Mama Fina's — Restaurant in Hackensack

I had a hankering for some Filipino spaghetti, and I happened to have this sisig place bookmarked, so my husband and I headed here for lunch. It was President’s Day at around 1:30. The place is pretty small. There were a few groups dining there at the time with a steady flow of people picking up take-out. First, I will say that my experience with Filipino food is pretty limited. Most of my encounters include a variation of silog, lumpia, halo halo, and one instance of sisig. But obviously, with a restaurant who has ‘sisig’ in its title, you have to get it.

We ordered what seemed to be the most popular one, which was the pork sisig. This was amazing. There was so much crispy pork skin in it, and it is served sizzling on a little cast iron pan. It comes with a side of rice, or you can upgrade for some garlic fried rice, which I would highly recommend doing. This is definitely to be shared because it’s pretty heavy. We also ordered the pick two sides plate with chicken adobo and lechon. If you want the lechon, it costs extra, which was pretty pricey because it only came with four pieces. The adobo wasn’t anything special either. The spaghetti was not bad. It satisfied the craving. It did have lots of meat in it but I think I preferred Jollibee spaghetti. And for $11?! I don’t know if I could justify that price for a basic dish with hot dogs and ground meat. We ordered the halo halo for dessert. There was a sign that it’s meant for three people (even though there were only two of us). We ordered it anyway and couldn’t finish it. It was just okay. There were a lot of ice chunks. I wish the ice was fine, and that they could do individual or couple halo halo. I have a feeling that they probably have an ice mold to shave ice that’s meant for 3 people, but still!

Overall, I really liked the sisig. It’s just everything else that kind of missed the mark. I would definitely come back for more pork sisig (and other sisigs) and perhaps one of the silogs for brekkie.

Tip - they serve everything (except the sisig) in to-go containers so interpret...

The Garden State’s diverse culinary landscape wouldn’t be complete without the cuisine of the Philippines, especially as the state’s growing Filipino population now tops 118,000 residents.

Pinoy dishes, a blended product of Spanish, Chinese, American, and local Filipino culinary influences, are finally being recognized in the U.S. for their diversity and ingenuity, something that culinary experts have been predicting for years.

One may also notice some establishments have grocery sections or mini markets in them, which I visited today for lunch.

Located inside Casa Delfina on Main Street in the heart of Hackensack, Mama Fina was named one of the best restaurants for Filipino cuisine in 2025 according to nj.com.

Upon arrival as a first timer inside their cozy clean but un-air conditioned store where outside temps was in the lower 90s, I went to the front counter with the food menu where patrons would place their order for inside dining or takeout. They’ll assign a table where I sat at the beginning where they start.

Their menu is known for the sisig which comes from family recipe, tapsilog, and palabok, to name a few as well as desserts, shakes, smoothies and slushies.

Eager to taste, which I haven’t had in a long time, I decided on Bihon Canton Guisado consisting of smaller, thinner glass like noodle sautéed with a combination of meats, and fresh vegetables, all seasoned with soy sauce and a hint of garlic.

The food was authentic, tasted good and arrived fairly quick. The price was reasonable to the portion size. Unfortunately, the customer service is very bad as Filipinos are known for being hospitable.

I would come back to try the sisig when it...

Terrific Pork Sisig hands down.

Update 12/24/18 : one of the most disorganized places to get food for the holidays! Lines out the door because they are ill-prepared to take care of their preorders! They are slow as f* k and too unprofessional to give a flying f*k. Do not come here if you’re in a rush...

Their other Filipino fares are pretty much similar to other dishes from other Filipino Restaurants. To be fair, most if not ALL Filipino restaurants' dishes in New Jersey (and I've been to all of them, yup even in Central and South Jersey) are mediocre because they skimp on quality ingredients, and sometimes use too many fillers to keep the price low! Yes, I said it! If you're a Filipino and you've never had Filipino food in the Philippines, you wouldn't know any better and you can stay in your bubble if you want to. If you've ever wondered why Filipino food never made it mainstream like Japanese food and other Asian foods - that's because of quality and inconsistency in flavor - even from the same restaurants!

That being said, Mama Fina's pork sisig is tasty and fairly consistent in quality and flavor. They come in 2 versions - mild and spicy. They also sell different Sisig variations - bangus (milkfish) and pusit (squid)... but they are not as good as their pork sisig...

Don't forget to bring CASH (greenbacks, dollah bills y'all) since they are CASH ONLY, no credit cards, which is easier when you are trying to hide your actual revenue since there's no paper trail. Perfectly legal, nothing wrong with it.

Just to reiterate - Pork Sisig - great; Cash Moolah only; Closed on...