I had this dish was at Noypitz, and have tried it many other places as well. This was the best, with the largest piece of tuna collar, cut into four pieces for easier and more consistent grilling. Some places don't do this: for better presentation they keep the collar whole, but then a lot of the hidden meat is raw...and this dark meat around the jaw is not good raw. This place did not have that problem, and the marinade (same as used for the pork bbq) had gotten into the crevices. Some extra marinade was given as well. Most of the dish was bone, but there were plenty of meat crevices if one looks hard enough, and it was still so moist. I really loved this dish, and there was still enough to bring home. I asked the host about how they source the fish, and he seemed very proud of it. I told him about my experiences around getting inconsistent size and cooking result, and he assured me that it would be the same for any future visits. I guess what else could he say...but I appreciated the enthusiasm. Was a bit difficult to ascertain the correct history of Tony's Barbeque and will correct this as needed. Google is telling me this location opened in March 2024, but I see that my Yelp friend Ken C. did a review in 2023, so thinking that's a bit off (first review was in Sept 2023). The original location started in 2008, with locations in places like West Covina and Alhambra. What I read was that many of these original locations later rebranded, serving similar foods but no longer being a franchisee. Examples: In Carson, it was rebranded as Fiesta Barbeque and Bibingka and in Alhambra, E&J Pinoy Barbecue and Bibingka. The one in Anaheim opened in late 2023 (around the same time as this location it looks like).

The first Tony's I visited was the Anaheim store. At the time I didn't realize that there were…read moremultiple locations. When I saw that the menu was slightly different at each one, I knew I had to come to the Artesia restaurant specifically for the ube bibingka! The Artesia store is in a rather large shopping center that has LOTS of eateries as well as a 99 Ranch Market, so parking during peak hours and weekends can become quite the hunt. The interior decor and set up is very similar in both locations. This one is also very clean and seating is spaced comfortably. Orders are placed at the counter and your food is brought to your table when it's ready. Exclusive to the Artesia location's menu are 3 different kinds of pansit, so of course I had to try the pansit bihon as well as a chicken inasal plate. For dessert I had to try the 2 varieties if bibingka that were not available in Anaheim: ube and Macapuno. My foodie friend ordered the chicken skewers plate and an original bibingka. Everything was SO good!!! My chicken inasal plate came with 2 portions of leg & thigh, java rice, a small sampling of papaya salad, and a cup of egg drop soup. Whatever they marinate the chicken in made the meat SO tender and flavorful. The pansit bihon filled an entire to go container! The glass noodles were light (compared to egg noodles) and the whole dish was seasoned perfectly. Even with sharing the pansit with my friend, I still ended up taking more than half home with me. Same for the bibingkas. I ended up sharing the bibingkas with my son later that evening. The ube one is a must try for ube lovers. The macapuno one had a generous amount of coconut "strings" in it. Both were the perfect combination of creamy, light, yet decadent and very addictive. Service was friendly and efficient. Food is made fresh when ordered and came out fairly quickly. (bibingkas are made in fresh batches throughout the day). It's safe to say that I am now a huge fan of Tony's Barbecue. I took a little looksie at the menu for their West Covina location and I spotted some things I wanna try there as well. Stay tuned for a review for them soon :)

Recently came here on a busy Sunday afternoon with my family! We were seated pretty quickly because…read moreI think the other parties were larger. Good service, straight to the point. Food came in good time! It was a very very hot day and the restaurant can't handle the heat. We were all uncomfortable but I'm still not taking away any stars because the food IS THAT GOOD. Sinigang. Pinakbet. Crispy pata. Fried rice. Sisig!!!! They ALL HIT!!! I'm going to order more food this weekend for my family to try. I can't wait to taste more from their menu. Consider getting an additional AC for the summer is my only feedback. But still five stars!

Amazing Filipino food! A friend suggested this restaurant and I'm so glad we went here. The food…read morewas amazing: Dinuguan Lumpia Pork Sisig Pancit Pork Pata All delicious. The restaurant is known for their crispy pata. Amazing crispy skin. Service here was very friendly. The place looks like it was a hometown favorite of many customers

My go to spot for lechon kawali. Hands down the best in town and at a great price. I love Filipino…read morefood and Kikos is the definition of no frills but delicious cuisine, eating here is a culinary experience in itself. You order at a window with one if the aunties working the cash register and once you get your food, they only have outdoor seating, though I usually opt to take home or eat in my car if I can't wait. Their dinaguan is top tier, but a smidge more pricy than some of the surrounding spots. I always get their lechon kawali, it's my favorite, especially when paired with the ruffles/fried intestines. I am almost always dying for a veggie item which is not some they specialize in here. I would definitely recommend bringing something vegetal yourself if you eat onsite. During my last visit I tried their rotisserie chicken for the first time which was nice. It's tasty but not my fave, I would encourage it if you like chicken in general though. Sauces were fun and yummy!

