Carabao Express

The pictures of the Boodle Box look great, right? I mean, what's not to like in those pictures? The colors are fantastic, the amount and variety of different dishes in one container are things that most of us find appealing and the price is great for what you get... all good stuff, right? Yes, for most, I'm guessing... for adventurous people who want to try out Philippine cuisine that don't know any better, that do not know what good Filipino food should taste like. If you are Filipino/a who knows how Philippine cuisine should taste like, or anyone else who knows the tastes.... DO NOT come here because their Google listing appealed to you because of the great photos and menu prices, you will be highly disappointed. Don't waste your time travelling to this place and spending your money on the food. It's a lot of food in that box... tocino, pancit, rice, lechon kawali, chicken adobo, 1 lumpiang Shanghai roll, and 1 mini vegetable fried lumpia... again, awesome variety right? NONE of it tasted good. Ok, of course this is a subjective review but... I grew up on Filipino food, both at home and countless other homes and Filipino restaurants. I am no expert but I know how Filipino food should taste. This is THE first time in my 50 years of living I came into a restaurant and sampled basically all the staples and I found ALL dishes I ordered both unappealing and unsatisfying. So much so, I worked hard on eating at least half of it, just so I wouldn't waste it all. What's the story here? How is this place called Carabao Express? (I love this name by the way, another reason I decided to come and try it). It definitely made me think as I was dining there. One characteristic of a Filipino restaurant is staff... usually, there's at least one Filipino person. Here, there was none. Enough said.

Worst example of Filipino food, fusion or not! When you first opened, the food was great! What happened?! I think you need Filipino people back in there to work! The sisig is NOT SISIG anymore. Wth are you doing giving our kababayan a bad name with this misrepresentation of our food. Everything we ordered was soggy and gravy like! My sisig tacos were so soggy they fell apart. The adobo chicken and sisig had a thick gravy sauce, garlic rice was clumpy and soggy, no taste of garlic! Only good was the ube soft serve. DO NOT EAT HERE IF YOU WANT REAL Filipino style cuisine! What a joke! For better Filipino food, try Kapatad or Lil Mama's

Good Filipino food for an excellent price. I got the boodle box which was way more food than I needed. Two people could easily enjoy it. But it was very good! One of the pork entres I got on it was great and so was the garlic rice. Overall I think the value to food quality ratio is super solid which is one of the things I look for when eating out. Another plus is that there aren't many Filipino places in the area (that I know of), which makes Carabao Express a unique experience. Will be back!

I've ordered from here 3 times now since they opened last year, twice for delivery and once for pickup today. For the most part, I've ordered something different to try out and each time, was left a little disappointed. Maybe I'm just not ordering at the best time? Here are my thoughts: (1st Time) The Boodle Box: This was the first thing I've ever ordered, since I wanted to try a variety of items. I got the garlic rice, veggie stir fry (awful, never get this), lechon kawali sisig, lechon kawali, and bistek. Everything just tasted soggy/wet (probably from the condensation from the container), but I chalked all that up to them being busy with their grand opening and just typical food delivery woes. (2nd Time) Fast forward a couple of months and saw they had some new dishes! I ordered sisig birria tacos and the lechon kawali lugaw. The lugaw was a little bland, but still tasty and adding some fish sauce made it go a long way. I easily finished it and thought it was something I can come back for often. The sisig birria tacos were expensive, but the photos looked so good I had to try it. They came soggy. Whenever I picked up a taco, the tortilla would rip and the filling would fall out. Made me sad because all I wanted to do was dip it in the sauce. I also got 6 pieces of turon because my boyfriend loves them. They don't look like the photos on the website! They are very pale in color and makunat. It's also drizzled with some caramel sauce on top that makes the texture worse. I can only assume they use a different kind of wrapper or maybe they bake it instead of fry? We only ate 1. (3rd) Picked up the order today since I live 5 minutes away and didn't seem to have good luck with the delivery. The garlic rice had huge chunks of just mushy/clumped rice (see photos). Some sections were very salty, and other parts were bland. I only had a few bites because I decided to pass on it altogether. The sauce on the pancit palabok tasted very watered down. I ended up getting the lechon kawali lugaw again and it was not consistent with the last one I tried. This time around, it was made very thick and it had an odd plastic-y taste to it, almost like it was just reheated and not freshly made today. Lastly, I got a whole order of lechon kawali. The skin on this is the only thing I've tried that has been consistent. The rest of the lechon parts tasted makunat, or it was very hard (rock hard) to bite into. Maybe it was a little old too and refried up. Overall, I tried my best to like it. I don't think it's for me, but there's enough good reviews for this place that makes me think the dishes I'm getting just aren't their best or maybe I'm just not ordering during times when they're cooking fresh. I just want to like it.

