Review Kumare Restaurant & Bakery - Richmond

Rice was a tiny bit undercooked and the fish was a little bit frozen/uncooked in the middle. However, the taste was very good! Customer service needs work. I saw the server 3 times - when I ordered, when I received the food, and when I paid. Needs more interaction to check that everything is going well. I got 3 sets of spoon and forks(there's only me eating), 1 napkin, and 1 small glass of water. Overall, food tasted good, but customer service needs work.

It pains me to write a bad review here, but it has to be done. I've been going to Kumare for over a decade and I have introduced it to so many of my non-Filipino friends as one of my favorite restaurants in Richmond. However, the decline in both the food quality and service (especially the former) has dropped quite a bit since 2020. The prices have recently also gone up tremendously as well, to make things even worse. Portions also seem a lot smaller than they used to be. Duriny my last visit, out of the 3 dishes we had ordered, 2 of them came out room temperature (including the garlic rice)... which leaves me to believe that the food they serve isn't as fresh as they used to be. I even had to ask them to microwave our food... This had also happened the previous time I had visited as well, so most of my recent experiences eating here have been very negative. Heck, even their Halo-Halo used to be great. Nowadays it tastes like 95% shaved ice with a tablespoon of condensed milk and a microscopic piece of Leche Flan. Kumare has gone from one of my all-time favorite places to go for Filipino comfort food, to possibly being the worst sit-down Filipino restaurants in all of the Greater Vancouver Area. I am refraining from giving them a 1-star review due to their older glory days, as I had many great meals here before the pandemic had hit. However, I am very sorry to say that I will no longer be coming back to pay to eat here ever again. P.S. A friend-of-a-friend had mentioned that they had applied to be a server here and that the owner was an unreasonably rude and toxic individual. This may be hearsay, but they had no reason to make this up, so I will take their word for it.

Ordered kare kare. Just ok, but the meat was so few, a piece af beef, a tendon, and about 2 small pieces of tripe for $20, for this price i was expecting an oxtail. And okoy, it was big but not crispy, with few shrimps it was ok too for $8.50, and a cup of rice for $3.50. I think kare kare was overpriced. Will come back and try other dishes. This is the only Filipino Restaurant near my place.

My experience here has always been good. Authentic Filipino cuisine and good, friendly service. Place can get busy at times, and Management needs to adjust staffing levels but servers are always cheerful and attentive. Lechon is available by the pound during weekends. Also, Pork barbecue is the best in the Lower Mainland! The pastries at the counter is a favourite of my wife.

The food was not bad. The kare kare was overpriced for the portion it came in. Definitely not enough to share for 3 people. Asked for one halo halo for dessert and they put in 2 orders. We asked for to-go boxes and after they didn’t give us enough to-go boxes they told us they were charging 50 cents for more. Not sure if I will be back.

The bangsilog was very good. The pork bun here is way better than t and t. A great place if you are craving Phillipino food. The milk fish was fried to perfection and so good I even ate the fish head...they even serve sarsi root beer.

We ordered 4 pieces of pork barbecue, miki bihon & okay that was before closing at 7:15. One stick of the bbq was uncooked & some meat on the other sticks were half cooked! I went back the ff day to ask for the manager so the staff went to her office but she didn’t bother to come out as the staff said she was busy! What kind of customer service is that! The staff said to get a refund , I should bring back the raw meat for them to see it! Are they nuts so I have to put the raw meat in my fridge first & bring back the ff day! I hope people will think twice to eat at Kumare as they don’t value your comments!

Food was pretty good. I had lumpia Shanghai and chicken adobo with rice. If I ever wanted to get some Filipino food again, I would probably go here. Staff were pretty busy, so the service was minimal, but good enough. Tables had lots of space between them, probably 8ft, which was really nice to see. Never been to a restaurant with that much space between tables.

I love the food here but the servers are not very attentive when we requested for extra plates. We were given glasses.<br/><br/>Moreover, they have a very bad service. The cashier was very rude. We want to order “lechon”, also called roasted pig for my friend’s wedding. She was informed by a friend that it will be chopped when you order. The cashier kept on saying “we can’t really chop it” in a rude way. She could have said it better, or more politely like “sorry guys, unfortunately my boss told me we don’t chop it. You may have gotten the wrong info from your friend but I do apologize for that” or something like that. She was also making faces and not really looking apologetically. Chopping the lechon or not is not the issue, but how this cashier said it in a rude way. I hope the manager or supervisor will train their employees for customer service, because no matter how good the food is, the rate will still be bad because of the employees.

