Pinoy — Restaurant in Virginia

I pre-ordered some catered food items from Pinoy Market & Cafe in honor of my son’s twenty-fifth birthday and while this was our first time ordering from this establishment, Pinoy Market & Cafe exceeded all expectations and then some.

Upon arrival, it is a very homey family oriented market & cafe that is spotless and everything was very neatly displayed on the shelves. I was very excited to see some familiar products; also see new items that I was not familiar of, as well as foods that I have not had since childhood.

I had ordered a full tray of lechon kawali on top of valenciana rice, a tray of pancit bihon, a tray of lumpia shanghai and a half tray of turon (fried bananas that are wrapped in a lumpia wrapper with a slight palm sugar glaze). The cafe also supplied the sauces needed for the lechon and lumpia. The food was piping hot when we picked it up and I had to use a lot of willpower to not devour the freshly cooked lumpia during the drive home. All of the party attendees loved the food as much as my family did and I think my pictures included will show how delicious it all was. I cannot wait to order from here again!

Spoiler alert- I did forget to take a pic of the tray of lumpia…as it’s never a party...

I like supporting small businesses, even if their merchandise costs way more. I tend to visit non-chain stores and restaurants. Call me finicky, but I easily get disappointed when you enter an establishment and the owner or store keeper looks at you and doesn't say a word... not even a hello.

I visited this store today, not only did the man behind the counter say hello, he did not make eye contact or acknowledge my presence. He just tapped on the counter for me to place the items I was going to purchase. He rang up my goods, told me my total and didn't even say thank you.

Umm... customers like us would like some appreciation for supporting your business. A simple HELLO AND THANK YOU wouldn't hurt you and may even help you gain a returning customer.

Needless to say, I will not give my business to PINOY market and cafe. I would much rather find another store that...

It was my first time visiting, and while I initially came just to pick up some snacks and baked goods for a party, I couldn't help but notice the ready-to-go meals in the back. I wasn't sure what a lot of the foods were, so I was grateful for the friendly guy (didn't catch his name) there that answered my many questions.

Besides groceries, I ended up getting fried banana, grilled chicken, pork, sweet sausage, and a halo halo. Everything was great! There's plenty of seating available, so you can either take the food to-go or eat there. You can find napkins and utensils near the baked goods.

It's a small shop, but there's a lot of variety, and you can find the usual Filipino staples for your recipes. Definitely worth...