Okay I came here to try. I usually go to Lil Mamas but decided try this place. Looks visually appealing ordering sisig with garlic rice combo and pansit was all too salty together. If choosing these plain white rice is best. Good pickled onions but taste of sisig I did not care for. The sauce on the bottom was overpowering. First bite was okay but after that no bueno. The sweet longanisa isn’t the traditional longanisa I’m used to. It’s Patties but still the taste well that’s not Filipino. The lechon kawali you can’t really mess up and flavor was on point but some pieces were chewier than others. I don’t care for those. Maybe cook 5min longer/broil. Restroom was clean and small but decent dining area/cafe. Service fast. Very busy takeout and me myself and I dining in but I did come off hours (Linner)

First time at the restaurant, small and cozy. You have to order through the kiosk; credit/debit card only. The Caradobo fries and Pork Belly Sisig Birria tacos were fresh and hot. The meat in the tacos was well seasoned and tender for the most part. The tacos were a little greasy, but still great. The fries could have used a little more seasoning. I enjoyed the fresh jalapeno peppers on the fries and the the drizzled mayo. The meals were well proportioned as well. I had to purchase the drink separately. I will definitely be returning.

I stopped here yesterday to order some takeout, and everything was great! The space: There's a small, sparse interior space you can enter from the front - no tables, used pretty much for takeout ordering/pickup only. For any dining-in you'll instead want to go around the side of the building to the backyard, where they have a nice comfy outdoor dining area w/QR-Coded tables for contact-free ordering! Seems like it'll be a really nice place to bring groups and hang out someday. In the meantime it feels like a smart & safe floorplan. The food: We ordered the beef birria tacos special, and a combo with the garlic rice/pancit noodles/chicken adobo/ longanisa. They all turned out to be delicious! The adobo is a little less spicy than in places we've had before, however that's great news for folk with milder palates. Its gravy did have a great depth of flavor, plus the chicken was done perfectly. Meanwhile the birria tacos were a bit on the oily side but that's to be expected for what's in 'em - delicious tender braised beef, good cheese, comsommé, brightened up with fresh onions and herbs. Lots of strong and rich contrasting flavors at work here, so if you're adventurous, go for it! We'll definitely be back.

The good Chicken adobo Proper COVID precautions The bad Everything tastes old or reheated, maybe it was the time of day we went. (630PM on a Monday) Garlic rice had no flavor. Pancit flavor was way off. Sigsig didn't have the crispy style to it - it tasted like it was microwaved. Lumpia (both pork and banana) were not crisp, again felt like it was either microwaved or just old from this afternoon. Would not go back, don't waste your time.

Been here a couple times and the food is pretty enjoyable. I'd come for the birria tacos because they taste so good and so bad for you (in the best way). The box meals are decent but I'm not a huge fan of Filipino food in general. I had sweet longaniza as my meat and it tasted a little plasticky and processed so I'd recommend choosing a different meat. They seem to be always understaffed which I'm sympathetic too but they're friendly and it's a simple restaurant. Ordering from a kiosk is convenient.

Came here for the first time with my wife. The food overall isn't too expensive nor doesn't taste too bad. We ordered the chicken adobo (delicious vinegary dish), beef bistek (basically a hamburger steak), lechon kawali (Filipino version of roast pork), chicken inasal (basically a grilled chicken w/ vinegar type dipping sauce), ube flavored ice cream (the menu shows pineapple Dole whip which I was excited for, but it ended being ube flavor which was still delicious), banana turon (banana flavored lumpia) and side starch were pansit (delicious), and garlic rice (it's ok).. All the flavors and portion of each food item were overall, pretty good. The staff are fast and friendly. Small parking lot and a small dining area. Don't forget to check in on YELP to claim a free banana turon.

I ordered online for pick up and food was done on about fifteen minutes during lunch time. I was in the mood for Filipino and Mexican so I figured the birria tacos were a great combo. The consume was a bit thin compared to what I'm used to making. The meat was a little dry and on the sweeter side, I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be. Toppings really made it better with the onion and jalepeno. Guessing that the salsa being sweet is a Filipino thing. This meal was a mess, be prepared. The lumpia was really good. I liked both the veggie and the meat ones. I'd come back for this and to try the more traditional Filipino dishes.

Had the pork belly birria tacos and they were very tasty the only problem is that they were at room temp at best so kind of cold like they were pre made and on a warmer ready to be serve. They weren't fresh and crunchy but a bit chewy. The fries where pretty amazing and flavorful and the temp was good. The box meal was ok. The chicken adobo seemed like chicken in gravy the consistency was like jelly. The garlic rice was hard and dry, I was very disappointed. The pancit was pretty good. There is no waiter service it's like a sit in drive thru. You order they bring it out and you clean up your mess and leave. No need to tip IMO.

