Emma's Kitchen was one of the best finds of our family trip to the Big Island. We loved finding an authentic, family-run Filipino spot while traveling. I ordered the beef sinigang and it was pure comfort, cozy, sour in the best way, and honestly a taste of home after days of trying new dishes (especially lots of fish-based meals). The sweetest surprise was seeing yema. I've been craving it for years and hadn't come across it in so long. They had a small pack of those little cellophane-wrapped treats, and it instantly transported me back to childhood. My parents were with us on the trip and they ended up going back to Emma's multiple times in the same week, which says everything. It's mostly takeout, with a few shared tables next to neighboring storefronts, but it's also easy to grab and go. Highly recommend! read more

Mellie is so friendly and courteous. Rolando, the cook was great and the food was delicious! We went back several times during our vacation and tried beef sinigang, pancit, half chicken, pork lechon, and their signature lumpia. We also bought yema for dessert. It was a great to have Filipino food during our visit to Hawai'i. read more

When I went (around the end of May), the storefront was closed and redirected all customers to their stall in the KTA market. For one, the woman behind the counter was incredibly snarky to me, so minus points for the abysmal service. There are no labels outside the glass, so I kindly pointed to the adobo in the container and asked the woman to clarify whether it was pork or chicken. The chunks of meat looked like pork, but I just wanted to confirm before ordering. She said "pork of course," started laughing at me, and then turned to say something in Tagalog to another woman. Odd but whatever. I then proceeded with my order and ended up getting a 2 item platter with pork adobo, lechon, and pancit. Pancit was the only palatable dish. Noodles weren't overcooked, but I feel like it's difficult to mess up pancit. Lechon was stale and lacked flavor. Skin looked crispy but was way too tough. The chunks of pork in the adobo were cut too big and were mainly fat than meat. The sauce also tasted like straight vinegar -- there was no balance of flavors with the soy sauce and vinegar. Very disappointing, and this is coming from someone who loves Filipino food. read more

Yelp definitely mislead me. Just like another review said, it's nothing special just basic Filipino food. I ordered the pork sisig (and the lady gave me pork belly instead), the katsu, and the pork lumpia. No wow factor no nothing. It was $17.99 a plate and I got maybe 7 small chunks of pork belly. Definitely not worth it. Pork katsu was good but the actual piece of meal was so small - it was mostly breading. Lumpia is just average. Wouldn't recommend. read more

This was one of my favorite places to grab a quick, tasty meal on the island. The veggie noodles were my favorite

Honestly, the food was mid. The food took forever to come out and because we were so hungry, we didn't complain. But, I feel that my dad cooks way better Filipino dishes than they did. read more