Me and my mom were in the area and we finally decided to try this place out. Parking kind of a…read morehassle since there's spots that are marked for other businesses but we were able to find a spot. There are some outdoor tables but it's a small building where you order and pick up. The lady helping us out was really nice and explained everything to us when we asked questions. I opted to get an order of the lechon with rice. 12.99 for the order which is an awesome price for the amount you get! First bite and wow it was absolutely crunchy and savory. It was absolutely delicious! Along with the sauce used, I would order this everytime I come out here! Other than that, my mom got the sisig and the chicken and said they were both good in her opinion. Other than that I would say this place is definitely worth it if you're looking to get your lechon fix in! Definitely give this place a shot!

Review 84/365 Day Challenge…read more I've been craving Filipino food especially the Sisig & Sinagang. Came at noon and was seated right away. What we ordered ~ Sisig is served in a hot plate that comes out sizzling hot. Not spicy at all and delicious like how I remember it. Pork was tender. ~ Garlic Fried Rice is always a must and really good. ~ Bbq Skewers Plate comes w lumpia and is good. I use to dine occasionally here w my hubby when we use to live in Fullerton. Restaurant has a Filipino vibe & associates are really friendly/attentive here. Always checking in on us. Parking is decent right in front of the restaurant and in plaza.

Salo-Salo Grill is one of several long-standing Filipino restaurants in the Cerritos/Artesia area…read more Apparently Salo-Salo Kitchen in West Covina is not affiliated with Salo-Salo Grill in Artesia. [Parking]: Easy and free strip mall parking. [Atmosphere & service]: Casual dining atmosphere and nothing to write home about on the service. [Menu]: Some of Yelp's top highlighted items include Crispy Pata (deep-fried pig trotters), Garlic Fried Rice, Sinigang (Filipino sour soup), Lechon Kawali (Filipino crispy fried pork belly), Sisig (crispy chopped pork), and Kare-kare (Filipino stew in a thick peanut sauce - typically oxtail & tripe). Please note that items like Crispy Pata, Lechon Kawali, and Sisig don't come with rice and customers will need to pay extra for rice separately. They also offer all-day breakfast that comes with garlic rice and coffee or tea. *** BBQ Combination Plate (Pork rib, chicken / pork / beef skewers in one plate. Side of egg rolls - $19.00): I was able to get garlic rice instead of regular rice for free. This was a solid order as all the skewers had good flavors. The egg roll was alright, but the garlic rice was quite good. Sizzling Plate - Sisig (Spicy pork, onions, lemon juice - $18.00): This sizzling dish didn't automatically include a side of rice (extra charge for rice.) The sizzling pork had a tangy and sour flavor. Crispy Pata (Succulent park hocks with crispy rinds - $20.00): Not sure if succulent was the right adjective as the pork rinds tasted a bit dry. Just like eating bone marrow, definitely expect more bones than meat itself. I will say the meat was quite good once it was peeled off the bone as shredded meat pieces had a crispy texture. *** 3.5-star on food and I think both Salo-Salo Grill and Gerry's are solid options for anyone who wants to try Filipino food, but prices at Salo-Salo Grill are slightly less expensive than at Gerry's.

Probably the best Filipino food I can find in Southern California! This place is amazing!…read more Dinuguan: the texture was creamy smooth. Made the original way! Grade A Pork Sisig: omg sizzling delicious! Tasty and authentic! Grade A Panic. This dish was good and comforting. Lechon: roasted pork done right. Love the crispy skin. Service was welcoming and friendly!

This is a good spot for some Filipino food! What really caught our eyes were their vegetarian…read moreoptions, especially the Veggie Kare Kare! My boyfriend is vegetarian, but a lot of Filipino places don't have many vegetarian options, or they'll have dishes that say veggie or vegetable, but still have meat in them. Because of that we were ecstatic to give this place a try! It wasn't that busy around dinner time and the staff were really kind! It was pretty lively inside and they were playing music and had a big tv playing in the middle! The portions for the eggroll were very generous and we had to take the rest of it home! The tofu was nice and crispy and reminded me of how my family fries it! The kare kare was absolutely delicious, but I do wish the rice had a bit more of that garlic flavor!

