Mabuhay Cafe & Restaurant

Was very disappointed w/​the waitress she was very rude & prejudice. I’m half Filipino & Black, my husband & I came here to enjoy some Filipino food. My husband ordered Chicken Adobo & the waitress rudely told my husband the price, which is not what he asked. I ordered the lumpia & pancit. My husband liked the adobo. The pancit noodles was more like Chinese style. The lumpia was over fried it looked burned. My husband mentioned that I was Filipino & the waitress rudely called me a «Negro» (a racist Filipino slang). We politely finish our dinner & was very much disgusted by the waitress ignorance & unpleasant behavior. If it wasn’t for the owners daughters inviting spirit & pleasant conversation which my husband did enjoy, we would have left. The owners daughter created the balance but they need to hire waitress that’s shows a bit more professionalism after all this is a business establishment that will attract people of different ethnic background. You have to be able to adapt & be more respectful.

Ate at really good Filipino restaurant and chatted with 2 older ladies as if it knew them my whole life, this restaurant is evything that is great and what you expect from a tiny mom an pop authentic restaurant. When I asked for some chilli to heat my soup one of the customers who I though was the owner brought hers to me. Shrimp and vegetable soup, 3 types of pork two of which we’re really good. The third one. was interesting, however coagulated blood is just not my thing. A meal like this proves that vegitarians should all go to purgatory with a gun nut under each arm.
NOW the kicker was we we’re discussing hangovers, and I know most cultures have a remedy for them. This soup is recommend for that sort of thing. the broth was so good that I drank too much broth that the shellfish/​vegetables to broth ratio was not where it should be to evicerate that type of ailment. She filled my soup with more of that delicious elixir to take back to the hotel that will save me from my soon to experiencee self inflocted delirium tremors.
Oh and today as we speak I am crawling to that elixir to see if I can cure this sorry state of semi worthlessness that has become me. Sweet salvation from the church of food.

FOOD.=really tasty. Very good flavor. Mungo bean, fried pork and pork adobo was dishes that we enjoyed.
DECOR= drab and out dated.
Over all the food was good and we enjoyed ourselves. I would recommend trying it out.

The food is Ono. We had the mungo bean with pork. Fried pork, pork adobo. It was very tasty. The atmosphere of the place leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a little dingy but had one pass from the Heath department so we was game. The juke box they have in there is hella irritating especially because we was on the table right in front of it. The most classic moment was when someone rocked some straight Filipino jam. Uhhhggg no fo real. We couldn’t hear eachother talk over the Filipino music. No but fo real! Lmao. Oh well the food was worth the torture of that song..

I’m about 25% Filipino so I don’t know if the Filipino blood in me has just been diluted over the generations past, but the Filipino food here is just not for me. In the words of my niece,“Worst Pinopino poood ebbbberrrrr!” The Dinuguan was all stomach, intestines and blood… hardly any meat! The Mungo beans tasted like burnt garlic for some reason and the Pinakbet was mediocre at best. Sorry Mabuhay, but the only silver lining was your Fried Pork. Delicious, but why didn’t it come with a side of raw onion and tomato? I don’t know if the food here is how the people in the Phillipines usually eat it so I don’t know if the flavors I tasted are actually what is to be expected. Maybe it’s just a little too exotic for my taste buds. I guess I’m just accustomed to the Filipino restaurants in Waipahu. You may like it, so don’t take my word for it. Try it, but beware: Parking is horrendous and the location is kinda sketchy (but then again, it IS Chinatown). Right next to A’ala park so there are lots of questionable individuals participating in questionable activities right next to your car. Two Stars because their fried pork was perfect and service was okay.

Not enough parking, bad location and slow service… overall, the pork guisantes and pork adobo was ok… but the chicken adobo was good.

Called 40 minutes ahead and was told it would be ready in 30. Got there and waited for an extra 20 minutes and finally decided to walk out. Always used to eat here. Food is good. Service is just crap.

This was my first time trying out the café, and I must confess that by the looks of the place I wasn’t expecting much but I was VERY VERY HAPPY with the way my food tasted so much so that I would definitely recommend the Mabuhay Café to all fans of filipino food really good!

My favorite place for Filipino food. I love their crispy pata, fried silit, and diniguan. The crispy pata is fried and really crispy. It’s is the best thing ever.
The only thing that makes the crispy pata better is when I get it take-​out and I eat it at home with ranch. I know that’s sacrilege.
I really can’t bring myself to order anything different.

Data Unpublishable!

Expensive… Presentation sucks. Food is bland and over price. Stingy on portions. Not impressed and will not be going back. We went cause hubby was craving flip food and he ordered Sao Miguel. They were out. How lame … It’s a flip restaurant!!!