Hello friends! Grayson and I decided that we needed to have something we had never gone out for before…Filipino food! Kumare is located in Richmond hidden amongst many other restaurant. The brightly lit Kumare sign helped us locate it quickly though!. I don’t know why we’ve never gone for it before but I guess it’s because there’s not a lot of Filipino restaurants in the city. I know of three of them in the Metro Vancouver area?

Food is decent. Just can't get over how cold all the staff are here. Feels as if they really don't want to be here. Walking around frowning; no water refills, no quality checks at all. Hate doing it, but had to wave them down to ask for water and to place our order. Not at all warm and welcoming like you would hope when going to a Filipino restaurant or any restaurant.

Spending a concentrated amount of time in Richmond recently finally enabled me to visit Kumare Filipino Restaurant and Bakery with D. I ordered the pork sinigang (tamarind soup). I thought the dish was average. While its overall soup/veggie portion and vegetable choices are comparable to Pin Pin in Vancouver (eggplant, okra, green beans, bok choy, radish), it was a little bit cheaper than Pin Pin and even Max’s Restaurant offerings of the same dish, which are the two Filipino restaurants where I order this dish most often. However, it didn’t have the heat (not spice) of Pin Pin and it didn’t have the meat portion of Max’s. Trust me – I counted – four small pieces of pork for a $9 soup dish is abysmal.

The question I get asked the most has got to be, “Where is the best place to have Filipino food in Vancouver?” – my usual reply is: “If you have a Filipino friend, their kitchen!”. It’s hard to really find something that’s anywhere remotely close to what my dad can make – and I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way about their parents cooking – but as I slowly make my way through different Filipino restaurants, I’m starting to see better offerings and quality.

○very slow service<br/>○decent food/ not my favorite place but edible<br/>○lots of parking<br/>○family friendly<br/>○good price for portion sizes<br/>○would I go back? No

Save your $ and just buy Mama Sita as they do at this establishment. Just a gross place to eat... equally or even more vile than Pinpin. Food came out cold, old gluey rice, some crunchy bits, served. Overcooked previously frozen shrimp in lazy Mama Sita sinigang... very clear that the cook couldn't care less about the quality of food being served.

For the savouries, my favourite here would be the delightfully fragrant, crunchy, soft, eggy sisig (yes, it can be all these things at once). The only downside would be the size. It's a little smaller than portions at other Filipino places, but I totally don't mind. The cheese buns are also FABULOUS. An almost thick, fluffy layer of sugar over a soft, sweet bun with a salty cheese filling? Can't be good for you, but my taste buds care not.<br/><br/>Edit: Went back for another cheese bun, they're inconsistent with the cheese filling! :( There was very little of it, off to the side of the bun. Pork empanada wasn't bad though.

I went to Kumare two days in a row because it was just that good. Delicious, reasonably priced, generous portions, authentic, what more can you ask for?.   I want to go back again and try everything on the menu! Their menu is pretty extensive, so it's probably going to take a while ~ Kumare doubles as a bakery, at the front they have a ton of filipino buns, sweets and cakes! Try resisting them when you go up to the counter to pay ;)

I had bad experience being there for the first time.. Their ginataang sitaw at kalabasa didn't even have a single pork and shrimp in it like what they say in their menu. Not cominh back!!!

First time trying philipino food, surprisingly good!. The servers were very nice. It's a very quiet restaurant (maybe when i was there)only 3 tables with customers. I have never tried philipino food before. My frd suggested beef tendor and milk fish soup. They tend to put a lot of salt and vinigar is greatly used like Chinese using soy sauce. It's quite salty and i really loved that. so i can mix with rice.<br/>The price was over $10 with tax. We couldnt finish the two dishes and pack home some for next day. I'm so glad we came in here. I loved it! Will visit again.

Food was ok. A bit expensive for what you get and the quality of the food.

Very good!. Everyone was friendly and food fantastic!

Not friendly. Some staff here are not friendly they are rude! Im not coming back here again.