Top-line practical points to know: Emma's Kitchen is indeed still open. Some posts seemed to suggest that it had closed, and/or that it had temporarily changed locations to the inside of the KTA supermarket across the parking lot, but as of 15 April 2025 Emma's Kitchen is still open, or perhaps reopened, and is still in its original location in the Waikoloa Village shopping center (the old/original one on the north side of Waikoloa Road) food court, between a Mexican restaurant and a Thai establishment. Which reminds me, be sure to note that Waikoloa Village isn't the same thing as the Waikoloa Beach resort, the village being 6 miles inland up the hill and where more of the local folks live, and the latter down by the ocean and where the Marriott is located - the shared Waikoloa name can be confusing. Which also reminds me that driving up the hill to the village I saw a man in a full business suit and tie walking down the shoulder of Waikoloa Road, nothing around for miles, looking down at the ground with an oddly peaceful, or maybe resigned, expression on his face, out of place among the volcanic rock fields and herds of goats, like someone who'd walked away from a wedding, perhaps. Funny how things work out sometimes. You'll want to call ahead to confirm operating hours, even though they're listed here - the day we went, they closed at 6:30pm instead of 7. And as a final point, you'll want to be sure to ask if they're taking credit cards instead of finding out the hard way like I did that they may be taking cash only that day, which led to a bit of panic nonetheless followed by a gracious resolution and ultimately the dinner we'd dreamed about for the past three years since our last visit. Practicalities now out of the way, some thoughts about the place and the food, this review was prompted by our return to Emma's Kitchen since our first couple of visits during our last trip to the Big Island in April of 2022. You can see the pictures others have posted of the handwritten signs, the menu additions made of photographic cutouts taped around the restaurant's order and takeout window, the two ladies in hairnets who may be twins behind the counter, all elements that make this little shop feel super-low budget, hyper-local, and personal. For the past three years all our daughter, now 12 years old, could talk about when we'd bring up our vacation in 2022 was Emma's pork lumpia, fried egg rolls roughly the size and shape of a cigarillo, but this dish was the reason we had to come back, the reason we've been ordering lumpia at every single restaurant with Filipino food around us, chasing this dragon we tasted when our daughter was 9. I'm sure the veggie lumpia are probably pretty good too, but our kid takes after me with respect to our shared love of pork, and the juicy, savory filling contrasted with the crackle of the fried egg roll skin is one of those textural contrasts that delight. Just kidding, we eat the damn things too quickly to be so reflective about the niceties that make them so delicious. Actually, I take that back, there may be something about contrasting textures being what makes so many of the dishes here so good. The crispy pork belly is perhaps better described as crunchy, the crisp part like a denser snack chicharron with tender meat attached to it, a bite crackles between one's teeth. The crispy chicken (huh - pattern of crisp) is an entire half of a bird, the skin at Thomas Keller levels of chickeny crunch, or so I'd imagine if I could ever afford to eat anything he'd ever made. Kind of the nice thing about places like Emma's Kitchen, it's got the sort of details that make some fine dining great but relatively affordable after all of the money you sank into the rental property you're staying at, but hey, it's Hawaii, it's worth every single cent. I kind of think of pancit as a homey dish made by some of the older nurses at work, shared when we're all working a holiday, but unlike the breakroom pancit Emma's version of the dish is a little perfect, not too tangy, not too oily, but it still tastes like it's shared refuge from the battering outside of the potluck. I've been eating some version of jook my entire life, a dish for when you're sick, or sometimes as a dish to keep you healthy, almost always described as comfort in a bowl, but Emma's version subverts that notion, they aggressively, almost assaultively season the dish with black pepper to almost comical levels. I am reminded of an episode of Three's Company wherein a misunderstanding (as usual) leads to not only Jack but multiple other people adding pepper to a pasta sauce, but instead of taking affront the intended accidental victim, after making some laughably goofball faces meant to signal how spicy it is, explains that he's finally found a pasta sauce that takes just like how his (apparently dysgeustic) mother used to make it. And that's how I make jook now, all of that pepper. We love this place. Be nice. Tip well. read more

Have only had their pad thai so far which was great. Hard working vibe and friendly service!

When searching for dinner nearby our hotel (or as close as can be) we stumbled upon Emma's for some Filipino food. I called in our order of pork lumpia (2) (each order has 6), grilled pork belly, sisig, and chicken adobo. The lumpia was good as well as the chicken adobo. The pork belly was a bit tough and not what I expected so that was a miss. The sisig was good as well. Overall a good bet if wanting Filipino food. I think we would stick with lumpia and adobo. read more

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This place is located in the same plaza as KTA supermarket. Wow the food is good!! Here is what I tried out. Crispy Pork Belly - Fatty goodness is what this. Crispy skin and juicy meat. Might be hard to eat this all yourself since it's so fatty but it's damn good. (4.5/5) Adobo Chicken - The sauce in this adobo is super dank. Goes well with the rice and can easily be eaten all day long. (4.5/5) Ube Mochi - I've never tried an ube flavored mochi but this place does not let down. Strong flavors but ooey gooey goodness on this mochi. (5/5) If I lived in Hawaii this would be a goto. Simple foods that are well done. read more

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Legit filipino food in Waikoloa Village! This place is tucked away in a small food court at the Waikoloa Highlands shopping center so its a bit hard to find if you dont know where to look. Whats crazy is the size of the menu for such a small food court sized place! Almost every filipino staple food you can think of is offered here! So hard to pick! Bangus Sinigang: great sour soup using milkfish as the protein. Very generous with the portion size and the amount of fish they put in it. I am pretty sure they used meat from an entire fish. Enough for two people! Lechon kawali: clearly fried to order! Chicharron layer is so crispy and delicious! Comes with mang Tomas sauce and hawaiian chili water for dipping and side of Mac salad Pork lumpia: staple of every family gathering. You can't eat just one! Sadly they were out of the lechon belly by the time I dropped by so will have to return. They share space with what looks like a Mexican, Thai and Chinese food places so you can probably mix and match your lunch too! read more

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Good price Big portions Very friendly staff, plus it is inside the grocery store.What more could you ask for read more

After staying at the resort for a few days we really wanted to find cheaper food options and avoid eating mediocre resort food. We were really glad to discover this spot! It's a no frills, hole in the wall establishment. It's not a formal restaurant, more of a food court. They have seating in the area for you to eat your takeout. I ordered the ox tail soup and my boyfriend got the adobo and we ordered lumpia to share. The ox tail soup was decent but my favorite was their macaroni salad that came with the adobo plate. Very authentic Filipino food with an extensive menu. Worth a visit. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Menu - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

