Little Mama's — Restaurant in Round Rock

It was our first time trying Filipino food, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Since we didn't know what to order, we ordered quite a few dishes to try everything. I was excited because everything on the menu looked good.

First up we ordered Shanghai Lumpia (fried egg rolls, 12 count). I was too slow to take a picture of the full order because once it landed on our table, it was gobbled up. These are similar yet far better than the fried egg rolls you get at the Vietnamese pho restaurants. They're larger, crispier, and priced better since you're buying them in a batch. You just don't get the staple fish sauce and lettuce as Vietnamese restaurants. In contrast, you're provided a sweet dipping sauce which was just as tasty and paired nicely. I'll go as far as to say that if you come here, you have to get these. It'll be a waste if you didn't.

We ordered the adobo (chicken), pancit (rice noodles), another beef stew dish (sorry, don't remember the name). I'll review these collectively because (imho) they are all in the same "mom's kitchen" category. They all tasted good in their own right, but don't expect anything fancy/unique. They're comfort food and I'm assuming very close to what you ate if you grew up in a Filipino home. If I went to a Chinese restaurant and got similar (mind you not exactly the same) dishes, those would probably have more salt/sugar/glaze/etc. Depending what you're looking for, this is good or bad.

We got the chicken skewers for the kids which they enjoyed. Keep in mind they've got a tasty char on them, in case your kids don't like that.

The final dish we ordered was the roasted pork. When can you ever pass up roasted pork? This was actually something I could confidently review because I've had roasted pork everywhere I've gone. This roasted pork was served differently in that it was cut in larger pieces, with some of the large bones kept intact. I was confused by this at first, but I appreciated the larger bone in the end because it contained tasty morsels of pork that would have otherwise gone in the trash. The pork was a little tough, but the flavor was good. The sauces that came were different, one being clear (vinegar?). Both were good and it was nice to switch up the flavor between bites. What about the million dollar question: How's the skin? From experience, I've had soggy/stale skin that you can't bite all the way to skin from the heavens that crunch and break apart in your mouth while angels sing. I would rate the skin as a 7 of 10. They've got some crunch but I don't think the skin is the supposed to be the star performer here.

As you can see we ordered too much food, so we didn't have much room for dessert. I'm not familiar with Filipino desserts, but I'm assuming these are pretty legit. You can see your options in a stand-up fridge at the front, but from what I hear you need to get this shaved ice/ice cream dessert that's on the menu.

All in all, I would come back when I have a craving for this kind of comfort food. Everything was well made and service was friendly. If you grew up with this type of food and you're looking for a place to remind your tummy of the good times, I'm positive this place is...

Great flavor, nice staff, fair price; marketing and service presentation needs work

I’ve been coming to this little nook in Round Rock for over two years and the food is a discovery of flavor. The specials and their regular entrees have a variety of ingredient mixtures of coconut, chili, root veggies, and meats just to name a few. They also offer vegetarian options that carry the same quality. Get it to go or stay and dine in a family-oriented location.

For the newly-introduced, start with the lumpia, then the adobo, and it only gets better from there.

Room for improvement: The menu has to be dug up online and should be updated and available in all platforms where your restaurant can be found. A simple website will also do the trick. The decor and staff attire needs work (stop before you get to super fancy and settle for quaintly pleasant). People step into any ‘Sit-Down’ restaurant for an above and beyond but well rooted experience, not just a satisfactory one. Grocery store, fast food, and home cooking can already match you at a ‘good experience’ without a sweat; ‘Great’ is why people step out of their house for and should reflect in every aspect of your business. Think more ‘hidden-gem’ garden patio in the Philippines and less elementary school...

Came in to pick up my order but ended up deciding to dine in. The food did take a little while, but it was clearly made with love because everything I had was delicious. The lechon (crispy roasted pork) had the perfect crackly skin, and the pancit (stir fried noodles) was full of flavor.

For dessert, I tried the ube cheesecake and the halo-halo. The ube cheesecake had great texture, though I wish the ube flavor had been a little stronger. The halo-halo (a shaved ice dessert) was the highlight for me. It reminded me a bit of Vietnamese chè ba màu (three-color dessert), especially with the sweet mix of textures and the scoop of ice cream on top. I loved the bits of jello too. It was my first time trying halo-halo and I'll definitely be back for it.

The experience is more self-service than full dine-in, but I didn't mind that. You place your order at the counter and there's only a few small tables to sit at. There's a separate table with to-go boxes, napkins, and utensils so you can help yourself when needed.

The staff was really nice and I liked that it was quiet and peaceful when we visited around 2 PM on a weekday. There's plenty of parking in the lot, which is...