Worst service. We went there for lunch, we sat for about 10 minutes, they didn't check on us, we order kumare rice, tortang talong, sinigang na Bangus, beef kare-kare, chicken adobo..food came about 35 minutes, takes too long and we almost walk out, not happy with the sinigang na Bangus, veggies are raw, I told to the server and I was surprise to her answer, "YOU SHOULD TELL THAT YOU WANT THE VEGS TO BE COOK DONE, BEFORE YOU ORDER" and I reply, you should ask us anyway, besides it's our first time to go there..they never check how was our food, pour some water, no napkins etc... Servers are eating in front of their guest while they are working.Food sucks, not a good value for your money, I'm always a good tipper to the restaurant that I go.. But for what I've experienced, ended not giving tips,besides they don't deserved it

Small portions!. I am really disappointed with the portion sizes. It's so small, that one meat dish for $10 only filled up a regular sized bowl halfway. The pancit is super oily and not enough toppings. The chicken is dry and it is not tasty. Will never go back to Kumare again. If you want filipino food in Richmond with better portion sizes, go to Ong Pin.

When we come here we always order the seafood pancit palabok. We were disappointed with how much they have reduced the portion of the order. Before it came in a big dish, enough for 4 people. This time the dish was a lot smaller. The dish was not even full or heaping, It is not even enough for 2 people. My husband can eat one order by himself. <br/>You don't get a lot of seafood in the noodles either.<br/><br/>Very disappointed!

Come on' ??. Atmosphere decor is okay, Kumare had its better days when it first opened. Now poor quality of food. The waiters are good and take care of you but theres a Chinese guy behind the counter who just stands there who has an unfriendly tone and demeanor. Not sure if its the same owner anymore they really changed. Really hope they turn around. FYI expect your clothes to smell when you leave.

SMALL PORTIONS. 10$ for Chicken Adobo,<br/><br/>I get four small bit sized pieces.<br/><br/>Nuff said.

Best retaurant in Metro Van. The food is amazing and authentic, the atmosphere is welcoming, the servers friendly, and the prices reasonable. There are a wide variety of dishes including vegetarian options, my favourite being the sizzling tofu! There are so many delicious dishes to try and so far I have not been disappointed by any of them.<br/><br/>I have lived in Metro Vancouver for years and I have tried hundreds of different restaurants. Kumare is definitely the best restaurant I have dined at to date.

Just got back from a Philippines vacation and my gf and I were craving Filipino food. The food here was better than the food we had in the Phils! Not as good as my mom's cooking, but it has been the closest to date.

Great food and service. I have been going to Kumare since it opened and have always been pleased with the food and service. I have never encountered any rude service. The place can be packed on week-ends so service can be slower. Some of their dishes have a Thai flavor because their Filipino cook trained in Thailand.They cook the food here as you order so you may have to wait for a few minutes. If there is a lineup, you can pre-order your food so when you are seated the wait is not that long anymore. I have also booked parties here and we pre-order so when you arrive the food can be served right away. I have brought Canadian friends here and they have enjoyed the food as well. Their hopia baboy is my new favorite and always take home a couple of dozens. I would recommend Kumare anytime to anyone wanting to try Filipino food.

Good price but homecooked filipino food is better than what this restaurant serves. rude staff too as per other reviewer's posts. better off going to pinpin and line up!

Today was the third time I had visited Kumare in two weeks. Thought I had found an excellent place as the food was great as well as the service. Unfortunately, my experience tonight has soured my positive thoughts. Entered the restaurant and was not seated immediately, noticed that the staff was busy with customers paying for takeout, so was excusable. However, one server and a lady who looked to be the owner looked at us and still did not acknowledge us. After a couple of minutes waiting, we finally got their attention and was seated. My wife and I decided on our selections, but it literally took 10 minutes to get a servers attention, unfortunately, I had to raise my hand for them to come over. The restaurant wasn't even half full and all the attention went organizing the takeout orders. Our server apologized for the wait, took our order of 3 dishes and even repeated it back to us. We were excited to eat as we enjoyed our previous food items we had ordered, tasty!! Unfortunately, our first dish, which was Liempo took 25 minutes to arrive, then we waited another 20 minutes for our Sinigang. At this point, I was thinking...ok, anytime the Kaldereta will be coming....can't wait! Another 10 minutes goes by, nothing. I asked one of the servers to check on it and was told it wasn't punched in, but can put it in now. I asked how long it would take and was told 15 - 20 minutes! Seriously? I just couldn't wait any longer and decided to forgo. After we finished, went to pay and the bill came to 36 for 2dishes and dessert. At that time, I just paid and didn't even think about looking at the bill as I didn't think that the bill was a bit on the high side. Got home and thought about the 36 and realized, wait, that's too much. Went onto the website and verified that we were charged for the Kaldereta that never came....ok my oversight and no one to blame but me. Too late to get it back. The point here is that they told us that the Kaldereta was not punched, but in fact it was and was lied to about that. Seriously, if the kitchen had missed it, just say it. The other point is that the lady who looks and acts as the owner didn't seem to give a Hoot about customers inside the restaurant, and just barked orders to the kitchen staff and never left her post in front of the kitchen. For the amount of customers in the restaurant, there should have been adequate service at the least, just seemed liked whatever the lady said, people did. <br/><br/>The positive is the taste, I like their food, but service is to be desired...at least on this night!

