Kusina Ni Lola

Best lumpia ever. I order it all the time. Nuff said.

Of Filipino descent, this place lives true to its cultural cuisine. Also, they do NOT fry or use MSG in their cooking preparation – which is a premium in most Asian foods. I recommend their beef steak, chicken bbq skewers, and grilled bangus!

Would give no stars! I placed an order and paid in full expecting to pick up food at 10 today for my kids party. When my friend went there to pick up, they said they LOST the receipt and NO FOOD was ready. What made this situation worse was that I called yesterday to check on my order and I was RUDELY told to call back because they were busy at the time. I don’t see why the lady at the front couldn’t help me out when I already paid. Horrible customer service here! The food is regular Filipino food and I will definitely not be coming back!
***
Regarding the response from Jeffery F… Lumpia was added for the inconvenience but was demanded by my husband. The order was not 10 minutes late but about 30 minutes. (When you are hosting a party, every minute counts!) And the customer service was still horrible over the phone as I (a paying customer) was rudely spoken to.

VERRY, nutritious and delicious healthy dinner here
AND THE SERVICE «DE PRIMERA» I say yeah I every day when I can

Had to go drop off some care packages at Johnny Air’s and got hungry lugging all the stuff around. Uhm. Didn’t want Jollibee. Lemme try Grandma’s Kitchen (Kusina ni Lola).
Pretty dead at 1 PM; I guess lunch break is over. There was just one couple eating by the door. Okaay.
Let’s see.
Chicken Adobo (3 stars) — Braised chicken; it was okay
Sinigang (3 stars) — Hot and sour soup was okay.
Price @ $ 12+ was okay.
Uh. Total rating, A-​Ok.

Greeeeeasy. Artery Clogging. Tastes pretty dang good.
Once you walk in, they’ll ask if you want beef steak in your combo… lol, their #1 best seller! Beef Steak is essentially filipino pot roast. It’s chuck that’s been slowly cooked.
You have your choice of rice or pancit. For the combo, and I chose beef steak and some longaniza (sp?). The sausage was alright… I would say it lacks some depth of flavor… I’ve had frozen ones that I thought were pretty darn good.
Also had the melon juice… refreshing!
Overall, a good, frugal trip to Manila. Not bad. Not great either. Ps: The soup is super sour… kinda tastes like lucas (the childhood candy that’s sour/​salty).

Really wanted to like this place but unfortunately the beef steak and lechon kawali (fried pork cubes) did not meet my expectations. Here is why:
1) beef steak was cut pretty thick slices and was extremely DRY!
2) beef steak had no authentic taste to it. Normally has a vinegary taste but it didnt exist.
3) food at kusina ni Lola looked and tasted old.
4) not too much foot traffic so the foods can be replenished with fresh food. Therefore, food is wilted and left out.
5) kawali is extremely hard, dry and difficult to chew.
I will not come back here again. I think pinoy pinay is better…

Food was not as greasy as other Filipino restaurants. They use good jasmine rice although it was served kind of sticky. Excellent Tinola!

The food here is SO fresh and tastes so authentic! The staff is very friendly, and the restaurant is spotless. Also, they’re great for catering! Nice little hole in the wall.

I get their 2 combo special here. I do like their sisig and dinaguan here. Portions are good here. I didn’t really talked to the lady here, she served it quick.
The place is clean here, lots of breakfast specials here. Place is quiet, they have a tv and they were watching filipino basketball game. Closed on Tuesdays. They take card if it’s over $ 5 (?).

Thank you to Kusina Ni Lola staff for successfully catering my wedding!
I got the $ 600 package which included the Lechon and served 100 people. We ordered a ton of food (need to ask Daryl R. how to spell everything… I know I’m going to butcher it). I heard no complaints or fuss with the food… everything was toasty, tasty, and great! For everything I could get my hands on the day of the wedding, I enjoyed all the food during the tasting and the wedding itself. Micah made sure the delivery was made right at 2:30PM, and everything was set up by my crew by 3:00PM. Most of the food was completely cleared out (I had ~70 guests… many took baon [leftovers] home). My aunt made sisig with the head of the pig. As long as you bring your sternos and stands, the food holds its own!
For only setting the menu three weeks before the wedding, and still being able to accommodate the rare vegetarian friend in the Filipino community, I am so happy to have found them in the little Manila Way area in West Covina/​Walnut. For everything, including delivery, we got tons of food for $ 700, which saved us some $ 2000+ compared to having a sit down caterer elsewhere.
My only concern is I hardly see anyone in here… I’ve been coming in the evenings, but there’s hardly anyone ever there! Give these guys some love and support a really great business in the Filipino community! They’re very affordable and their food is genuine to the tradition!