Chicken adobo doesn't look nor taste like adobo and has cornstarch. Chicken inasal is made of chicken breast and doesn't have the charcoal grilled taste. Pork barbecue has the same color as tocino and also has no taste and smell of charcoal grilled. Pork longanisa patty doesn't taste like longanisa at all, not enough garlic nor taste of saltiness or sweetness. The pancit is fine but doesn't taste like authentic Filipino cooking. They said they are #1 Filipino Restaurant in Austin, TX but I think they have no other Filipino Restaurant competition. Their logo is also not authentic because it looks like they copied it from Panda Express. The food took time to be ready and it's not even hot when we got it. Try to visit the Filipiniana and Cherry Foodarama in Houston, TX if you want a better Filipino food. I guess this is a Filipino Fusion Restaurant and not a traditional "Filipino Kitchen". Adobo is simply lots of garlic, some bay leaf and whole pepper corn. It can't be called adobo if there is no taste of garlic and bay leaf. Inasal means grilled in Hiligaynon, you can't call it Inasal if there is no grilled taste.

This is the Filipino version of Panda Express. It's not the best asian food, but if you want a quick take out or lunch break food box, this is a solid place. The chicken adobo has weak pepper flavor. The pork tocino is a bit dry and not very sweet. The veggies were simply stir fried. The quality of food was quite mediocre but the quality is good for $10. I also got the buffalo chicken lumpia, which was $6 for 3 big rolls. They were intensely creamy. The lumpia skin was crisp to perfection but the inside was subpar. I tried some banana turon. It was sweet but the plantains were not ripe yet. Though the food was not the best, their outdoor seating was nice for a big group, as we got to sit under big parasols. Would I come back? As often as I visit Panda Express.

Now my go-to Filipino food spot in Austin! This city was really missing Filipino food after Be More Pacific closed, and I have been seeing this all over Yelp and my tiktok food recommendations so I finally caved. This spot is tucked into a busy street on Parmer lane, and has a large sign outside advertising FILIPINO FOOD so you won't miss it! The service inside is quick and fast, taking less than 5 minutes to make our meal. What we got: LARGE BOX (comes with 2 bases and 2 protein) *pancit noodles (savory and delicious) *stir fried veggies (nothing special but get those veggies in kids) *chicken inasal (very impressed with the flavor of the baked chicken, comes with a drizzle of soy sauce to dip) *sweet loganisa patties (very sweet pork made with a sugar glaze and has a unique red color!) * pulled pork adobo (savory pork that was also very delicious and reminded me of good Asian home cooking) Check in offer gave us a free banana turron, which was INCREDIBLE. Might have to go back just for that! It was crunchy, delicately sweet, and tasted like a warm hug (is that possible? Yes.) Imagine a fried spring roll but filled with banana and drizzled with a honey glaze. Yum! The service was incredibly nice and gave me suggestions on what to try. Also the employee offered us a free pineapple dole whip, which was so nice! It was a bit on the sweet/sour side, and had a strong pineapple taste which I personally couldn't finish because it was too sweet for me, but could work if you have a sweet tooth. The restaurant has its own parking lot out in front, and patio dining and indoor dining. The establishment is very casual, and I did see a few flies here and there inside near the food preparation area but the dining area was clean.

We loved CE My partner is Filipino. He misses his parents' home-cooked meals but I'm not pinoy flavor efficient yet. It was nice to find CE, and be so close to them! I thought everything would be made fresh to order but Jan told me, most 'express' places cook a n abundance and go through it throughout the day. Which is a fact for this establishment. We ordered a large box to share since we don't individually eat a lot. However, I wish we both got a box because the food keeps well as leftovers. The lumpia Shanghai is a bit steep in price at 1.25 a piece... but it makes me feel better that it's super tasty. It came with banana dipping sauce. The box we ordered had 2 portions of garlic rice, which is an additional charge. I know it takes more effort to make garlic rice but if it's premade I don't think it should be an additional charge. Price still fair though. The lechon kawali was good: crispy and flavorful. Good to know they cater larger portions. The pork belly sisig was so good I might have to buy weekly to keep in my fridge. YUM! Also, additional charge to the combo box price. Btw, the ordering process for take out was easy and seamless. If you're dining in, the artwork is cute and impressive. Can't wait to come back!

We tried this place for the first time last week because it is close to where we live. I cannot speak for the other dishes, but the Birria Ramen and Pork Loaded Fries were awful. The Birria Ramen was not real birria - it made me question if they even really know how it is supposed to taste. The broth had no flavor and was basically greasy meat drippings. The loaded fries were mushy (not fried crispy), and also had no flavor. They were supposed to be topped with a sauce, but it barely had any at all. The shredded pork and fresh jalapeños on them were fine. We ordered to go, so just added our own condiments from home to make it taste better.

Extremely mid food. We wanted to try their food when they first opened but it was way too chaotic that we just left, so we made the trip back recently and was pretty disappointed. The ordering system online was easy to use but the food took awhile. Peering into the kitchen it seemed like it was a one man show. We sat out back because we brought our dog along but the seats were oddly low and uneven. The food was very pricey for the price and food. We tried the pancit, chicken, garlic fried rice and sisig. The pancit was decently flavorful but he garlic fried rice which you had to pay extra for was not flavorful at all. The chicken was just alright and the sisig taste was good but it was soggy and had way more herbs and vegetables than pork pieces. We also bought the banana Turon and it was so tough instead of crispy. I wished I didn't spend money on it. Overall disappointing food and I would not recommend.