Worth checking out. I havent eaten filipino food in a very long time... as a filipino I suppose I had gotten bored of eating it over the years. Yesterday my wife and I decided to give this restaurant a try...<br/><br/>The decor is good... to my surprise... In my youth Ive been to one other filipino restaurant and it was decorated like a jeepney...which was not the case here. It has a very subdued elegance to it. <br/><br/>Food is on point from what I remember as a child... authentic for my tastes, but i suspect that my palette has been somewhat 'canadianized' over the years of not eating food of this flavour profile. <br/><br/>My wife (non filipino) really loved the Kumare rice. The palabok reminded me of the version my mom used to make... very good. The surprise break out dish for me was the leche flan... brought me waay back to my childhood... well done.<br/><br/>I was concerned about the prior posts regarding 'rude service'... this was not the case for us... service was prompt and polite... even downright friendly :)<br/><br/>Two very minor issues for me... they shouldnt play the radio in the dining area IMHO... and you should be able to pay the bill table side (seeing that you order table side).<br/><br/>We would definitely come back... possibly take my dad with us next time.

Rude Staff. Went on a mini vacay this past week from across the border(U.S.) and decided to find an alternative to going all the way to Goldilocks for some good filipino food. We cam across ads for Kumare and decided to check out their website. Looked pretty good, so we went. This was not your typical turo- turo where the food is already precooked and under heatlamps, so far, so good. A pretty young woman seated us. She was pleasant but very mahinin(introverted). Here's where it goes downhill....a younger woman, probably in her late teens, slams down a stack of three plates on our table and walks away. No, eye contact, no greeting, like she hated being there and serving us personally. Food gets there...okay. I'm reluctant to ask for soy sauce as not to offend anyone's cooking. Our other waitress was busy, so I asked the younger teenager for it. She was busy with the other tables and basically just nodded. She never came back..Never brought it...concentrated on the other tables...I only got my soy sauce when the first woman came by. I understand how younger people hate being "forced" to work at their family's restaurants as I once owned a business before. However, this young woman's rudeness and scowling face towards us was really STRANGE. SHe needs to be talked to, trained or released from such torment! We took it personally as she didn't behave like this towards other patrons. We don't know her, we were polite, so we cannot figure out what was eating her??? No matter how good food may be at a family restaurant, it is overshadowed by such rude staff!! We are never recommending this restaurant to anyone.

Awesome experience. Delicious, non-mushy, choked full pad Thai that wasn't covered in the usual sickly sweet bright red sauce. Savory and flavorful pandan chicken was a new experience that we both enjoyed. The pandan leaves give the chicken juiciness and a unique flavour. The BBQ pork skewer was tasty, but could have been a bit more moist. Garlic rice was so tasty I could have eaten a huge bowl. Nice service and lovely decor with nice accents. Already one of our regular places. Give it a try for sure!!

LOve it still.. I like the food here so cheap and affordable... cost is good...

We liked it!. Came here right before the crowd arrived. We quickly put our orders in once we got their attention. <br/>Having very little prior experience with Filipino food, we did not had much to compare this dining experience to. We will therefore just comment on how much we enjoyed the food there overall. <br/>The pork sisig dish was very tasty, a lot of garlic and onion taste. It was hard to tell what was in it by looking at it since all the meat was diced up pretty well. From what we have read, it could include everything from the pork head (ears, cheeks) to pork liver and other parts of the pork. It is a very oily dish served up on a sizzling plate. <br/>Crispy Pata: this was also done quite well. The skin was very crispy and the meat was not dry. <br/>Garlic Rice: not mushy so it's pretty good and we can taste the garlic. <br/><br/>Customer Service: It was a little hard to get their attention at times. <br/>Setting: Not a huge restaurant. They sell bakery up front. It was a very clean dining area.