My first review of the year is dedicated to Filipino food. Happy 2013.
My pancit amor lovely like ice cream gourmet
Adobo, some more, every night and every day
Kusina amor, little restaurant that I adore
Happy when I walk inside the door
Now it is the time to dine
(Stevie Wonder parody)
Yesterday I had my first Halo, sweet, mild crushed ice with ice cream, topped with green and golden taro on top and a cherry. At the bottom a mix of fruit including jack fruit set off the Halo. The Halo was very sweet at the top; moderate, milky and chill in the middle; thick, soft and gently crunchy at the bottom.
For $ 4.89 I ordered a two item combo, service on a cafeteria tray and sat down, watched Filipino television and enjoyed lunch. The bistek was good, as a previous Unilocal review mentioned, the food could be slightly warmer, but I enjoyed the bistek at that temperature. It had the seasoning I am used to in dishes featuring seasoned red meat at Filipino places. I give it 3.75 stars, but I am Mexican and no expert in Filipino food.
The chicken skins were different than Lechon Manok, softer, not as salty, not as hot but a good flavor, great with the hot soup and white rice. The white rice itself was pleasant, thick and soft.
The parking is a breeze, it is in one of the 4 striplets in the West Covina Filipino District. The service was great when I went for lunch, very informative too. Not a huge place, but they had room for like 15 to 20 people or so.
Cheryl mentioned many of the other food items including Pancit, which ran out. They have breakfast on Saturday and Sunday which I am going to try soon. I am also coming back for the chicken adobo and the dish with ground beef and veggies I so love.
This was my first experience, not sure whether the restaurant is a 3 or a 5 yet, but deserved at least a 4 on my first visit. So, when can I come back again, hopefully, very soon.
Song parody of singer BabyFace’s 1994 song «When Can I See You Again»
When can I come back again
To try pancit till it ends
When the plates do start to flow over
Will you start cooking again
I feel the halo
And I hope my review makes some sense
So when can I come back again
When can I come back again
When can I try the chicken
When can I come back again
And try some pancit once again
And when can I come back
How soon does breakfast begin
When I’ll come down here again
What if I fall for, your adobo
Caldo, Lechon and Dinuguan
I feel the halo
And I hope my review makes some sense
So when can I come back
When can I come back again
When can I try the chicken
When can I come back again
And try some pancit once again
And when can I come back again
I feel the halo
And I hope my review makes some sense
So when can I come back again
When can I come back again
When can I try the chicken
When can I come back again
And try some pancit once again
And when can I come back again
When can I come back again
When can I try the chicken
When can I come back again
And try some pancit once again
And when can I come back again

Gotta show them some love. Nice, homey, traditional Filipino food. How can you go wrong?
Oh, and they cater — well, specifically, they sell food and deliver.
I’ve got a wedding in less than a month, and after pestering them for a long while, I was able to finally get in to visit. My fiancée and I (and my brother whom I dragged along for the ride) were able to sample some of their wares. We loved everything we ate — and the lovely woman in charge of placing catering orders, Micah, helped us make the decision final, picking up food for 100 people for less than $ 700.
The next day, we showed up with a satchel full of my tip shares that I had saved over the course of a year, and paid in full — in cash, mostly singles. The look on Micah’s face was priceless.
At any rate, once all of this wedding craziness is over and done, I’ll definitely find myself visiting every now and again whenever we are in the area.

This place is clean and their food is a lot more fresh than most Filipino places. I went here for lunch just before noon after I was done auditing a near by project. I Unilocaled places near by and decided to go here instead of Jollibee lol. Usually most Filipino fast food places are fatty, watered down or «commercial» but they place was fresh!
On top of that their cashier/​server Sharon was super nice! I was between two dishes and she asked if I wanted to sample it before I chose it as an entrée! Their Beef Steak and Lechon Kawalli was good. I ordered a palabok to go and it was alright, I still prefer homemade palabok lol.
Definitely coming back here because the food was fresh and the service was great.

