Baba’s Tsi-bugan Restaurant

I was too lazy to cook tonight and when a friend of mine came to visit, I mentioned I was craving for lechong kawali (Filipino Crispy Fried Pork Belly). The closest Filipino restaurant is Baba’s so I read the reviews on here and decided to give them another try even though I wasn’t impressed with their food last time I was here.
I posted a picture of the amount I paid, I ordered the kawali, crispy pata (Deep-​Fried Pork Leg) and dinuguan (Chocolate Meat). This is where I’m going to be buying my kawali from now on and my husband enjoyed the pata very much as well. My friend ordered the cheese puto (Steamed Rice Cake) and I got to try it, it was surprisingly moist! I loved it!
The man behind the counter was pleasant and the cook also came out and I complimented her on the kawali. I told her I might just order our New Year’s Eve feast here. Coming back!

Halohalo has improved! Unfortunately Marissa is no longer with us, but the new management is doing great! I think she’d be happy with how the business is going. Great service & food!

bomb! when your cravings lead towards filipino cuisine. .come here.. blew my diet and not even upset… very worth it! salamat brother eman! new line of respect for your culinary skills bro!

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place! The food is great! I am not an expert on Filipino food but this place seems pretty legit. A small mom and pop restaurant with very friendly owners. The first time I came here, I had no idea what’s what and the sweetest lady ever had me sample all of the food so I can decide what I want. I tried a chicken soup, chicken adobo, chicharones, lumpias, some sort of pork and beef stews. I loved everything I’ve tried! The food served here is like comfort food for me. I love hearty soups and stews. Oh and the Halo Halo is delicious too!
Aside from delicious food, I love the service here. Very personal, accommodating, and sweet. Thank you for being awesome :)

Authentic FILIPINO FOOD and so fresh!!! I came in and immediately received a smile and friendly greeting from Emily. So many choices to choose from that I opted for the fried akule, chicken papaya, dinaguan, chicken adobo, pancit, Shanghai lumpia, vegetable lumpia and desserts.
The servings are big and Emily is kind enough to put the soup like dishes in separate containers. The lumpia and pancit were made fresh. I decided to wait until I came home to write a review. The food was so good that I am about ready to take a nap. I love that the restaurant is clean & the restrooms do not have that «ruin my appetite smell» very clean environment.
If you are craving authentic tasting filipino food– this is the place to come. Hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!

I bought some food & testing them cuz I planned on ordering for the Mayweather & Pacquiao fight back in May. Pancit Malabon was too oily, Lumpia Shangi and Vegetable Lumpia had a taste of Aginimoto The Sisig wasn’t nothing to brag about. We weren’t satisfied and ended up ordering from Nanay Gloria on Maryland Parkway. I ate there before under the original owner and I thought it was decent. I haven’t been back since this bad experience.

I really have to say I had my doubts abit eating a different cuisine than I’m use too. Mainly cause my stomach is very weak sadly. However this place was golden! Food was awesome and very friendly staff! Get here early though so you get some awesome food! I had a whole bunch of food here I’ve never had. It was all good and perfectly cooked. I would highly recommend this place to everyone. I never write this much about anyplace but this is well deserving

I ordered some catering dished for a pool party I had recently. Everyone loves some Filipino food, so I was excited to try out this joint.
We ordered:
Sisig
Lumpia
Pancit Bihon
Chicken on stick
Everything was super good. The only thing people didn’t like as much was the pancit. I make it pretty often and they said that it didn’t taste as fresh or as «fishy sauce» as they like it. I thoroughly enjoyed it though. Especially because I didn’t have to cook it! We didn’t even have leftovers for about 15 people. We spent roughly $ 180 for the 4 dishes. Which is really not too bad.
Overall, we’ll definitely be going back to this place. I want to try out some more stuff to compare it to my family’s cooking. :) Also, I need more sinigang in my life.

Small restaurant serving Filipino food. I stop by here one afternoon while I’m in the area for take out food. Food tastes good but the beef was not tender enough for me to enjoy and digest. And another thing, they ask if you want to tip.

I was looking for some of the best authentic filipino spots and came across this place. Went here last night with my family to try their food to see if we liked it, if we did we were going to have them cater my fiances birthday. We brought my mother in law with us because shes usually pretty picky with her filipino food. Well, they will definitely be catering my fiances birthday and any other family event we have. Everything was soooo good! And the couple that owns this place are super nice. Loved this spot. We’re so glad that we found this restaurant.