We were researching local businesses on the island and came across Emma's Kitchen and knew we had to try it out. We love Filipino food and pork lumpia sounded amazing after a day of adventuring. We ordered the pork lumpia, pancit bihon and grilled pork belly. All of it tasted great and the meals are a really good portion. The pancit bihon was enough for a couple meals alone. We ended up having dinner as well as lunch the next day. I loved that in the pancit bihon they also included actual calamansi, it was perfectly ripe and tart with some sweetness. It paired so well with the noodles. The grilled pork belly was also cooked really well and you could taste the marinade they used. The tinono that came with it was amazing, I might order extra of it next time, because it was so fresh and flavorful! This spot is tucked away in the plaza and is in a shared space with a couple other restaurants that also look delicious. There was plenty of parking and there was some seating available if you wanted to dig in right away, but it's definitely a to go spot. If you're craving filipino food this is a great spot to check out. read more

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Sooo disappointed that they moved into the KTA grocery store. Seems like you now have to go during lunch for food to be served relatively fresh, otherwise, you'll be selecting from the already packaged to go section at dinner time. Food was OK, but no more calamansi with your food. read more

Food is great! Mellie was very pleasant and helpful. Her husband Rolando is a good cook. Highly recommend this place. Will keep coming back to this place every time we're visiting Hawaii. read more

Service was good. I was kind of expecting a restaurant, but it's like a food court setting with 4 restaurants sharing a seating small area. Tables are accompanied by metal chairs. I suppose that makes them easier to disinfect but not really comfortable to sit on. Pork adobo - meat was tender. Very vinegary. My son did not like it. He stopped eating it after 2 pieces. It was eatable to me. Wasn't as bad as my son want complaining that it was. "Pork & Peas" aka pork guisantes. Flavor was ok to me. I've had better. The pork was cooked right. Granted this is a tourist trappy area, I expected the cost to be inflated. About $16/plate. Doubt I would eat here again if in the area. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pork adobo - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Ordered the pancit bihon & chicken adobo. Luckily there's outdoor seating because the "food court" area that this place is located in doesn't seem to have good hood fan ventilation. The smell of frying oil is so incredibly strong, it's kind of uncomfortable and I could virtually feel the oil particles sticking to my clothing. We moved to the outdoor seating area and my hair had already soaked up so much of the oil smell. The food: the pancit bihon was pretty good. It was packed PIPING hot. We did enjoy it except the chicken in it had an odd taste almost like it had previously been frozen for too long or something. The chicken adobo was pretty good too. I wasn't a fan of the macaroni salad because there was way too much mayo on it for me but my husband ate it. The rice was good. The chicken tasted similar to soy sauce chicken. The sauce was pretty good but the chicken was kind of dry. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pancit bihon - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Oh man. This place was AWESOME. Its a small place with a window where you order your food. There are some tables inside along a small hallway where there are 4 other food places (windows). We were in town for 1 week, ate here twice. A little bit of a wait because they cook things to order. But definitely worth it. Their Lumpia was Tasty, my Wife loved them. I had the Pork Adobo and my Wife has the sisig. Pork Adobo was excellent, a little fatty and a little salty, just like I like it. We also had the Pancit Bihon. Lots of veggies and chicken in the huge portion of noodles. I had the Crispy Pork Belly the second time. And of course more Pancit and Lumpia. It's only about 15 minutes from the Hilton Waikoloa Village where we were staying, so pretty convenient. I went there and back to pickup food while my wife lounged by the pool read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pork Adobo, Pancit Bihon, Sisig, and Lumpia - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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I'm disappointed in my rating especially considering all the five-star reviews. I have no doubt that Emma's Kitchen serves authentic Filipino cuisine, so I'd still encourage people to stop by hoping that they will have a better experience. Perhaps we were biased after reading the stellar feedback but we were not completely wowed like some of the other Yelpers appeared to be. We stumbled upon this eatery after searching for a place to grab lunch in Waikoloa Village. I typically love these types of hole-in-the-wall spots. This tiny food stall shares a building with two others, but there was no competition. Emma's Kitchen was popular! The three of us each ordered a lunch plate which came with sides of rice and macaroni salad. + BBQ Plate ($14.99): Three thinly pounded chicken skewers, grilled and brushed with a sweet glaze. These had pretty good flavor and nice char marks, but some of the meat was on the dry side and this plate was on the pricey end for what you receive. It reminded me of chicken teriyaki, but just in skewer form. + Chicken Adobo ($14.99): I had actually ordered Pork Adobo, but received chicken. This is not a big deal, but still. Compared to the above BBQ plate, this one was a better value as it included two substantial chicken thighs and one small thigh. The meat was super tender and I could easily shred it apart with my fork. It also came topped with a delicious fried garlic crumble. The dish was savory, slightly tangy and had that umami punch. Unfortunately, I thought the sauce was SO salty and almost overwhelming for my palate. + Pork Belly Sisig ($15.99): One of the employees recommended this as her favorite menu item so we had really high hopes. Little cubes of crispy fried pork belly were combined with diced onion and peppers. It had a slight tartness to it, which nicely offset the fried nature of the dish and made for an overall unique flavor profile. However, the meat was dry since almost all the fat was cooked out. Maybe this is how the dish is supposed to be...? Pork belly is usually juicy and tender, so this was not at all what we expected. Perhaps it was just an off day, but we all said each dish was just okay. Each one had its ups and downs. For the most part, we enjoyed the flavors but the dry meat in two of three entrees is tough to ignore. 3.25 stars. read more