This was my first time eating Filipino food! Some Filipino friends in our group took care of ordering for our group and omg......the food was so good. Customer service was great too!! The interior was so cute and we loved how instagrammable the space was. Bring your own water if you expect to drink only water bc they have only bottled water for purchase, among other drinks. Everything was so good...my god. The pork belly sisig birria tacos. GET THEM. So freaking GOOD. There are three in an order, so great for one person or for sharing. Garlic rice, yum. Garlic flavor was even and flavorful throughout. Goes great with the longanisa, which was a lot sweeter than I was expecting but still really good. The caradobo 4 square was good, but if you're stuck between this and the carabao fries, I'd go with the fries. The Hawaiian bread goes well with the pork. The lechon was good but so crispy lol maybe too crispy for me? I hadn't had banana turon before, but I've had fried bananas before. I much prefer banana turon. It's so good!! They make it fresh so it takes a little while, but it's worth it. Be careful not to burn your tongue!

I left Anaheim CA back in 2014, plenty of filipino food in SoCal and fast food Jollibee. I feel I do have a good sense for authentic Filipino food and I'm happy this place opened in Austin. I did visit another Filipino restaurant, Be more Pacific, but they closed. This is rare to have this type of restaurant in Austin and I am sure it will be successful, the food is good!!!! Pancit Palabok, love the creamy orange curry sauce on top of the clear textured noodles/rice. You can taste a good ground beef texture mixed with turmeric. Not too salty, but a good clear taste, fresh. I ordered the Boodle Box, it came with 1st Base: Garlic Rice ($0.25) 2nd Base: Veggie Stir Fry 1st Entrée: Lechon Kawali Sisig + ($1.25) 2nd Entrée: Chicken Inasal 3rd Entrée: Pulled pork Adobo This has to be the best value to dollar price point to food portion so far. The garlic rice is yummy but I did want more garlic, maybe sprinkle fried garlic on top. The veggies are firm yet soft cabbage so it helps cut the fatty richness of the sisig and the other meats. The Sisig is chopped pork skin so it's oily and very heavy. The chicken inasal has a good soy sauce based flavor and the pulled pork is sugary and sweet same time. When mixed together, the rice and the vegetables help manage the fat to rich textures. YUM YUM Lechon Kawali, dammmmmmmmm. Wow. Crispy, crunchy, fatty, salty, what else do you expect to eat with pork heaven in your mouth? And then add the vinegar dipping and the liver brown sauce, OMG. Outstanding. The top crispy skin, that's where the amazing is. Beef Birria Tacos, good tacos. Seems to be cheese taco shell with flakey, dark soy meat. Amazing flavors. When mixed together with the beef consommé, fire fire all day, awesome beef tacos. A bit too oily and greasy but it's worth to try it. It has a dark hearty beefy rich taste. If your on a diet, throw it out the window because this is umami 3x on your tongue.

I like what they did with the place! It's still a great Filipino restaurant but a bit more modernized. Food is ordered on their tablets and it's put together/plated behind the counter. There is still a dining room, but it's a little sparse. I believe it would have been a great investment if they would have renovated it and made it more cozy and inviting. But if you're just picking up some Filipino deliciousness, then you're good to go!

SCAM. This is not FILIPINO QUALITY The food isn't authentic Filipino food. I got the chicken arroz caldo, The dish orange! Traditional Filipino arroz caldo would be white in color. I also got the box combo meal with chicken adobo, sweet longanisa patties, pancit, and garlic rice. Let's just say the chicken adobo was salty and isn't prepared the traditional way. The sides are really delicious though.

Man, as a Filipino I really wanted to like this place. My family and I were visiting from out of town and came in on a gloomy Saturday (early afternoon), ordered on the touchpad, then seated ourselves in their dining room, which was drafty despite being small. We all tried different dishes -- I got the tocilog off the brunch menu, and my family tried the sisig, lechon, and longanisa. Unfortunately the tocino and lechon were tough and hard to chew, and the garlic rice wasn't very garlicky at all. The sisig and longanisa patties were fine -- I probably liked the longanisa the best as it was tender. We didn't particularly like the turon but we also had those later after we'd already left -- maybe they're better when they're fresh? There's relatively few Filipino restaurants in Texas in general so I hate to leave a less-than-stellar review, but this just didn't hit the mark for us. Maybe you can give it a try if you're new to Filipino food, but if not, I'd look elsewhere.

