Swore I wouldn't return, wife wanted to, glad we did. Chicken bbq was pretty good, kare kare was…read moregood but meat was really fatty. Pancit and palabok both were good (added Chinese sausage to pancit). Adobo chicken was also good, too many bones though. All in all good experience, except for the prices that I mentioned in prior reviews. Much more than San Francisco area, but being one of the only Filipino restaurants in the area, they can do. Give a little more bagoong with the Kare Kare.

We go here every year to celebrate with gaming friends. The food is absolutely great and I am told…read moreauthentic. I've tried just about everything over the years and never had a bad bite. Service at the counter is fast and everything is clean. There are always people coming and going for carry out and always taking big bags with them. Looks like they do a nice catering size business on platters too. Recommend without hesitation and will be back. I would go more often but have to drive over an hour to get there.

BEST CHICKEN ADOBO EVER: If you're looking for authentic Filipino flavors that hit all the right…read morenotes--savory, tangy, and perfectly balanced--this is the place to go. The chicken adobo here is tender, fall-off-the-bone perfection, but the real star is the sauce. It's the most flavorful adobo sauce I've ever had--rich, garlicky, with just the right balance of soy sauce and vinegar, plus a slight sweetness that I absolutely loved. You'll be craving it long after your meal, and trust me, it will bring you back for more. But that's not all! We also tried their Shrimp Kalabasa, and it was just as incredible. The shrimp were plump and juicy, the kalabasa (pumpkin) was soft and naturally sweet, and the green beans added the perfect crunch. The sauce tied everything together beautifully, making every bite comforting and satisfying. Despite the humble appearance of this restaurant in the Food Court, the chef here is top-rate--every dish is packed with bold, authentic flavors that stand out. Service was warm and welcoming, making us feel right at home. Next time, I'm definitely trying their sisig--if it's anything like the dishes I had, I already know it's going to be amazing!

The litson kawali was not good, the fried rice was worst ( too soft)/moist) plus it's overpriced…read moregiven the quality and quantity Don't waste your time and money. The food court was dirty esp the tables.

I was craving "breakfast food" and was excited to see that Pinay Kitchen has all day breakfast. I…read moreordered daing na bangus which comes with fried eggs, sliced tomato and cucumber, and your choice of white rice or garlic rice. I of course went with garlic rice. The presentation was nice. I got a nice meaty piece of bangus that was fried well. However, I felt it was lacking the vinegar/garlic flavor that I love in daing. The rice was a nice slightly sticky texture as expected, but like the bangus, I felt it was lacking in flavor. I can't even say there was a hint of garlic. The fried eggs were perfectly circular making for nice presentation, but the eggs were overcooked for this dish. For almost all "silog" dishes - eggs are typically fried over easy to over medium so that the yolk is warm and runny or warm and jammy.

After visiting my friends place and running an errand nearby, we stumbled upon this spot around…read moredinner time. We came around a time where a group of titos were celebrating something by drinking and karaoking lol Service was welcoming and made you feel like home! We ordered Bangus w/ Pinakbet and Kare Kare. All very good! No complaints here. Would highly recommend if you're craving some Filipino food.

4.4 Stars - Overall, I am very satisfied with the clean ambience , the festive & native decor &…read moreinterior of Kababayan, the generous amount of some of the food ordered, and the friendly professional staff. It was difficult for me to give a fair rating for the food. Even though the last time I had Filipino food was 5 years ago, I have been spoiled in the past with the finest Filipino food in the world cooked by some of the finest & most humble chefs I ever met. The food at Kababayan was so so or good for my first experience in tasting their food despite being rated as the best Filipino food in the area in some reviews. Everything was well seasoned, and I was only disappointed in one entree. I was hoping to try the traditional roasted succulent lechon or Laing. Laing, is a Filipino dish of shredded or whole taro leaves with meat or seafood cooked in thick coconut milk spiced with labuyo chili, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger, and shrimp paste. They both were unavailable. The food is displayed like a buffet style arrangement. You select the entrees and side when you order a combination of entrees & side dish. It would have helped to have a sign describing each entree with its name. The lady helping me in selecting entrees was very kind and went into detail of each entree. I ordered two entrees with rice and two entrees with pancit noodles. The price for two entrees with rice or noodles was $15. A fair and good price for the amount of food provided. The traditional pancit noodles & dinuguan tasted the best and were the most generous portions served to me, and were the closest to my past food experiences with these traditional Filipino foods. I would have loved some calamansi, the citrus Philippine lemon, to season my pancit. That is how I prefer my pancit. They instead provided me lemon wedges to season my pancit as an option for the calamansi though. The pancit was good and like the pancit I would eat at Filipino parties & gatherings. The dinuguan was delicious & is always an acquired taste. I like to eat it once in a blue moon. It was the first food I ate completely. The pork adobo and sweet & sour pork entrees tasted good yet I was unfamiliar with them. They didn't taste like the traditional roasted lechon pig I was accustomed to in the past. I stashed them away in glass containers in the fridge to eat later along with the pancit & chicken adobo. The most disappointing was the chicken adobo. The taste of chicken adobo was good but it was annoying to pick out the broken & chopped bone pieces out of the chicken adobo to prevent accidentally swallowing them. This restaurant is worth checking out. The entrees are always changing there. I will probably come back here again to try different foods I haven't tried.

