M.A’S Filipino Cuisine — Restaurant in Marion

My wife loves Filipino food, so whenever we're on a road trip she looks up what Filipino restaurants are along the way. Our recent trip last Friday had us going through Illinois, and she found MA's Flipino Cuisine. One of the deciding factors of selecting a restaurant is if they have her favorite dish, Tocino. We called ahead and a very helpful gentleman (which we found out later was one of the owners) gave us all the information, so we decided to stop at the restaurant. Let me tell you, we are SO glad we did! Not only did they serve Tocino, they had a wide variety of traditional dishes, as well as some fusion dishes on the menu. They also had a small market section with some Filipino items, such as snacks and sauces for sale. But back to the food! My wife ordered Tocilog with extra Tocino on the side, I tried their Bulgogi Tacos, and we also got an order of lumpia. Let me tell you, everything was delicious and ON POINT!! The Tocino was the best we've had in a long time, it was tender and perfectly cooked! The sunny side egg and rice were also perfectly done. My wife dug into it before I even got a picture, it was that good! My Bulgogi Tacos were absolutely delicious!! The meat had the perfect Korean marinade and the pickled onions, red cabbage, Kimchee and cilantro tied everything together and gave you a satisfying burst of flavor! And did I mention you got 4 tacos per order! The lumpia was definitely fresh and cooked to a golden brown, and came with a sweet & sour sauce, but you can ask for suka (vinegar sauce) like my wife did. Again, delicious, and reminded me of my mom's! Lastly, and the biggest surprise...the mango shake!! My wife and I agree they have the BEST mango shakes anywhere! The mango flavor was distinct and balanced! You also got a boba straw to be able to sip up the chunks of mango mixed in with it!! This family run business is a must-visit if you're near Marion, IL! It is by far the best Filipino food I've had in a while, I stake my Filipino heritage on that! I just wish we had them closer to where...

So my brother and myself was on our way home from a dive trip and found this little place we live 2 hours away from Marion..we have never had Filipino food so thought we would give it a try... SOOOOOO GLAD WE DID..... as we walked in we were greeted with a smile and a happy welcome. they told us about the menu.. we looked at it and honestly had no idea what we was looking at lol and I mentioned we never have eaten Filipino food. well the owner had us sample pretty much every type of meat they had out and let me just say NOTHING was disappointing I have had Asian food from all over the place and have not had any that was this good the flavors was out of this world and you could tell they cooked with love and from the heart the kids were so respectful and polite checking on us to make sure everything was good and our drinks stayed full it was time to go and I asked the young man for a Togo box he was quick to bring one he may be a future comedian haha he brought me 2 little sample cups and said here you go we laughed he said just kidding and had the Togo container behind his back but long story short I will drive the 2 hours and back to eat here it was also my birthday and they give me these rice cakes for a birthday gift thank you so much for the gift and amazing service p.s I may need to marry a Filipino if they can all cook...

We went on the recommendation of a colleague and we were glad we listened! It was very busy on a Friday evening but the two women running the restaurant had everything under control. They were very generous and kind and patient with everyone, despite being busy.

The food was delicious. I got the chicken adobo combo which came with lumpia, pancit noodles (which I may have misspelled entirely), and rice. Food portions were massive, and all of it was delicious. My chicken was fall off the bone and the sauce had a nice subtle spice. My partner got the BBQ pork, which was flavorful, and I tried my friend’s chicken curry and their pork belly— all delicious! I want to go again to get the curry.

I was shocked to get such high quality Filipino food in Southern Illinois, and really enjoyed my time. The back room is a casual eatery, and they make it cozy with their lighting and decorations.

The service was fantastic even though they were slammed and they let us stay way past closing talking, as they were wrapping up the night.

Make it a point to support this business! I know I will— it is truly a gem! If you’re in town, you should definitely...