box combo ($9.99) - 2 base & 2 entrees - white rice & pancit noodles; chicken adobe & sweet longanisa sausage banana turon ($2.50)- deep fried plantain bananas wrapped in spring roll wrappers ~ thoughts ~ easy to navigate menu - they have pictures for everything so I just chose based on the pictures lols; they have a kiosk that you can order and you get a text when the food is ready! super yummy, good portion, and affordable price!! they top it off with some freshly sliced cucumber and pickled red onions! the pancit was a bit salty - but was better when paired with the white rice! rly liked the chicken adobe; don't rly know how I feel about the sweet longanisa sausage. maybe my taste buds are more use to salty sausage?? would probably change that entree to something else! the banana turon reminds me of McDonald's apple pie but plantain banana & spring roll wrap version! it had a lot cinnamon flavor within

I used to like this place but now a simple meal and coke is $21. I think I'll pass for now on.. food is bland on styrofoam plate and plastic fork.. lumpia is not fresh... save your money and go to Panda Express

Food was not great. Lumpia were not very crispy. Other dishes over salted. Prices were reasonable for the quantity of food.

Carabao Express is owned by a caucasian Brit married to a Filipina. Today was the grand opening of Carabao Express. They are located where Gamaad Oriental used to be. My husband and his buddy placed two separate orders online at 12:40 PM for pickup at 1:40 PM. Our credit cards were charged without the advertised discounts on the receipts due to a bug. After we arrived, we waited until 2:30 PM. By 2:30 PM, they had ascertained that they had lost both of our orders and couldn't find it in their system. They were unable to rectify the situation by fulfilling our orders, nor could they issue an immediate refund. They advised us to send an email for a refund and we drove home. At 3:10 PM, minutes from reaching our houses, both parties received a miraculous phone call saying our orders were ready. Both parties were unwilling to drive another 35 minutes each way to pick up our orders 1.5 hours late. We are all in the process of emailing them for a refund of $50 and $40 each. Hay nako. Additionally, there was a bug in the Point of Sale software that didn't apply the grand opening discount at checkout. Nick, the owner, reached out and processed a full refund the next day. He said he would send an e-giftcard, which we're still waiting for. We recieved an e-giftcard in the amount of the grand opening discount we were supposed to receive. I paid the remainder. The Toast Point of Sale system doesn't allow a gift card payment so I had to order at the kiosk inside the restaurant. At the kiosk, the family meal pansit palabok wasn't an option so I couldn't order it. Items are misnomered between "carabaoexpress.com/menus" and "https://www.carabaoexpress.say2eat.com/order-online". "Lechon Crispy Sisig" on their website is called "Lechon Kawali Sisig" on Toast POS. " Yum Yum Lechon Kewali" is misspelled on their website but is correctly spelled "Yum Yum Lechon Kawali" on Toast. My husband ordered the Lechon Kawali Sisig which is spicy. The entees at the kiosk don't come with rice, so make sure to order that separately. The garlic rice and chicharron were delicious. The suka for the chicharron was too spicy for me but I know a lot of people prefer it that way. I prefer suka with garlic. The bistek was too salty but it was still good. I prefer my bistek with more lemon juice so I squeezed a lemon wedge. Overall my husband and I thought the food was good and are looking forward to trying more dishes. The owner is more professional than Filipino Asian Mart and the staff has a better attitude than Little Mama's. Great job!

This review is of my experience with their grand opening, and the one word to describe it is chaotic. I waited in line since 11:30 AM and finally left with some food around 2 PM. I really appreciate how Nick took ownership to not only comp our meal (since we were one of the first 50 people in line) but personally prepared our meal since we were waiting so long, but unfortunately we also left with a few items missing. I honestly feel bad for Carabao Express as Toast really dropped the ball with their POS as it literally was a POS and lead to much headache. All orders despite what time they were placed didn't register till they opened at 12 PM, so they were FLOODED with like 60 tickets at once. They also had multiple promotions which sadly didn't work and the signage was confusing and honestly ignored. I witnessed so many people just walking in, skipping the line which was plain frustrating, however one customer was nice enough to offer her expertise to help smooth things out until her order was ready. However in all honesty they probably would have benefited from a soft opening to work out the kinks. We ordered 2 Boodle Boxes and sadly I can't speak to the Lumpia Shanghai, Veggie Lumpia, Mango, Cucumber Salad, or Sauces as these were missing. The Lechon Kawali was also missing but the pictures looked promising. Chicken-Both the chicken Inasal and Chicken Adobo were a bit too dry for my liking, although the chicken adobo was less dry and a bit tangy but also saltier. Beef Tapa-Aggressively seasoned but not sure if intentional, the meat was also a bit on the chewier side but not as dry as the chicken. Pork Tocino-I liked this, it reminded me of the Chinese BBQ pork but a bit smokier and sweeter, probably getting the sweetness from the pineapple. Sweet Longanisa-This is their version of a sausage patty, but just a heads up that this is rather on the sweeter side so definitely eat with some rice or noodles. Garlic Rice-The rice was on the clumpier side and not as garlicky as I'd like but I might be a garlic fiend, so not sure if it was worth the extra 25 cents. Pancit Noodles- I thought this was a good filler and helped to balance some of the more strongly flavored meats. Dole Whip-WORTH it, it was sweet but not overly sweet. It also helped to wash everything down. Overall, it's nice to have a new fast casual Filipino restaurant nearby, but there is definitely much room for improvement.

