Island Filipino Kitchen
Today, my co-worker and I went to Island Filipino Kitchen, one of the few Filipino restaurants in Hilo. Hilo is full of Filipinos, yet there are hardly any Filipino restaurants. What’s up with that? The restaurant is a bit hard to find since it’s on the side of a warehouse, but there are big signs on the street.
Island Filipino Kitchen is a sit down or take out restaurant. During lunch, you can make a plate by choosing from the hot plates. There was a good variety with about fifteen dishes. The lady serving us was very friendly. She told us what all the dishes were. I had a hard time choosing since they all looked so masarap!
My co-worker got a 3 choice plate ($6.50) with Adobo, Squid Salad, and Pansit. I got a 2 choice plate ($5.50) with Dinuguan and Sari Sari.
Co-worker’s plate:
The Adobo was said to be tasty with lots of flavor. It wasn’t too dry either. The squid salad is a mix of squid, onions, and tomatoes. It was served at room temperature and was said that it would have been better colder and with a little more salt. The pansit was also good.
My plate:
The dinuguan was good! Most pieces were really yummy but some others were kind of dry. The blood sauce was really good, though. It tasted like the authentic Dinuguan at Filipino type parties.
The sari sari was good too, but they should give more soup. It was mostly squash, pork, and some kind of beans. The beans seemed out of place to me.
Overall, Island Filipino Kitchen was very good and I will probably go back for more in the near future. Hilo needs more Filipino restaurants, though!
July 26th, 2005 at 12:26 pm
Did they have Balut?
July 27th, 2005 at 2:52 pm
Hey kely =) I never see any balut… but they probably had in the back somewhere! I still haven’t acquired a taste for balut… even though I’m 100% Filipino.
August 1st, 2005 at 5:43 am
Hi James - Nice blog, my wife likes Dinuguan, but mostly homemade kine’, get lot’s of Filipino Restaurants here in San Diego - we used to visit friends in Hilo everytime I went back home. Keep up the good work!
August 1st, 2005 at 12:43 pm
wassup pare James!!
nice ono pix!!
whea da pinapaitan?!! hehehe keep up da good work! i go add ur link to my blog too!! laterz and keep grinding!! 
August 1st, 2005 at 3:04 pm
hilo need mo pinoy restaurants eh?!!?? hmmmm interesting den…
cha-ching! hehehe $$$
August 4th, 2005 at 3:25 pm
Hey Kirk! Thanks for visiting! No fair you guys get lots of Filipino restaurants in San Diego. I think maybe the problem might be that Hilo get plenny good Filipino cooks, so everybody eat at home. *ponders*
Reggie, thanks for the link!
August 27th, 2005 at 7:29 pm
We’re going to the Big Island early October and want to know about Filipinio restaurants/markets. Is there a Filipino Town? We’re staying at the Hilton. Anything nearby? Thanks
October 9th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
why aren’t there more filipino restaurants in hilo? cause i bet most people genuinely believe that mom’s or grandma’s home cooked filipino food tastes better…and it’s free!
October 10th, 2005 at 7:56 am
monika, so true!
October 21st, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Quoting Coulter is kind of like quoting Joe McCarthy; no doubt it does well when you’re pandering to a group of like-minded hate mongerers, but it earns you a well-deserved reputation as a vicious, mean-spirited airhead and intellecual lightweight in more analytical and dispassionate circles — Mark Vaughan in borlandpublicoff-topic
February 25th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I just went to a filipino food store in Hilo “Cheng filipino food” grrrr! i never like their dinuguan, i thought it was pig’s intestine but just pork with blood!
July 1st, 2008 at 4:53 pm
FOOD IS GROSS…..