I love their food. It’s unfortunate that their store front has become a homeless slum. I imagine that it probably hurts their business. But if you’re brave enough to traverse the urine filled streets I highly recommend the pork adobo.

Warning: This place is only for people who have grown up with or are accustomed to eating Filipino food.
Great food here! It’s not exactly in the nicest of neighborhoods, but this place serves food just like your mom used to make! We ordered fish and pinakbet and both were delicious.
The only slip up was they forgot to put the fish in our bowl lol. It seemed like a really silly mistake but the server was very apologetic and it was fixed immediately. All in all, a good restaurant to have a home cooked meal.

This place was far from the hotel we are staying in.
Only 2 items out of the 4 we ordered were good.
Chicken and pork Adobo. The fish was old with freezer burn, the bean something something was nasty.
The best part of the meal was the halo halo desert, we called a taxi early to get out of these as it isn’t in a safe part of town so we didn’t get to finish our dessert and boy was it great!

We love this nearby Filipino restaurant. The food is great. I love the chicken adobo. They don’t seem to understand much English, though, so I don’t bother asking about gluten, which is a problem since it does make me sick. Good lunch place.

Dude!!!
The walk up to this place is SUPER SKETCHY… It is a virtual gambit of urine smelling clumps of plastic bag clad untouchables along the entire strip of River Street to get to this hole in the wall place known for thier Filipino food.
I am one of those Filipinos (well, technically half-​Filipinos) that thinks that if I want really good Filipino food, I have to make it myself. I know that seems so sad to admit, but for the most part it is true. Filipino food is one of those types of cuisines that you inevitably compare to the comfort food your Nanay or Lola made… hard to beat that, right?
Anyhow, since it was Friday night dinner with my friend’s fam… why not?
It is a little hole in the wall, thats for sure. Juke Box playing a mix of Celine Dion and OPM hits, it definitely worked.
Here is what we had:
Kamote Salad – Blanched Potato Greens with Tomatoes and Onions seasoned with Patis. YUM! 4.5÷5
Chicken Adobo – I didnt like the cuts of chicken that they used. Our serving had mostly the lower portions of the drumsticks and a couple small pieces of thigh and breast meat. The flavor was ok. Wish it had more substance to it and less oil. ³⁄₅
Pork Adobo – Similar to the Chicken in flavor, the meat was so tender and come apart with no effort. This was great but the oil to sauce ratio was not working for me. ⁴⁄₅ for flavor ³⁄₅ for cholesterol quotient.
Sari Sari – YUM!!! Loved the dish… although it had eggplant, i was able to work around it. I loved the salty and savory flavors to the dish. ⁴⁄₅
Munggo – This was my favorite dish of the night. Better than anything I have had at any other Filipino restaurant. ⁵⁄₅
Lechon Kawali – These tender cuts of marinated pork were fried to perfection and when dipped into the garlic vinegar sauce, they barely had time to breathe before the plate disappeared. ⁴⁄₅
I’m still kind of on the fence about this place. I kinda like it and I kinda don’t. Guess that means that I have to come back and give them a second shot. I will be sure to do so during the day though… the night time obstacles really made me feel uncomfortable.

This place was interesting.
We tried one of the goat stews as well as a tomato shrimp onion dish. Both were tasty and pretty unique, which is what I wanted when looking for an authentic filipino place. The hilarious thing is that the owners were peeling shrimp and then later counting the day’s money at one of the tables in front of the customers. This would turn a lot of people off, but I am looking for the full experience, so it sort of made me feel like I was in the Philippeans at a family owned authentic place. The dessert is also really good, although expensive. The food is really cheap so it makes up for it.
365 Challenge: #68/​365

