Kuya Ja's Lechon Belly — Restaurant in North Bethesda

This was my 2nd experience being introduced to Filipino food despite hailing from Hawaii...and they did a darn good job of setting that bar high enough so that when I go home I compare most places I try Filipino food to here.

Not only is their food fresh and the ingredients so amazingly clean to someone like me that has digestive issues not only is preparation and spurcing ingredients important but I always have great experiences every time I have food here...the food being served hot, fresh and cooked just right. Even their lumpia which I love with their sauce is not greasy despite being deep fried and I have never had a reaction to eating it as I have similar things in other places. These long extended cigarillo shaped bits of pork and shrimp goodness makes me want to eat them like potato chips...sometimes making me forget to dive into my favorite entree which is their pancit. This is for me like a fantastic noodle version of a fried rice with incredible flavor and depth making you undrrstand why it's a signature dish in the Filipino culture with just the right combination of noodle/meat/rest of the ingredients ratio. Their lechon which thry are known for and which they source very carefully - shoumd know because I asked about it - is to die for and from me being born in the land of pork means something...incredible flavor and juiciness with the best crispy skin that just screams broke da mouth from where we came from. We buy this by the pound sometimes just because we love that porky goodness. Add a Calamansi to that and a piece of my favorite ube cheesecake from Gwenie's - whose desserts are a must and I've plowed through all of them - and it feels like a little trip back home and has my stomach doing cartwheels of foodie joy. I tell my Mom back home that this is really what Filipino food should taste like when it's made with skill, care, love and passion amd inspired me to want to try more of it

Top that with encasing that in a bright and cheery atmosphere with bits of humor floating around the decor and an awesome and friendly staff who remembers my name and stuff I order...and it's like eating with a taste of aloha mixed in with a Cheers-like vibe. I'm wishing them long life in business because this is one of the places we consider our happy place and a staple in our short list of local businesses worth making an effort to rally around and support. Mahalo and much...

Beware with ordering catering if you expect to get your food in a timely manner. I placed a $289 order 3 weeks in advance and had it scheduled to be picked up for yesterday (5/20) at 1:30 pm. I live an hour away so I called around 12:30 to confirm that I was good to pick up my order at the scheduled time. The gentleman that answered said that they were very busy, but that the order would still be ready "around 1:30".

When I arrived, I walked up to the Pick Up line and stood behind two female customers who appeared to also be waiting on a catering/large order. The female employee behind the counter then turned around, ignored me, and assisted another patron who had just walked into the restaurant several minutes after me. Cool. No biggie, maybe it was an honest mistake.

After I was finally able to get the employee's attention, I told her my name and said that I was there to pick up a catering order. She advised me that the order was still being prepared and that it would be "just a few more minutes". As I waited, I watched as the two females that were in front of me were offered their choice of 3 complimentary desserts for having to wait too long for their order. At around 1:50, I asked the female employee for an update on how much longer it would be. Again, I was advised "a few more minutes".

Long story short, I didn't receive my food until 2:20 pm - almost 1 hour after my originally scheduled pick up time. In addition, I was not offered any compensation for my wasted time unlike the two females before me. The food was good (slightly above average for what you can find on the East Coast), but the experience and lack of customer service was not worth it. Thank God I didn't order the lechon to go with the rest of my order otherwise who knows how long I would have waited for.

My advice to the staff/management -

Be honest and forthcoming when it comes to your wait times. Giving your customer realistic expectations goes a long way.

Fix your online catering order system so that you're not accepting more orders for any given time than what your kitchen can handle. From the looks of it, I'm sure that my experience was not a unique one.

Don't make your customers feel as though their patronage is valued less than another by only offering compensation to one and...

I've been to Kuya Ja's restaurant in Kensington a few times now over the past few months and I've concluded it is absolutely fantastic. There's a lot of Filipino people eating here, which should tell you the food is authentic and good. Hearty, satisfying. Not like other Asian foods. Salty meats, rice (I personally recommend you substitute plain white rice in favor of garlic rice for whatever dish you get, it's much more satisfying), and the dessert sweets rival French sweets, in my opinion (try the Ube [pronounced OO-beh] pie... oh man, it's fantastic).

The place is known for it's lechon (pork belly) and, having been to the Philippines for genuine lechon not too long ago + having been raised by a Filipino mother who's one of the best home cooks in the world... I'm going out on a limb to say Kuya Ja's gets it pretty darn right... in whatever dish you decide to get. The Lechon Kawali bowl (cubed pork belly chunks plus rice... again, sub for garlic rice) is satisfying to the max. The Sweet Longanisa w/ Itlog (sausage w/ egg [see picture] and, of course, sub for garlic rice) is one of my favorites. For an American touch, the Lechon Belly Sandwich is fulfilling (like Vietnamese Banh Mi, if you've had that before, but with pork belly meat, i.e., lechon).

Every time I've been here, I've left satisfied. The food here is amazing. I recommend it to people all the time. And you can tell in one of my pictures (Sweet Longanisa w/ Itlog) that they put an effort into the presentation of the dishes (though I added the drizzling of Sriracha).

In terms of the place itself: it's a small restaurant. Very casual. A few tables packed close together plus window seating (can get crowded, depending on when you go). One counter with two registers. The wall--adjacent to the entrance--shelves Gwenie's pastries (I HIGHLY recommend you try Ube pie or Ube cheesecake). And the music plays a lot of pop/R&B you might hear on the radio. Great vibe, overall. It feels much like a burger joint or something else similarly casual. Again, lots of Filipinos there, suggesting the food is good and right.

Can't recommend this place enough. I'll certainly be going back again...