Kusina – Good Eats — Restaurant in Jacksonville

This place does the food right. Tastes authentic and I would definitely come back! AND I have three more times in a span of five consecutive days. This place has been here for over a year and you can locate the kitchen in the corner of the first floor towards the back right of the building as you enter the corporate building.

I originally would give this place five stars but I was unhappy with my latest order. Today (July 11) I ordered some Pan de Ube and asked for two containers (two packs of 8). -first the cashier informed me there is one on the shelf and it is fresh. I informed the cashier lady that it will expire in two days (July 13, based on the sticker on the container). I was intending to buy fresh bread that will last a week for me and my family. Eating a roll and a day would be sufficient with a fresh batch. The cashier lady informed me they can make a new batch later today and have two fresh containers. -upon picking up my order (~two hours later). I picked up the order and noticed a couple differences between the two Pan de Ube containers. 1. One container was lighter than the other. 2. The darker container was "warmer" to touch. 3. The smell from the darker was "fresher" (I also noticed that the lighter container had more of a yeasty aroma similar to the same batch that I bought from Thursday July 7th). For those people who bake bread/dinner rolls may have noticed this when the bread becomes old. Next, I called the bakery and one of the owners informed me that it is a new batch. I agreed to her assurance even with the container dated as 7/18 with a damage crease in the container near the best by date. -Finally, I got home and tasted both of them. There is a big difference in taste and smell. I was assured that even in the same batch the owner told me that some of the bread can be lighter and the others. The lighter batch I ate now tasted similar to my last Pan de Ube (I had bought from Thursday July 7th) that was 5 days old. The darker Pan de Ube tasted more fresh than my five day old Pan de Ube and the lighter version.

Sadly that was my experience. I am still happy to buy food from them if this continues to be more positive or negative I will change accordingly.

Here is my breakdown as to how I gave my score above

Quality of the food:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed pork tosilog. The rice was well balanced with a little more garlic rice with a hint of atchara (pickled papaya). The serving was appropriate for the good price. I had this to go and the. Pork was sweet and cured appropriately. I appreciate the monggo and Ube Hopia. I had to order that ahead of time since it was a hot item. I greatly appreciate the Pan de Sal and the Pan de Ube. When bought fresh and it hasn't been on the shelf for over four days then it is worth it. The bread is soft and very flavorful. It brings back my childhood memories.

Quality of service: ⭐⭐⭐ I have provided the information above regarding the deduction. Other than that, they were able to make it in their promised times of when it will be ready when I ordered the Hopia and the Pan de Ube.

They have other items that I would like to try. I hope this incident doesn't reoccur.

I would be happy to let the owners try the bread to see the difference if they contact me in the...

Full disclosure: I may be a bit biased because the owners are super nice, Filipinos and they serve Pinoy breakfast. We liked everything we ordered and the view was amazing from our table. I loved that I got a filling breakfast for only $6.99, great value! My favorite was the Tapsilog (marinated beef, garlic fried rice and fried egg). I also liked the freshly baked beef empanada, but it would have probably tasted better fried TBH because evertything tastes better fried

All items are under $10, My husband and I each ordered a baked specialty, brunch item and dessert; our total was $25. See my Yelp photos and descriptions/tips

Tip: if you order the sans rival dessert, it's traditionally frozen. That's ok if you like crispy wafers. But if you're like me and you like soft-chewy sans rival wafers, wait a few minutes for it to defrost. By the time you’re done with breakfast/brunch it should be defrosted already. I also like removing some of the buttercream icing to save some calories and avoid gallbladder issue flare ups (TMI? Just trying to keep it real ;)

If you order some ensaymada to go, nuke it for about 10-15 secs, enough to soften it so it melts the cheese and melts in your mouth

I'll definitely be back, especially since Jollibee stopped serving breakfast (the only thing I love there). I want to try their other items, they're so cheap I can order multiple items without breaking the bank

My minor wish list: I wish they had some sauce for the siopao, just like how they sell it back home (Philippines). I also wish their fried rice had more garlic. I'm very particular about my rice. I like Jasmine Thai rice that's not too soggy (double washed to remove the stickiness, 1:1.25 ratio rice to water ) and slightly chewy (it won’t be chewy if there’s...

Friendly and genuine staff greet you when entering. After we finished they asked how everything was and if we liked it. When you dine here it is clear Filipino ex-pats enjoy it here too. Filipinos filtered in throughout our time dining chatting up the staff. Seating is available for about 20 but most business is takeaway.

Lots of options for proteins in many dishes. A nice starter option is the classic lumpia (two options available), 12 portions where good for three to start. Crispy, not greasy, and good flavor. They are about the size of a large, pinky finger.

For the main course we tried three different silog dishes (National dish, listed under their breakfast all day items), protein choice [adobe style either chicken or pork, corn beef (shredded) and beef pieces], rice, pickled vegetable, topped with a fried egg with liquid yolk to mix into your rice or cover in your bites of your dish.

Meals were served in plastic containers for each individual, so you are ready to go if you don't finish it in the restaurant or as a to go. You can order ahead, but we found the wait was not long for a place where you counter order for dinner.

Try it, you'll like it,...