I really want to like this place, but unfortunately the food just didn't travel very well. I've ordered from Carabao twice via Uber eats and each time I found the food to be a bit disappointing. I know this isn't completely the restaurants fault, but the lumpia and sisig was was basically mush and the lechon kawali was hard, and difficult to eat by the time it arrived at my house. Maybe the to-go packaging needs to be rethought? I definitely intend to eat in at the brick and mortar store one day, but in the meantime I'd be a bit hesitant to order delivery again.

A great place for both classic Filipino foods and fusion options! My friend and I wanted to try as much as possible since this was our first time trying Filipino food, so we ordered the Boodle Box with pork belly sisig, chicken adobo, and sweet longanisa patties as the entrees. We also got the pancit palabok and some drinks. My favorite out of the entrees had to be the sisig - spicy and flavorful, and squeezing the lemon on top added a nice tang. My friend really liked the longanisa patties, which were a perfect combo of sweet and savory. For the pancit palabok, the gravy wasn't too heavy, and the flavors were savory but not overpowering. Overall pretty good food for reasonable prices. The guy working there was also friendly and the interior was bright and clean, good vibes. I'll definitely be back to try their other menu items!

Did not enjoy the pork sisig and lechon kawali. The sisig was too salty and had so much sauce. Was not the traditional Filipino sisig. The pancit was okay.

The ordering process is really nice! You can order from the computer up front or from your seat, and the food comes out very quickly. Please take my review with a grain of salt, as despite trying Filipino food many times (I lived for four years in north LA), I can't say I'm a huge Filipino food lover or expert. However, out of all the Filipino restaurants I've tried, this one was the most disappointing. The pancit was mushy and you couldn't feel the texture of each noodle because it all sort of mushed together, and the gravy sauce consistency didn't super help either because it was similarly mushy. I do normally like chicken adobo, but theirs had a goopy sauce similar to the pancit sauce. The garlic rice is not bad! Their longaniza patties were very sweet and also more on the mushy side, and I would have preferred a firmer/bouncier texture. They did come with a sauce that I was very excited about though! I was wrong to expect a fishy, garlicky, or very sour sauce to complement the flavor of the sausage because it didn't do much to cut the sweetness. I'm sorry! But keep in mind I may not have the right palate for the food!

I've been looking for a proper Filipino restaurant like back home in LA, looks like the search will continue. I don't mind them doing some type of fusion thing but any Pinoy knows "rice is life" and it's bad enough that this isn't jasmine rice but it some terrible dry Uncle Bens type rice. The two types of lumpia are okay but that's it. To be honest the vegetable lumpia taste like the boxed vegetable egg rolls from Costco. ‍

I ordered takeout and received tasty food in large portions at reasonable prices. The lumpia and adobo were standouts.

Was SO excited to try this place, I'm from AK where there's tons of great Filipino offerings and I was craving some great pansit and lumpia and chicken adobo. Well. I'm sorry but it just wasn't good. The chicken adobo was dry as a bone, the lumpia was overcooked and burnt and had some sort of weird, dried up pink filling, and the pansit was clumped together in chunks and tasted old. We also ordered the garlic rice, but it smelled musty like an old shoe, and tasted just as bad. I want on a Friday afternoon, and there were no other customers, the place was empty, but I was still hopeful. I really hope they can get it together. Filipino food is AMAZING when cooked properly. Unfortunately, this was NOT GOOD.

Under first impressions the food from the pictures looked great and the price and amount of food you receive seem like a solid deal. But after receiving it and trying the chicken adobo, sisig, and Lechon kawali along with the rice and pancit, it was all disappointing. The adobo was very soupy and mushy, sisig was very tart tasted like sour Maggi seasoning and was in a soupy mush, and the lechon was cooked well and had crispy skin though it was not fried fully well as some parts were still hard and chewy and had no seasoning whatsoever. It came with this sweet dipping sauce that tasted like a sweet apple paste which didn't pair well with the pork at all. The rice was an unseasoned grayed ball and the pancit was also flavorless and dried out. Initial impressions were high and met with poor textures and flavors. I've had a lot of sisig and I've never seen nor tasted a sisig like this before. The textures and flavors are very off from any traditional or modern take on Filipino food and still tastes like it's in the trial phases. In the end we only had a few bites and tossed the rest as we decided it wasn't worth the calories to try and finish. We hope this place can work on their flavors and textures cause it's hard to find some good Filipino food!

I had such high expectations of this place as I've gone to their food truck in year's past, but I'm sad that it didn't deliver the same quality of food that I had before. The LIMPIa wasn't fresh, there was soggy cracklin on the fired pork belly, the garlic rice was hard, and the pancit was hardly seasoned. The chicken adobo was banging at least.

