Taste of the Philippines — Restaurant in Hybla Valley

Found this great place from a Google search for Filipino restaurants in Alexandria. It’s fairly new; owner, Nilda, said they had only been there for two months. The place itself is very clean but only has a few tables for dining in. This is mostly a place for takeout.

We ordered almost everything on the menu and ALL of it was amazing. The nice lady at the counter, TinTin, was patient, attentive, and even anticipated our needs. She even gave us sinigang (tamarind soup) while we waited for the rest of our meal.

The bangus (fried fish), monggo (mung beans), and meat dishes—kaldereta, sisig (pork), adobo (chicken), afritada (beef), lechon kawali (pork)—were all mouth wateringly delicious. We also had fried plantains and a ton of rice to round out the meal. For dessert we had halo-halo, which was a generous portion of ube ice cream and other sweet toppings, not just a lot of shaved ice like most other Filipino places.

Both Nilda and TinTin engaged us in conversation. They were so personable and that just added to the experience. Since we’d ordered way too much food, we boxed up what was left over to take home.

Before we left, we bought quite a few packaged snacks to take home. Prices were fair and the overall experience was excellent. This was such a great find. We will definitely be going back. I highly recommend that you check...

For Filipino food, this is the only game in town. To get my fix, I usually end up at either Kabayan Fiesta or Lumings in Oxon Hill or Kamayan Fiesta in Newington. Clean little place with a few tables, some Filipino snacks, and a rotating menu of food arranged in steam tables. No menus yet, so you’ll have to ask what everything is, but they had the standards like kare kare (mild chicken curry in a coconut sauce), lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly), and an all day breakfast that includes rice, a fried egg, and your choice of sausage (beef or pork) or anything else on the menu. I was craving crispy pata (deep fried pork knuckle) but chef said they were out (it has to be marinaded overnight), so I opted for the pork belly and the curry. The nice ladies running the counter saw that the morning’s belly was overcooked, so rather than sell it, they went and fried up a fresh batch, which took about 15 minutes. They offered me free coffee and fried plantains while I waited, which was really sweet of them. The curry was creamy, mild, and filling and the pork belly was super crunchy and served over a huge pile of garlic rice. Generous portions for the price, I could barely finish half. Highly...

The staff are friendly and the place is clean and nicely organized. The food is just okay compared to other Filipino restaurants in VA and MD. The sinigang soup, sisig, and bicol express all had a hint of the same curry-like taste. I tried to like it, but unfortunately, we all didn’t finish our food.

Another thing that stood out was the pricing. There seems to be some inconsistency with the card fees and taxes. I was charged a 3.34% card fee and 7.56% in taxes, while a family member was charged slightly different rates, 3.29% card fee and 7.51% tax. This is the only restaurant we’ve seen in the area charging over 6% in tax, plus an extra card fee. When you add it all up, you're looking at almost an 11% charge. The restaurants across the street and beside it charges 6% VA tax with no card fee, so the difference is noticeable. I paid $18 for combo + drink and the “special” halo-halo was $15.

It would be great to see more consistency and transparency regarding the card fee and taxes. It just makes things clearer and helps customers feel more confident about...