What can I say? It’s Filipino food at its finest. If you’re looking for authentic, delicious, Filipino food then this place right here is the place to get that fix. And did I mention that the customer service here is quite exceptional. From the moment we stepped through those doors, we felt so welcomed. Emily and Emman’s fine hospitality, tasteful food, and genuine service will definitely have me coming back again. SuperSarap.

Stopped by to get a quick fix of Adobo and Chocolate Meat. Will definitely be coming back here for breakfast again!

Food is just so fresh and tasty. Pork lovers will really enjoy all of the various types. Young couple who own the place are friendly and show their Aloha spirit. Lumpia are excellent and the menudo is made with fresh pork and no tripe. Love it. You’ve got to try it if you want good Filipino food. Support your locally-​owned operated establishment. Leave with a fully belly and a big smile on your face.

I’ve had my share of ‘de Pilipino pood’ over the course of a lifetime. Some up here, some down there. But for me Baba’s falls right in the middle. Not bad, but not up there with my favorites.
First off, if I’m paying $ 7.99 per person it might as well be a Filipino buffet. Here at Baba’s for $ 7.99 you get a 3-​item combo. Eh, it’s ok but limiting myself to just three choices, a questionable amount of rice, and a bowl of sabaw (soup) just doesn’t work for me! I want more! Gimme more! That’s what makes Baba’s so lackluster for me.
The plus is that Baba’s is closer to where I live so in a pinch if I want Filipino food I don’t have to drive all the way down to Chinatown. But that’s about the only plus. If I wanted a certain type of Filipino food, myself or wifey can just make it ourselves.
On a weekend it wasn’t very busy. There were more folks either doing catering or take-​out than actually eating in the restaurant. Choices of the day on the food line were varied, but again, picking just three did me no good. I wanted a bit of everything!
I ordered a 3-​item combo with BBQ pork stick, BBQ chicken stick (yes EACH one counts an item), and pork guisantes. Combo came with an OK amount of rice, and a bowl of sinigang sabaw. I, being the great piggy I am, was able to finish this combo off in less than 10 minutes. Pow Pow Pow… like Pacquiao! But not in his last fight vs. Mayweather. I was left hungry, but like Hell am I gonna pay another $ 7.99 for more food! Had to go home and eat a Magnum ice cream bar for dessert.
But the food quality wasn’t bad. The BBQ sticks were good, nice charred flavor bits and seasoned right, salty & sweet at the same time. Pork guisantes was just OK in my book, pork was nice and fatty, but the sauce was a bit lacking in flavor. Baba’s rice cooking though was on point, perfect Jasmine rice for the meal. That’s why I wanted more! The sabaw was decent, nothing particularly special.
Reviews said that the crispy pata is the gotta have at Baba’s, so perhaps I’ll give it a try on my next visit. It’s a bit pricey though, no? Like $ 15? Hope the serving is large for that much!
Baba’s, give us the buffet! Ai sos!

Stopped in while I was in the area. Owner was extremely nice and very welcoming. The chicken adobo was good but different from what I’ve had in the past more sweet that sour. The halo halo looked so good I had to order one and it was fantastic.

I have been coming here for about 3 months now almost every other week. I love coming here because food is delicious and well prepared. My wife wanted Filipino food but we didn’t want to drive out to Jones and Desert Inn, so we searched and found this gem in the wall on Rancho.
We always get sisig, lechon, lumpia and sinigang but we also try whatever they recommend because they are all so delicious. I love the flavors of filipino food and also some food similarities with korean cuisine makes easier to approach for me.
Food here is amazing because of a few things:
1. It’s not greasy like other filipino food. Whenever I reheat I rarely see fat solids on top.
2. Everything is freshly made when you call ahead but I think they only make certain portion at a time for the hot food display table.
3. Service! Owner really cares about what you put in your mouth.
4. There is nothing more satisfying than pleasures of simple complexity in flavor. They are very good at it.
5. I don’t feel like crap after eating their food.
Today is sinigang day so we will be visiting again since yesterday. Best sinigang I’ve had so far and that includes the ones I’ve tried in the Philippines.
If you love lumpiang Shanghai this is probably the best you will have in town. To me it is so far.
If you want to visit, please remember:
1. Bring cash it’s easier.
2. Don’t be afraid to try new stuff. (They are all great, if you are not sure ask for samples)
3. Bring cash around $ 40 because you will order enough to use it all.
4. Take their menu home with you. Put their number on speed dial.
Enjoy! I hope you guys share the same enthusiasm I have for this place. This is probably the only 5 star restaurant review I have given so far.