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Really solid Filipino food!! Really wish I was able to try the crispy chicken but it was sold out. The pork adobo was super tender with the skin on, saltiness was on point, umami bomb, and slight sweetness to balance. Only thing that was decent was the mac salad, seemed like the mayo broke. Lumpia was porky, crispy and came with a vinegar based and sweet chili sauce. Delicious! Pancit bihon was pretty good, could have used a little more sauce/seasoning. Loved the cabbage, celery, and other crunchy veggies. read more

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We are huge fans of Joey's Kitchen on Maui which is a Filipino/Hawaiian restaurant. That said, Emma's kitchen was excellent and we would definitely go back! Everything was fresh and made to order. We got the calamansi to drink which is similar to a limeade and it was really refreshing after being at the beach for several hours. To eat we got the pork adobo plate and the crispy pork belly. Both were flavorful and the portions were huge! Will definitely be back! read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pork Adobo plate with Mac salad and rice - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Here's what you need to know: this is what small family business is all about. Wow! Amazing Filipino flavors out of a small stall in a humble food court in Kona, BIG Island, HI. This is a true hole-in-the wall great find. So fresh and perfectly seasoned and cooked. And great customer service to top it all. Very Reasonable pricing for HI. This is a family business that makes food as a passion. #supportlocal #smallbiz We tried 3 things and a drink. The Hawaiian Portuguese sausage with eggs over easy were simply amazing (off menu Hawaiian breakfast special) - as tasty as you'll find anywhere on the island with amazing garlic rice and perfectly cooked eggs the crispy pork belly was the best we've had with an incredible lechon sauce, and pork lumpia (Filipino thin egg rolls) was the best version I've had too - perfectly crispy and an unbelievably well seasoned pork stuffing. I would not recommend the boba tea - overly sweet and just not good but it's an afterthought. Our goal Meal was $65 for 3 persons. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place. PS: excellent customer service by Tom read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Menu 2 - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Ordered Sinigang Beef Kare Kare oxtail Palabok Canton I was truly blown away at the quality and quantity for such a small place. Food was great. Sinigang sour AF. Kare Kare was seasoned well and with the bagoong... just took it over the top. Sitaw was fresh and crunchy. Canton is just like my Tita makes and the Palabok, altho I don't really like it with the bihon noodles, it was still delish. And to top it all off they actually give fresh calamansi. I haven't had a Filipino restaurant give me fresh calamansi in years! I live in bay Area CA in the middle of and the pinoy communities and still only get a lemon. The only thing that I would knock a star off is for the cashier. She was on her cell phone chit chatting away and a bit rude because our ordering was interupting her talk time. But the food made up for it, so talk away girl! I would order extra rice. Only comes with one scoop per entree order. read more

Chicken Lumpia was piping hot and really good. Comes with six small pieces- didn't want to share. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Chicken Lupua - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

Not too friendly...hmmm! They said they have 3 locations in the same shopping area. Try to go on the 2nd floor first if you want combo. I made a mistake, the 1st floor only take one order in one plate (with Mac and rice) - from $15.99 and above price here. I ordered 1 lechon & 1 crispy pork belly. Can u tell d difference? Exactly!!! None of those is lechon. LOL! I'm not going back at all; giving it 1 . read more

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Delicious! Their food does take a little bit long to make, but everything always comes out tasting great. Originally I had a hard time finding Filipino food on island, but this was a go to favorite place that hit the spot. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Lumpia - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Had the crispy kare kare and the lechon plate and the food was delicious. The food smelled so good when it was served that I forgot to take a picture before i started eating.The food is prepared fresh so you need to wait a bit for your food to be ready - but i'm on vacation and i didn't mind the wait. My only regret was ordering Halo halo vs getting the puto flan or the ube mochi for dessert. The halo halo was nothing special and I recommend that you skip it. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - lechon plate - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