Made the worst mother's day decision of choosing to have lunch at Kumare. Service was terrible. Waited for three of us to be seated but group who came in later than us were seated first. Not just once but thrice. Three times that we got bumped! Called the staff attention, no apologies. Just said that we will be next after being bumped three times. Ordered barbecued squid cant even slice or chew!!

Last night we had reservation for dinner 7:15 pm we got there at around 7:00 pm and we told the server about our reservation and we were promptly seated at our table. There 8 in out party but only 3 were there at that time. At around 7:11 pm the owner, and I know for a fact that she is the owner as she was very entertaining to her guests when they first opened , asked us where the rest of the people in our party was. We told her that they are on the way and will be here shortly. The owner at that point told us that she was going to give away the table we were sitting in to another party who was waiting because our party was not complete yet. We then proceed to ask her if we do give the table up how long will it take to get the next table. And she gave a very unflattering answer of" I do not know how long". This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this in my life being asked to vacate a table which I was already sitting just because our party was not complete yet. It was a very disgusting experience !!!!!! We did not want to make a scene and we were already too hungry to leave the place and fortunately the rest of our party arrived just in the nick of time otherwise THE OWNER might have kicked us out . We noticed that the other party that she wanted to give the table might have been her friends from her community. We did stay put and eventually had our food served. The food was good , too bad the owner had a very bad management skills. Would recommend the place except for the behavior and style of the owner. Unless you would want to be treated like a second class person in your own city then go ahead and visit the place. Very disappointing and very degrading. We would think 1000 times before we go back and support this business.

Decent food, poor service. I was excited to go to a sit-in Filipino restaurant but the experience fell short with the very poor costumer service. It took five minutes for my family to even get 'greeted', no one came by to ask how we were doing/refills on drinks and we had to get the attention of our waitress to get our bill after waiting more than 10 minutes ready to leave after finishing our meal. The food was good and the prices were decent BUT I don't think I'll ever come back or even reccommend the place.

Yum!. Food is good, the platter sizes are a little small (shared with 2 people rather than 3-4) and the prices are a little expensive for small sizes but the taste is there and it's good for special occassions.

@Elaine. They do have salt and pepper shakers, all you have to do is ask.<br/><br/>My favourite dishes are the chicken pandan, flaming chicken, and their curries! Their pinakbet is tasty as well, and the gulay sa gata too!

Comment about Kumare restaurant. The place is pretty new. Prices are reasonable. I find the quantity of palabok small and the lemon provided also small, instead of giving us quarter, they cut the quarter into half, almost nothing from a lemon. Their vegetable kare-kare is superb if you are a vegetarian. Not the real Philippine veggies are in kare-kare but the taste is good. <br/>They have no salt and pepper shakers, or patis like those Fil. restaurants in San Francisco. Over all Filipino restaurants must still grow in terms of social skills. But this restaurant, if you're only looking at taste passes the Filipino taste. The place does not smell "fishy". I wish they would make the tables look more formal than just putting spoons and napkins. The tables look more like warehouse staff room than that of a restaurant.

Enjoyed their Filipino-style breakfast. price was good, portions were good, and more importantly, the food was good!!!

I won't return. Food is good, but staff has an attitude. One of the servers has a constant frown on her face. When I went to the cashier to pay for what we ate, this middle aged woman didn't know what we ate and when I was talking - enumerating what we ordered - she suddenly walked away and I haven't finished speaking.<br/><br/>I'm a filipino but I won't go back there.

Seriously...what the hell is wrong with your "ADOBO" and "BICOL EXPRESS"?!? The ambience was really presentable, the service was OK...but pls pls chnge some of your dishes or else this resto will be close in no time.

Good Atmosphere - Food was good. My cousins and I came to this restaurant to try it out. The service was friendly and it had a good vibe. It's definitely nice to have a sit down dinner at a Filipino restaurant in Richmond - most are over heat lamp, lunch counter style. The food was good, not truly the same as what we have back home. The sisig, bbq pork and crispy bangus was very good. The desserts were really good, we had the sansrival, and halo-halo - very yummy! The restaurant is still new and we hope it will continue to improve the food.