I was craving halo halo so I found this place on Unilocal.Came in and ordered a halo halo and of course, Lumpia. 8 pieces an order for $ 4. I ended up ordering two orders of Lumpia, because who can resist?
The wait was a little long, but it was worth it since everything was fresh! The lady working was so sweet and made me feel right at home. Halo halo was perfect!

Looking to kill my cravings and my cousin’s cravings for Filipino food. I ordered
2x Kare kare, 32 oz Diniguan, large Lechon kawali, Palabok, and bihon total $ 66.24
I believe she was the owner and she was so friendly and welcoming. Unlike your typical Filipino restaurants here, look at you and look so disrespectful because I DON’T SPEAK TAGALOG!!! Not once she spoke to me in the native language, which was comforting for me.
I paid for my food and she offered a free dessert, so I got the cassava cake. I gave her $ 10 tip addition to my food and she said it’s way too much, so she threw in another dessert, puto.
Well got home and we scarfed the food down… it was pretty good, not as good as my mom’s diniguan… but it’s doable. The Kare Kare and Lechon kawali was bomb. Bihon and Palabok were good. The 5 stars came for the desserts the PUTO, OMG I couldn’t stop eating it, too bad I had to share. It was so moist and flavorable, coconut. I recommend the PUTO. I sure will be back.
This is the best Filipino restaurant on the Northside.

We used to send a co-​worker here to pick up lunch. We had them (especially Marissa) on speed dial. And I know they dread when I’m the one calling because I’m not Filipino enough for them. LOL. We call and ask what’s on the menu since it changes every so often but we always get crispy pata. Their version is different from what you’ll normally see in Filipino restaurants — appearance-​wise. Theirs is super puffy. Crispy pata is one of my favorite Filipino dishes. Fried, crispy porky goodness… mmmm… The dipping sauce is great (soy sauce + vinegar+ jalapeño + onions)…I just gave away the recipe! Great! I’m banned from this place now.
CASH ONLY turo-​turo (translation: turo = point). You point at the food you want and that’s what they’ll give you which is great if you’re not super familiar with Filipino dishes. If you point with your lips, they’ll love that! There are items such as crispy pata that’s made to order.
Other things that are good here are: halo-​halo, turon and pork BBQ. They’re pretty generous with the stuff they put in their halo-​halo (leche flan, ube, beans, etc). The turon (bananas and jackfruit wrapped in wonton-​like wrapper, fried and drizzled with caramelized sugar) is sweet and crispy. Filipino BBQ is totally different from what Americans know as BBQ. The Filipino BBQ is on a stick and is marinated in soy sauce, calamansi/​lemon, sugar and sometimes ketchup. Yum!
The first time I actually came here to eat, I was a bit shocked as to how small the place was but whatever. Pack it!

Everything I know about halo-​halo, I learned from Mel and Terri. After following their ten part exploration of the city’s best, I was curious to try this icy Filipino dessert myself. Located across the street from Big Dog’s Draft House in a mostly vacant plaza, Baba’s Tsi-​bugan is run by the friendliest owners, who will make you feel like family from the moment you walk in. I live just down the road and wasn’t even sure if this cafeteria-​style restaurant was still open for business. They are closed Sunday and Monday, but open from 9:30am-7pm Tuesday through Saturday. I’m submitting the only review they’ve received in over a year in hopes that more people will come try their food!
I’ve only tried the halo-​halo here, and it was great! For $ 5, I was impressed by how many items came packed in the cup: shaved ice, evaporated milk, ube, leche flan, red beans, macapuno, nata de coco, small red jelly cubes, palmfruit, topped with two scoops of macapuno ube swirl ice cream and garnished with a purple-​striped wafer cookie. The ice cream was attractive and delicious, and having never tried ube before, I really enjoyed that, too! Of course, I mixed it all together, and then it was just like a cup full of jelly surprises with an abundance of textures. (Note: without studying Mel and Terri’s reviews, I may have described it as a cup of ice with milk and gummy bears.)
The rest of the menu is intriguing, but I’m not too familiar with Filipino food. Read the other reviews, which are more helpful in this regard. Different dishes are cooked each day and the menu shows this, so I recommend calling ahead if you are looking for something specific. The buko pandan dessert in the cooler looked good, so I’ll be back to try that. Flan and ube were also available in the cooler. Displayed on the counter, they even have various flavors of colorful puto (I can’t finish this review without mentioning the colorful puto)!!!
One day, I may learn to pronounce the name of this place, and maybe even its English translation! Can you halo-​halo?