My friend mentioned how much she wanted Birria tacos and this was the first recommendation that popped up. Birria tacos is a style of tacos where you dip the taco into soup before eating. Carabao express is a small restaurant off Parker, very easy to miss the spot if you aren't paying attention. The aesthetics of the building was comfy and customer service was very nice as you can just order on the kiosk. I ordered the pork belly Birria tacos which was delicious and the soup just enhanced the flavor. For anyone trying out Birria tacos this is a strong recommendation.

I've never truly had Filipino food before aside from lumpias! I knew that had to change, so I visited Carabao Express to try some and I got their: - Lechon Crispy Sisig: tasty, crispy, chopped pork belly with a little kick and drizzled with a creamy mayo. I was a big fan of this one. - Pancit Noodles: glass noodles with cabbage and carrot. This one is more on the lighter side, good balance to what I got overall! - Lumpias: similar to an egg roll, but the outer "shell" is much thinner. I love dipping them in the sweet chili sauce that it comes with! - Sweet Longanisa Sausages: smokey sweet garlicky sausages that are very tender in texture. These were probably my favorite. - Chicken Adobo: tender chicken in a garlic, soy, vinegar marinade. It's tangy, salty, garlicy, and slightly sweet. I enjoyed the wide variety of flavor here! - Dole Whip: pineapple soft serve, reminds me of the one from Disney. Easily puts them as a top 10 place to get ice cream. You gotta get this! - Banana Turon: a dessert spring roll filled with banana. Not overly sweet, a good way to end your meal if you don't want something overpowering or heavy. All in all, I was highly satisfied with the food. Loved the backyard picnic seating too as it's great for this weather. The customer service is great too. Y'all come try them out!

This block has all kinds of hidden gems and I'd say this is one of them. I've been looking to try birria tacos and who knew I'd find 'em at a small filipino restaurant? The food was delicious! I'd love to come back and try other things on the menu. Venue was clean and spacious with all of the pandemic precautions in place. We ordered our tacos to go, and they were ready once we got there. A nice little convenience they had was a little sanitizer dispenser outside of their door.

My boyfriend missed his mother's cooking and decided to stop by. This location is pretty close to the domain making it a nice spot for anyone craving Filipino food in the area. I found it odd that there's a cashier right there and we couldn't place the order with him. I get the wanting to be contactless but personally I feel he should still be able to take orders for people who rather tell someone what they want. I mean, he is there in front of a screen anyway so might as well, right? My boyfriend noted the prices are pretty high compared to other Filipino places that he knows of. Yes, these places are in a different city. But for what it is, it was on the pricey side. Good news though he mentioned the fries were definitely worth the price. It was surprised by how much food they provide in that tray and he was very happy about that. He ordered ulam and felt that was not worth the price at all. Maybe if it was the same price as the fries he'd agree more. I was surprised that their soft serve was vegan. I was honestly just there for him but when I saw this I ordered the ube soft serve. It was pretty good! It just had a weird after taste but other than that I enjoyed it. Nice random stop. I wish this business the best of luck.

Ordered adobo chicken Garlic rice Stir fry vegetables Kawali lechon -- Chicken was really good. Spicy and tasty! Veggies were good. Rice tasted like days old rice, texture was very cumpled and it felt like it came out of the fridge. The lechon kawali, it looked awesome in the pictures. It was very very dry, must have been fried for way too long. Way too hard and dry to eat :(

Fresh meats and sides. I absolutely loved everything that I got! Next time I need to try the lumpia and Dole Whip!

My first time trying Filipino restaurants and it's really tasty! The upper one was boodle box with crispy pork belly, chicken inasal, and patties, with garlic rice and veggies. The lower one was box with chicken adobo, pork tocino, pancit and veggies. The portion size was enormous , we could even hardly finish half of our food. The entrees are all tasty. Especially I'm amazed that the chicken meat were so tender and the sauce was pretty good too. The pork tocino was like honey glazed pork meat charred outside, similar to Chinese pork chase. I liked it overall and this would probably be my first and favorite Filipino restaurant ever since.

My brothers Filipino girlfriend took us here. 1 guy cooking the food but it came out fast and hot. Lumpia was fantastic with a citrus dipping sauce. The pork belly was my favorite. I preferred the garlic rice over the pancit. It was a little heavy on the soy sauce. Save room for dessert the banana egg rolls were so good. The dole whip was also good but was really hoping for pineapple and they only had orange. Can't wait to go back.

Been here multiple times and I keep giving this place a chance since I love Filipino food! However, I continue to be disappointed and will not be a continuing customer moving forward. It seems as if their food is pre-made and just warmed up to serve and nothing is fresh. The most recent time I visited, ordered the palabok, and it was served at room temperature and later that night I didn't feel great. I knew it was the palabok I ate that day because it did not taste fresh. Their turon was served with caramel sauce, I wish I would've known that since traditionally turon is not served with any sauce drizzled on top. And as a Filipina, I know "yummy, not too sweet!" is the biggest compliment a baker or cook will get. I felt otherwise about the turon here. Good luck y'all.