Service was very slow. Went there for lunch on a Saturday around noon. 1/3 of the place was occupied. It took along time for food to be served. Staff was not friendly nor attentitive. Food was average.Dissapointed with the portion but then that is a typical Filipino restaurant for you. Would I go back after my first visit ? No!! There are other places that is better.

The food was ok. 1.) They should Fix their Chicken adobo recipe. Did not taste authentic. It was dry and didn't have the soy sauce and vinegar flavor. I'm not the type to complain but I'd like this resto to do well, so any staff who is reading, take this as a "positive." the flavors of the majority of the menu items could use a little boost. Very bland.

Kumare,,,kapamilya, of course... We ate here and found the squid curry delicious. the serving of rice was very Pilipino portion...generous. the chicken and pork barbecue were both yummy. the langlang noodles were terrific. will definitely return to try the other dish in the menu. <br/>the owners and staff were all pleasant and, of course maganda...

Tasty, but small portions!. Gave this restaurant a try after hearing about it from friends and reading the review below. Hands down, the food is tasty! Authentic Filipino food according to my mother. My only issue is the portion size. Far too small in my opinion. For example, we had the Kare Kare (oxtail, tripe and tendon dish). There was only 1 small piece of oxtail and a few bits of tendon and tripe along with 2 small pieces of sliced eggplant and green beans. For $11, there should be far more oxtail pieces, tendon and tripe. We ordered a couple more dishes and I still left the restaurant hungry. I have to say the large plain rice order is huge. The bowl they use for the large rice is what they should use for all/or most of their entree items, instead of the small-medium sized oblong platters! This is my only criticism of the restaurant so far. They just need to work on their portion sizes. With Asians, it's not just about quality, but quantity! It just opened last week, so there are still some kinks to work out. The owners and staff are extremely friendly and pleasant. Over time, I believe this restaurant will be successful!

So my friend took me for Filipino desserts at Kumare.  In my experience, Filipino food has a strong kick of either saltiness or sweetness, and sometimes both at the same time.  However, at Kumare, their Halo Halo and Puto Bumbong was not at all overly sweet.  In fact, it served it's purpose very well.  The Halo Halo was light and refreshing whilst creamy and sweet.  The Puto Bumbong was chewy and sumptuous.  

This place Kumare is also a Bakery, I would recommend checking out one of there bake goods

...Foodwise, all the dishes were very tasty but they were also consistently too greasy...

This Post contains mostly photos

In total we ordered seven entrees, rice and three desserts. The service was a bit slow, but the food was great. My personal favourite was the beef karekare and the java rice. The rice was amazing, although you could tell there was a lot of oil in it which may not be a good idea if you are watching the scale. The desserts were pretty hard to share but we managed. We ordered a shaved-ice dessert with ice cream, condensed milk, jello and mixed fruits. As with most of our events, we chatted for a long time, many stories were exchanged as many of us were graduating. After dinner we decided to go to K-mix for some karaoke.

Today was my first visit to Richmond's Kumare Restaurant + Bakery and I was lucky to meet the General Manager, Tita Mary Loa. She was tending the front of the house and was gracious to give me a brief history of the year-old restaurant.

Overall this is a pretty good place, would come again to try the other stuff.

Overall, it was a very interesting experience and I think I might go there again. I would love to try their Ube Ice Cream or Chiffon Cake, which is taro flavoured. Apparently, it is their famous dessert!

Dinuguan is pork blood stew and when I suggested it, half the table went “Ewww!!”. However, we somehow ended up ordering it which was perfect because I was very excited to try it! I love eating innards. When it comes to animals, I’m a ‘eat-every-part-of-the-animal-or-else-don’t-kill-it” type of person.

...unlike siu youk, it's not as salty so you can taste the flavor of the meat, the skin had a nice amount of fat underneath and the portions are bigger and chunkier.

...It was impressively still crispy even after the sauce was lathered on and the fish itself was moist which made it seem fresh.