We usually always come for lunch and food is delicious and fresh…read more Today we made a mistake of going there for dinner at 4:30. Big mistake. Everything was old, dry and cold. Event he rice was dry :( Do not come here after lunch. Only come for lunch for fresh food.

Don't remember coming here many years ago until I pulled up my Yelp pictures. Lol…read more Small carry out with lots flavors. Lunch time got busy quickly. Crispy pork belly skin with garlic and tangy sauce. Add some palm trees and sound of ocean and waves and you'd think you're in the Philippines or Hawaii

I could have sworn I wrote a review for Kuya Ja's years ago but apparently I haven't! I was happy…read moreto discover they have better hours now. It used to open and close at in weird intervals so this was nice to find out. I stopped by on a rainy Sunday lunchtime. Parking was easy to find right in front of the store. Orders can be placed online or in-person at the counter. I highly recommend placing the orders ahead of time because of the wait. I saw a few people go up to the counter wondering about the order status as it was taking awhile. The store also carries several of Gwenie's pastries and dessert items. Fresh cream filled donuts available along with cakes and pies just to name a few. I got the lechon kawali over garlic fried rice and my friend ordered pork belly sisig combination. Every bite was flavorful and tasty. I just wish it had better portions. My bowl had small bite size pieces of what looked like half a strip of pork belly. The cost /portion ratio was just not the best. I still wouldn't mind returning and trying out other menu items. Like the KJ's chopped salad for example.

The food, service and ambiance are all amazing! Chef Maria…read morecurates delicious Filipino favorites and it is a beloved staple in Howard County and the DMV area!

The food is SO good! I've loved everything I've tried, from the rice to the lumpia to the pork…read morebelly. Delicious, flavorful, and friendly service. The only downside is the last 3 times we've gone out to get their food from the place posted online, they've cancelled last minute. Understandable that things happen, but 3 times in a row we've had to pivot to something else on the fly. Twice they didn't post that they cancelled, we found out in the comments because people were wondering. Overall, great food when you can find them!

amazing food! ma sarap! the service was quick and friendly, and the place is clean. highly…read morerecommend!

Clean restaurant with helpful and friendly staff. Food was great, fresh and hot. Will visit again…read more 4.1/5

Visited from San Francisco and heard this was a great spot for modern Filipino food!…read more The ambiance was clean and did give a Filipino homey vibe. Lots of people doing work and drinking coffee. Makulay Coffee - 4/5 - did not get the amazing colorful visual as seen in the pictures, getting a white and yellow blob lol. Taste was there, reminding me of a brown sugar, vanilla cake. Black truffle ensaymada - 3/5 - Heavy on the black truffle, as it overpowered everything else. Appreciated the this twist in a classic. Ube Chori Burger - 4/5 - Awesome presentation, juicy, saltiness was not overpowering for chorizo. Did remind me of longanisa. Fries were hella good! (5/5) Kare kare - 3/5 - Served deconstructed and flavor was there. On the watery side. Lechon was crispy but dry and not as fresh as expected. Pandan cookie - 5/5 - this was amazing. Soft, packed flavor, truly delectable. Service was a let down with the only cashier being cold by not providing a greeting, making eye contact, or a smile - as if he did not want to be there. There were also flies in the pastry display. My mom ordered black coffee and we had to ask for cream & sugar. They didn't have cream so asked for milk. Aside from the service, would come back to try more coffees and food if in the area.

Hiraya is a decent Filipino restaurant on H Street…read more We tried two drinks and two entrees. The ube latte ($6) was one of the best-looking drinks I've ever seen, decorated with purple swirls, but the turon latte ($6) was no slouch either. Then, we had the tapa ($25) and tocino ($24). Each bowl featured delicious marinated meat (beef and pork, respectively), alongside purple-and-white rice, pickled vegetables, and a gently fried egg. The food was definitely tasty, but above all, they made quite an effort to make each dish look good, and it paid off. I very much enjoyed my meal here.

Yes, we finally had a chance to stop in for a quick take out bite. One person working the "turo…read moreturo" line.... Basically it's a butter line where they serve you the food. It takes a while when only one person working on 6 combo platters. I came in and saw the yummy empanadas. At $5 a piece they were hefty looking so I picked up a bunch for a friend and myself. They had chicken and ground beef. They were delicious and I think they were baked. I also wanted just a small portion of lechon kawali but they only offer the small take out container for $13. The pork skin was so crunchy and delicious. The amount included for $13 was very generous. No photos because I gobbled my food up while sitting in the car.

Made a food pre-order for a small family gathering, sorry Jhett, I forgot to take a picture of the…read morerest of the food I ordered hahaha but aside from the crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside Lechon Belly, we had the famous Seafood palabok, the yummy adobong pusit, garlicky fried nuts & lumpia rolls! Pick-up service is prompt, ambiance of the place is nice (just needed to make your small table space look more presentable even when there is no current customer eating, to make it still enticing to dine-in). Remove boxes in the hallway pls. Overall, will order food still and the price is decent!