Hoy, Pssssssssst, Mabuhay my Unilocal prends, dis pan ub dee pee-​lee-​peeno
pood is gowing tu right, i meen write dee re-​bee-​you about dee place in
Chinatown dat has day berry good pee-​lee-​peeno pood called Mabuhay Café.
Dee place is on Reeber, i mean River Street, so you hab to watch out por dee
homeless pee-​pole who are sleeping and watch out, day like to make da she-​she
all ober dee place. And no geeb dem your hard earned money because day only
going to buy dee beer and da see-​ga-​rets ok? And i hab to tell you, ip you fark,
i mean park dee car on dee side of dee street, no fark dee car under dee tree
in dee late apternoon, bee-​cuz one time i wen fark dee car under dee tree, and
apter i eat at Mabuhay Café my car had plenty of dee bird doo-​doo all ober dee car
and i peel like crying like Imelda Marcos when day when take all her shoes away!
I eben take it two dee car wash and all dee bird doo-​doo neber come off, so i hab to
bring it two dee carwash again. I learn my lesson and i will neber, eber fark dee car
under dee tree eber again. Now let me tell you about da pood.
I hab to warn you dat dee pood sumtimes take longtime to cook like day went
back to Manila to make it por you. But to me, dat is a good sign dat dee pood
is going to be sarap. As you wait por dee pood, you can drink dee San Miguel
Beer and put some money in dee jukebox dat still has dee songs from when i
was going to dee nightclub at Studebaker’s and Bobby McGee’s. Ay Sos!!!
One of my favorite pood to order here at Mabuhay Café is the Fried Silit, ot Fried
Pork Intestines. It comes with a Garlic Vinegar Sauce dat will keep any Pilipino
Vampire at bay, and it just as addicting as eating Pork Rinds. You can’t eat just
one, i can promise you that. Next is the Beef Lauya. There is nothing like eating
a broth that is so light and perpectly seasoned with the Cabbage and the Beef
that literally melts in your mouth. It is the perfect compliment after eating the Fried
Silit. Also berry good is the Crispy Fried Pork. I love the taste of this Pork that is
fried to a crisp and is just like how Dad used to make it. Another dish that hits
the spot is the Pusit (Ok, get your mind out of the gutter), or Squid Adobo. I like
the way they prepare the adobo here as it is not as soupy as some other places
and putting that Squid Adobo on a mound of rice is just as amazing as Manny
Pacquiao singing one of his songs, ok well i won’t go that far, Manny Pacquiao
is a hell of a boxer, but a singer he is not, he sounds like two cats having sex
or a dog howling at the Humane Society praying it doesn’t get chosen by a
Filipino Family. The service here at Mabuhay Café is very friendly i enjoy
seeing them dressed in traditional outfits like they are going to do the Tinikling
Dance for you. My advice to you is if you are looking pour sum really good
authentic Filipino food without having to drive all the way down to Kalihi or
Waipahu, then give Mabuhay Café a try.

I never go out to Filipino restaurants, because I’ve always felt that my mom has always made the best Filipino food. So my reasoning has always been, «Why pay for mediocre Filipino food when my mom cooks it even better… FOR FREE?!?»
My parents first took me and my younger sister to Mabuhay in the 80s, and we’ve been going ever since. They know us by name, and, now that my sister and I are older and have moved out, they ask my parents how we are doing. Staff is awesome and friendly. We love the food there. My sister and I love 2 particular dishes from there. That’s our usual. We never order anything else. (My parents will order other things, but we don’t eat it.)
Our favorite there is the shrimp sarciado. It is a rich, savory dish with a tomato-​based soup with shrimp and vegetables, such as tomatoes, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. Eat with rice. BAM! Can’t beat that!!! Another dish we get is the pusit adobo or squid adobo. The squid is cooked just right. I’ve tried it at other places, but the squid isn’t cooked right. Mabuhay cooks it so it’s not chewy. The soup for the pusit adobo is just a perfect adobo balance… not too sour, not too salty. With rice, it is so delicious.
Another dish I like is the shrimp sari sari. It’s pretty tasty there. Don’t really care for how other Filipino restaurants’ shrimp sari sair, because, otherwise, I just go to my parents’ house for this dish. I like eating the fried silet, which fried pork intestines (I know… gross) with a garlic vinegar dip. I like the silet here, because they clean out the intestines. Some places I’ve been to don’t clean it out. Yikes! Mabuhay’s silet is thoroughly cleaned out and all it tastes like is crunchy pork rinds that you get to dip in vinegar (I love vinegar.). And, of course, the halo halo is a great dessert to have.
The location is pretty rough. Parking is terrible, as you have to find street/​meter parking. It’s right alongside the river, right across Aala Park, so you do run into «questionable characters.» However, if you can get past that, this small restaurant is worth a shot. Very casual environment. My sister and I always make it a point to play a tune or two on the jukebox. They’ve always had a jukebox in the restaurant ever since I can remember. So picking a song and having it played is nostalgic for us.
(My mom told me a few weeks ago that it has a new owner. I haven’t been there since it has been run under their new management. So I’m not too sure if the cooks are the same.)

Favorite kind of cooking: authentic, exotic, homestyle cooking that makes you feel like you’re in someone’s kitchen.
Mabuhay = This style of cooking
There was no way this was getting left out of the Great Hawaiian Dining Odyssey. Authentic Filipino food is not something any self-​respecting foodie passes up. Ever. Do you know how rare it is to find on the mainland!!!
Anyway, we got the Adobo and Fried Pork and yeah, there were no vegetables, and yeah the Adobo sauce was greasy, but oh man, do these guys know how to cook meat. I wanted to lick my plate and tried to, but the nice server lady kept coming by and I realized it probably wasn’t good to embarrass my boyfriend while we were on vacation. But next time…