Sure you’ve tried all the a-​la-​carte Filipino food places, but this one has to be the best i’ve had in the plaza. Generous portions, friendly staff, and a clean interior is what will bring me back here.
Prices are cheap, and their breakfast special is awesome. Rice, 2 eggs, and meat for ~$ 4.

We decided to go to the Filipino Buffet next door to Kusina but unfortunately they were closed for some reason. We decided to go to Kusina Ni Lola (Grandma’s Kitchen) and there was only one other family there.
The space is small but homey. There’s an array of food to greet you immediately along with a really nice lady to take your order. The portions are HUMONGOUS! They scoop two rice scoops with whatever ulam (main dish) you want.
I got the eggs and tocino! My fav!
My son got fish, rice and egg rolls
My dad got garlic rice, fish, egg and chicken skin chicharon
My mom got beef steak with rice
My aunt got lechon kawale, rice, and fish
All meals come with coffee and a bowl of sinigang (sour soup)
Mmmmm! Delicious! The tocino was soft and the right tang and sweetnees. And the lechon kawale was crispy on the outside and the pork was soft! My son went to town on his fish, rice and sinigang.
I would highly recommend this place for your Filipino food fix!
+Really affordable
+Free Wi-​Fi
+Water is serve yourself
Feels like lola’s kitchen.
=]

Delicious food! Price is incredibly cheap $ 5.75 for two entrée, rice and soup for dinner or lunch. Breakfast is less than $ 5. Food is kinda oily… but most filipino foods are. Atmosphere is so so… but its clean :] Great Service. Better than DJ bibingkahan!
btw– TRY the BEEF STEAK– ! It was soft and flavorful. ^.^

Summary:
— straight-​forward legit home-​style Filipino food
— very friendly service
— this place is CLEAN!
The words «Gutom na ako pare… chibog na!» barely left my mouth when I noticed my friend giving me the most puzzled look ever and asked, «Are you speaking in tongues again?»
Crap, I did not just do that again. It’s a sign. My mind is thinking in Tagalog again. I better get my Filipino-​food-​fix-​quick before this gets out of hand. I nearly panicked before realizing that West Covina is just a 20 minute drive away. I can DO this!
I barely pulled into the lot when I noticed Kusina Ni Lola. Yes, this will definitely do! Parked my car right in front of it and ran straight in. This place is CLEAN!!! Seriously… wow…lol.
The lady behind the counter was exceptionally friendly and started a conversation with me as I decided what food I will take to go. I ordered the kare-​kare, beef steak, lechon kawali, and mixed greens to go.
When I got back to the office, only one thing happened. Absolute silence from this motormouth since it got switched to chompifyingmode immediately when I sat down. This food is legit. It feels homely and satisfying and calmed the Filipino-​spirit in me.

Hands down home cooked Filipino food is the best. But, with the array of Filipino cafes/​restaurants in the area — this is one of my favorites. They have a good selection of foods from pancit, adobo, beefsteak and they even have ukoy [though, not all the time]. For those of you that don’t know ukoy is a traditional dish made up of small shrimp in flour/​cornstarch/​egg batter deep fried into fritters. The patty of good ukoy should be really crispy on the outside and succulent in the inside. Yum. Everything I’ve had here is tasty and the prices aren’t expensive.
They do have a combo special two items for $ 6 or something like that. If you get one of the «frequent buyer card,» you can buy eight or so and get the ninth for free.
The place itself is small with eight or so tables — so your best bet is to take it home.

One thing about Filipino foods, when you eat at a Filipino restaurant, the food is always gonna be oily. But it is very good and flavory though.
The place was nicely decorated and very clean and inviting. An A+ on the décor. The staff was very friendly and receptive. Great job peeps.
We ordered the two entrée combo for $ 5.75. The combo comes with white rice and soup, a broth from a pork sinigang (sinigan is a stew characterized by its sour flavor).
For one of our combo plates, we had Beef Steak with sauteed onions and a Fried Fish topped with green pepper, garlic and tomatoes.
For the other combo, we had Eggplant Torta and Sitaw, this was a mixture of long beans, quail eggs, chicken and carrots
Food was good, but the soup was very salty. We had to add some water just to reduce the saltiness of the dish. This dish was a total miss.
The Beefsteak entrée served with sauted onions was very oily, kinda scared me a little with all that oil in my dish. I’m gonna have to run an extra mile to burn this food away, hehehe, just kiddin! You only live once, live life.
A = Décor and Staff
C+ = Food (the soup cost them a B rating and 4 STARS)