* Who: partner & I * What: late lunch…read more* When: Sunday 2pm-ish * Why: post-furniture shopping hunger * Space/Decor: somewhat small plaza with decent parking. The space itself is large & clean with dark wood/dark tones & splashes of gold in the front decor, & plenty of windows for natural light. It wasn't cluttered, so it gave it an open spaced small hall feel. * Service: There was maybe 1-2 other pairs of people there. The server allowed us to choose our seats, & was average friendly. He took our order pretty quick, the food came out fresh & didn't take long, he checked on us a good amount of times, & we never felt rushed. * Food: we got lumpia, garlic rice, pork sisig, & adobo. The lumpia was crispy & had decent flavor, but could've used slightly more spices in the meat mix. The garlic rice was good/standard. The adobo had a nice flavor but could've used more vinegar IMO. The sisig was perfect & juicy, though didn't come with lemon or egg (though lemon provided on request). * Final Thoughts: averaged price but for sure yummy Filipino food with good service that's sure to hit the spot. Flavor could be stronger in some aspects, but would recommend & would definitely return. * Final Grade: B+ or 8.5/10

Crispy Pata - nice and crispy…read more- a lot of bone Pinaputok na Bangus - a little burnt - fresh toppings

Look, this is a family run spot that I've been going to for years and I don't get why they aren't…read moregetting more hype. Cafeteria style homey Filipino food is the cornerstone of comfort food and Pinot Pinay delivers every time. Their menu rotates so when you go up to the counter to order from the aunties you can pick and choose what looks good to you. For the uninitiated. Their display could be super overwhelming, nothing has a label so you kind of just have to guess unless you ask for clarification from the staff who are happy to help you out, assuming there isn't a huge line behind you. I am a huge fan of their seafood express but I always find something new to try! The unhealthiness does eat me up inside but the side of free Sinagang they give you comes with a few leaves of veggies to cut through the grease. Great spot for a lunch, their plates are huge and always can be split into 2 meals for me. While not every dish I've tried has been to my taste, I've certainly had a ball exploring Filipino cuisine!

Needed a quick bite and we don't get to go to Pinoy Pinay often since they close much earlier now…read more They never went back to pre-Covid hours and I guess I just couldn't get used to it. So it was still early enough to pass by and pick up some diniguan and Lechon Kawali. It hit the spot.

I craved sweet n sour shrimp so my wife and I decided the close location from home, Happy bee…read moreCantonese Chinese restaurant. We got there around 1:30, still packed due to Saturday. We sat right away, Thank God! The restaurant is not big but decent, homey vibes, casual, and clean. We odered 1 dumsum, 3 entrée, veggie fried rice, seafood chow mein, and our fave, sweet n sour shrimps. They served us complementary hot jasmin tea and roasted peanuts. So tasty... Jasmin tea made me relaxed. My wife liked the roasted peanuts. Then all the foods were served so quickly. The service was great, attentive, friendly, just perfect. Sweet n sour shrimp was great, perfect balance, fried rice was so flavorful w lots of eggs, seafood chow mein was not bad. I wish they add some more bean sprouts.... Last one was dimsum we ordered. They said it took 30 mins in the beginning. Seemed like they made and steamed dim sum fresh. First, soooo juicy, lovely presentation of each mini foil cup, cute dimsum. Tasty... so juicy! One of our fave parts was Jasmin tea. So relaxing, made us to digest easily the deep fried cuisines. Overall we had such great experience during our 1st visit. Parking is easy, plenty of parking spots in the big strip mall. Everything was great today. They have lunch special and chef special, including catering service. I can't wait to taste some more seafood cuisines. This place is now one of our fave places.

I searched for the good Chinese restaurant near Cerritos and found Happy Bee Kitchen today…read more Not too far from our home is the first advantage. My hubby and I got there around 1:30, looked busy. The restaurant was not big but decent, clean, located in the big strip mall on Pioneer Blvd. Found plenty of parking lots, many other restaurants, pharmacy, and grocery market 99 ranch. First, the service was great, very attentive, friendly, they packed all the leftovers for us. Second, complementary Jasmin tea and roasted peanuts were served right away. We both loved the tea and peanuts while we were waiting for the dishes. We ordered our faves, sweet n sour shrimps, veggie Fried rice, seafood chow mein, and juicy pork dimsum. The foods were served so fast. I really liked sweet n sour shrimps and fried rice, my hubby loved Jasmin tea, seafood chow mein. The portions are pretty big. We had lots of leftovers for weekends....haha. Last one, juicy pork dimsum, really juicy, the pork was so tender, each dimsum was steamed in a mini aluminum cup in the steamer. Great quality!!! Overall, we loved here. The service and qualities, and, prices all are great. We experienced the real Cantonese cuisines today. Definitely go again and try other foods next time. They had lunch special, chef special but we liked a la carte. One of great places to go and enjoy all the time. Try Jasmin tea w roasted peanuts.