I'm really conflicted how to rank this place as Austin really lacks Filipino spaces and over time there are fewer places to go to. I totally get this is more of a fast casual place so they priced everything accordingly but in doing that the quality is sacrificed a bit to fit that price point. For example they have pork adobo but it's shredded pork. Just different as when you think about pork adobo you think chunks of melt in your mouth pork with fatty bits. The adobo has more of a gravy texture too which I get but I just have never thought about adding flour to thicken adobo sauce. I normally order the Palabok here but you can tell it's just not as fresh as you'd expect as the noodles were clumpy and the gravy - yes it's supposed to be fishy but whenever I open the container it's really apparent that maybe it's close to the expiration date. The last few times I ordered the lumpia the meat just had an over processed texture and again I think its because they are trying to hit a lower price point and it's never crispy or freshly cooked. The chicken inasal used to be there signature item but I'm still holding out for mang inasal to come to the US. They also have a bunch of -ilogs (choice of protein with rice and sunny side up egg) that I have yet to try. Also the building is old so there is this smell to it so I would say get the food to go or eat out in the back.

Usually, I really love this place. I always get the sisig or lechon kawali. Unfortunately, I showed up today and none of those dishes were available after I ordered so I settled on getting the arroz caldo with chicken, but it was so cold. There are so few Filipino restaurants in Austin and I really want this place to be successful, but it's inconsistency in food prep is not helping their case.

We were glad to see that this place popped up as we are lacking in the Filipino food spots in Austin. We are vegetarians and wondered if there would be any options for us, but there definitely was. We ordered the veggie lumpia, veggie pancit, and garlic rice. All the food was really good, particularly the lumpia, crispy and delicious. We really appreciated the outdoor seating with on a beautiful evening and even went back in for dessert, banana turon. We will definitely be back.

Coming from someone who was born and raised in a Filipino household with my lolo and lola's cooking and teaching me. This is not really a good representation of filipino food.. the portions are good for the price but it's just not for me. If you're looking for authentic filipino food this probably is not what you want.. it's definitely a fusion or something because nothing looked or was prepared traditional.

In response to my review. Since you said that you do not serve traditional authentic Filipino food and you call it "Filipino Fusion", then do not call your food the traditional way. Sisig is an authentic Filipino dish. The lechon kawali I ordered was certainly not a fusion. It was traditional but the pork skin was chewy and not crunchy.

This is a good place to get a grab and go Filipino meal. Seasoned well, nice portions and friendly (contactless) service. Felt very safe and has outdoor dining. It's only three stars because it is good for what it is -Filipino carry out.

I really wanted to love this place (been a few times), but the food is disappointing, especially coming from California. adobos - like no black pepper or vinegar taste. I cant taste the bay leaf. It's just really, really salty. The meat is cooked well at least. lechon kawii - Way to much fat, and the meat parts dry and overcooked. Not seasoned well. pork belly Sisig - pieces of pork belly meat in there were super dry, the skin parts of the belly were super chewy. This whole thing was disappointing, it's supposed to be bits of tender meat/offal/fat with crisp edges with spice and peppers and onions and an egg on top. Garlic rice - was just alright. Lumpia - was pretty good. Ordering is really easy on the touchpad. The workers are nice. idk, the times I have been, it's the evening, maybe the food is old by then. I might go back on a weekend to try the breakfast stuff. Also, this is a personal thing, Filipino joints in Cali are not stingy with the rice portions. They kinda are here, heh.

Gave this place another shot this past weekend. I got a 2 entree plate with chicken adobo (extra gravy), lechon, pancit and rice. It was very good. The adobo had such a good flavor and the chicken was super tender. The lechon came with a cup of sauce and was good too. I notice that they now offer birria tacos with consume so I may have to return soon to try that out.

Incredible filipino food. Great price for all the food you get. Got the Ube soft serve and it was incredible! Can't wait to try other items!

Gave it a try to see what's up. Didn't feel any of the dishes. Definitely the Panda Express comment is legit. The previous joint that was here had more authentic taste. Hope they have a better luck with some other palettes. The adobo didn't have good balance. A bit on the pepper side which is fine, but didn't amp the other flavors. Pork belly missed that needed crisp. And Ticino was just average. Garlic rice was decent. Pass if you want authentic but for a quick fix, decent option.

The beef birria tacos were really tasty & such a great portion. Will be returning again !

One of my go-to Filipino places now. You have to try the pork belly birria tacos and the pork adobo, but honestly everything I've tried there is good. The birria tacos were filled wiith crispy pieces of pork belly and gooey cheese plus raw onion and cilantro to balance out the richness of the meat. They give you a consumme to dip the tacos in and holy cow, it's heaven in your mouth. The pork adobo was super tender and flavorful and reminded me of good home-cooking. The garlic rice and pancit were super tasty too. Would definitely come again!