I'm from the Bay Area and have had fair share of Filipino food and can recommend Emma's Kitchen. Very legit, tasty, and they serve good portions and at reasonable (non-resort) prices. Although it's a bit out of the way, it's well worth it. Call in advance to order as somebody reported having issues with their online site. I had to try a few times but eventually got through. The pancit bihon and pork adobo were on point and very filling. Special call out to to the Pinakbet. I've never heard of it before and while it's mostly vegetable based, it includes pork belly! Getting vegetables while on vacation is typically difficult for me but this was perfect. Green beans, okra, egg plant all stewed together with slices of pork belly. The menu says it has bitter melon in it and it seems like they substituted it with the okra. I would have preferred the bitter melon but enjoyed it nonetheless. read more

Work hard, eat hard! Crispy pork belly? Yes, please! Broke da mout 'ono. Apparently VERY popular here. Service was smiling and informative. Not open all the time and hours are curtailed (not open some days). The mac was excellent and the rice they served was the best I had the whole trip to the Big Island. Recommend. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Filipino food galore! - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

10000/10 for Filipino food. There's not very many here in Kona Great and friendly service Highly recommend ! read more

In a very unassuming food court in Waikoloa Village next to the KTA supermarket. We got the pork sisig, pork belly and ribeye and all were great. The best was probably the sisig, but the pork belly was also interesting and delicious. The steak was a little tough to cut but flavorful. Not much atmosphere, but it's a food court. Service was friendly and unassuming. No tap water, you need to buy a bottle of Kirkland water. read more

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I'm so disappointed to leave this review, because I was really excited to get some legit Filipino food while I was visiting. Sadly, although this is clearly an authentic Filipino restaurant, there were so many issues with our food. The pork adobo was the toughest, chewiest adobo I've ever had. It was almost adobo jerky. And the caldareta was even worse. The beef was hard as a rock and the potatoes were undercooked. It felt like everything had just not been cooked long enough. I don't know whether they were rushing to get orders out or what. At least the chicken papaya soup was alright, and the ube cheesecake was good! The kicker is you're paying premium prices here (I can't believe we paid $17.99 for each of those ruined dishes). Where I'm from, good Filipino food can be had for half as much, and it's twice as good. I have to strongly discourage coming here... read more

Found this place on Yelp and wanted to check it out. We tried a couple dishes and enjoyed our dinner. The Pork Adobo was really flavorful and the Pancit Bihon was very tasty and fresh. The Pork Lumpia were delicious and perfectly crispy. It's located in an outdoor mall so we got to eat outside, which was lovely. Definitely recommend if you're in the area! read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pork adobo with rice and mac salad, and pork lumpia - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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Super inefficient order fulfillment system if you go to order in store. Suggest calling or online. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Go for the crispy Kare Kare! - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

Tried to call in an order, but their phone is not in service. On Yelp, it shows that they're open, but Google shows they are permanently closed. read more

unfriendly End up not ordering because they are very unfriendly like I was there asking for free food. will not recommend go next door to the Thai restaurant. read more

Came back in the same week to try additional dishes. Had the crispy pork belly and the grilled mahi mahi and banana lumpia. The lumpia was soooo good. I wanted a Lighter dish so I went with the fish, which was ok, but next time I would prob stick with the traditional Filipino dishes. read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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The Emma's Kitchen restaurant was closed but we were lucky to have the Emma's Kitchen inside the KTA market. We got the two item combo with Pork Adobo and Pinakbet. Nothing wow factor, just basic Filipino food. read more

We were looking for a change of pace for Saturday night dinner so we decided Filipino food was just what the doctor ordered. We called Emma's, placed our order, and it was ready in 20 min as advised. Knowning that the ambiance at the Waikoloa food court is a little lacking, we took it back to out condo and ate it on our lanai for a sunset dinner. Lumpia (both pork and veggie)- you get 6 pork per order and 10 of the vegetable version because they are a bit shorter. Both were delicious, although I would say I preferred the veggie a bit more surprisingly. Pancit Bihon- My 2 year old was in pancit heaven! I had to agree with her. The portion was HUGE and the flavors were amazing! They included calamansi on the side which I had never tried squeezed over pancit before...wow! It really brightened up the dish and took it to another dimension. Pork Adobo- very well executed traditional dish that I would definitely get again. Adobo craving = satisfied! read more

Emma’s Kitchen - Pork lumpia (longer) and Veggie lumpia (shorter). They kindly included dipping sauces with our to-go order. - Filipino Near Me - Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

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