Philippine Cuisine — Restaurant in Raritan Township

We were from Bergen County and my go-to Filipino places there are Bamboo Grill, New Barbecue Pit and Red Ribbon in Bergenfield, and Tropical Hut in Hackensack. Even after moving to a different county, we still go there whenever I crave for Filipino food and have the time to commute 1.5 hours one way.

Last month, when work called for a potluck in December with the theme, “Embracing diversity through food,” I decided to look for local Filipino restaurants where I could order from and Philippine Cuisine was the top result.

The following day, my husband and I went to check the place out. I only planned on ordering one thing i.e. lumpiang shanghai but I ended up getting 3 full trays (kutsinta, lumpiang shanghai and pancit palabok) for the December party, plus adobong pusit, ginataang bilo-bilo, hopiang baboy and monggo, pancit bihon, etc. Altogether, we spent about $157.

When we got home, I had the pancit and some of the bilo-bilo, and was immediately transported back home. I know that Filipino food is good when it makes me remember my childhood, especially my family’s cooking. I do not know how to cook, so whenever I am homesick, I usually buy Filipino food.

Because I was kind of worried on how their pancit palabok would taste like, I decided to order a half tray for me and my husband. We picked it up a few days later, along with some bubble teas. I love their bubble teas! After having a spoonful of the palabok, I was ecstatic because it was delicious and tasted similar to my dad’s. I was then convinced that the food would be good for our December party.

Yesterday was the work potluck, so we went to pick up the food. I also got some salmon sinigang and white rice. I never had salmon in sinigang and I never had fish sinigang in almost 9 years, so I was a bit skeptical.

Sinigang is my favorite Filipino food of all time. As soon as I opened the container, I smelled that familiar aroma and my appetite was stoked. Everything started with that first bite and it was delicious. Salmon is already a fatty fish, but to actually see layers of fat in my soup was heaven. They also gave a huge portion — I had half a head of the salmon (loved the eyeball) and many meaty slices. This was my first salmon sinigang and certainly will not be the last.

My colleagues loved all the food I brought. Initially, I was worried that much would be left over because there were also dishes from Dominican, Guyana, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Russia, Ukraine, etc., which were more “mainstream” than Filipino cuisine. However, when I saw my co-workers taking my food, asking what they were and where they were ethnically from, and then exclaiming they were delicious, I was overjoyed. There was no greater compliment than seeing the empty trays and their constant praise of how good they were. Only one of them had ever had Filipino food before, the rest (about 30 people) were first-timers yesterday, so I am glad and proud to have introduced my culture to them.

I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Filipino dishes. The owners are friendly and kind. They also have a small selection of “tindahan” items e.g. pancit noodles, seasoning mixes, etc., but their cooked foods are the best.

This place is about 40 minutes away from us, much closer than Bergen County, so we will definitely be coming...

If it's your first time trying Filipino food, I can tell you this restaurant serves truly authentic food! The owners are nice,the place may be small but absolutely clean.

Our first time there was two days ago and I had the fried marinated milk fish fried to perfection. I also had the pancit palabok and it was good. My wife has the same fish as I did plus the pork ribs sinigang. It's a soupy dish in a tamarind base, a bit sour and savory. My American friends loved that too.

Two days later we passed by and had halu-halo. It was awesome. Truly authentic by the way it was served, which is on a tall glass. Just to describe, the bottom of the glass has different Filipino desserts then filled with shaved ice and then milk, topped with a scoop of Filipino purple yam ice cream. Mix it all up, happiness 🥰.

Will come back every chance I...

On our way to a class, my wife suggested we stop in to try something new. Neither of us having had Philipino food before, we were greeted and she patiently explained what each dish was. It is cafeteria style where you can see most everything they have in front of you. I had some delicious sweet sausages accompanied by chicken adobo. I haven't tasted flavors like that before and really enjoyed it. My wife's dish was very delicious as well although I'm not sure what it was called. We also had a taro boba which had the ice blended into it to create a sort of boba shake which was fun. The prices were reasonable and we're excited to...