This dinner was organized by none other than our favorite commenter Crispy Lechon and his family, which during the dinner I still referred him to as Crispy, LOL So on behalf of Colleen and myself, I would like to thank you for inviting us to join in tonight. Check out Food For Buddha's post here! We were a bit late coming to dinner, everybody was already inside waiting for us and we took our time getting there because I was assuming filipino time and we all know that means an hour or so late, lol but not this time. So we got there exactly at 7 and we were the last ones to arrive… Sorry guys! Anyways, introductions were done and the menu ordering was handed over to Crispy to hook us up with our dinner items. Up here we got palabok . I must admit, my mom's version is still the best. So there. Bias much! To the right we have bopis and dinuguan , I'm not a fan of both dishes for these very reasons, I don't wana know whats in them. lol Just kid

Kumare is located in Richmond and serves up delicious Filipino food. I came out here with a bunch of my friends for dinner. Since it was a large group, we made a reservation just so we would get a spot. A good thing about Kumare is that they can accommodate really large groups. Sago at Gulaman is made of sugar, tapioca pearls, and lime gelatin. It looks crazy green but it’s very refreshing to go with the meal. Chicken Pandan ($12) is fried chicken marinated in coconut milk and wrapped with pandan leaves. You unwrap the leaves and them bite into the chicken. It was sooooo good and addictive. Highly recommended. Garlic Rice ($4) is also a must if you are ordering a few meaty dishes. So good! Vegetable Bicol Express ($9) has asssorted vegetables, shrimp, and pork in spicy coconut milk. It was an ok dish. Adobong Kang Kong has water spinach, shrimp, and pork braised in soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar. It’s only available in the spring and summer. This dish was alright, but not as sinfully d

Dinuguan (pork blood stew) was Buddha Girl's favorite savory dish of the night. I admit, this was good, even I enjoyed it.

Filipino food seems to be a hybrid of many other types of cuisine. You can see influences from Asian neighbors like China, Thailand and Malaysia as well as elements of Spanish cuisine. Seems like everything is simmered low and slow with big flavors and a good mix of fat and lean. Lots of stews and lots of roast meats. I didn’t see how I could possibly not enjoy this with things on the menu like pork belly, pork blood and tuna jaw. It just seems right up my alley to eat a tuna right in his face but…well, that would

Since I am Filipino, it's kind of strange that this is my first sit-down Filipino dinner at a restaurant in Vancouver. There are a few restaurants in Metro Vancouver that my family orders from, but it's usually a restaurant where you just pick from pre-made dishes and they serve it up in a bowl or foam container for you to bring home. I'm also really not a big fan of these places, because the food isn't particularly fresh as they sit in steam trays for who knows how long. I've heard about Kumare for almost a year now, and have finally made it out there. It's a place where dishes are made to order, which is a bit tough, because many require dishes to be stewed for a long period of time. Not something you can make in 15 minutes. Being the only Filipino in our group of 8, I did the majority of the ordering, with some special requests from my friends. We ordered Lumpiang Shanghai, Crispy Tilapia, Beef Kare Kare, Pork Sinigang, Laing, Beef Caldereta, Lechon Kawali, Pancit Canton,

I got to give it up to the Filipino mama's. They can bake! It's in their blood, like singing and dancing! But jokes aside, when I was in Cebu, for every five stores one would be a bakery… or a Jolibee. Being that I have a "soft spot" (literal and figurative) for bakeries I did do a lot of baked goods research while I was there! They call them "bake shops" there and they're usually named after some lady, likely the owner. Goldilocks is the most popular in Vancouver, and I love them. Halo Halo - 3.5/6 Assorted beans, jellies, sweetened banana, jackfruit, macapuno string, leche flan, pinipig, ube halaya and ube ice cream $6.75 This is the most typical Filipino dessert. A classic for a hot day. It usually looks like a colourful circus of ingredients, but this was a sophisticated halo halo. For a Halo Halo it's probably a 4.5/6 because it's a pretty fancy for one, but personally I'm not too keen on it so it was a 3.5/6 for me. I found this actually pretty pricey for this dessert. It's als

The Filipino community in Vancouver had been quietly growing over the years that not many of us realize. It might come as a surprise to some that Filipinos overtook China as Canada's leading source of immigrants in the last couple of years. This is a staggering statistic because if you compare the population of China (1.3 billion) and the Philippines (92 million), the percentage of Filipinos overseas is staggering. A total of 11% of the country's population live and work outside of the country. Yet with th