Ima's Kusina

I visited Ima’s for the very first time with my sister and best friend of 38 years. We ordered food from we hadn’t eaten in years, and I have to say, the meal filled me up until the evening. We tried a dish called “Okoy,” which are deep-fried fritters made from a crispy glutinous rice batter, served with vinegar. It was incredibly delicious, very filling, and satisfying. The people there were also very nice. We bought another food item that was just as good. Eating their food truly transported us back to the Philippines.

I've been going here with my family for years.  This trip I was the chauffeur.  So many great eats here from cooked food, desserts, and frozen items to cook at home.  This place is clean and always busy.   There are all sorts of goodies everywhere you look.        This trip we bought: 1.  Laing:  My mom's favorite and go to. 2.  Karioka:  One of my favorite items here.   First bite brings me back to memories of my lola making this at home.   It tastes exactly the same.  The crunch with each bite and perfect amount of sweetness.  The only difference is this is a lot bigger than what my lola made, but so worth the trip. 3.  Turon:  Perfect size with perfect ratio of banana and langka.  This had the same crunchy and sweetness on the outside as the karioka.  It tasted like the panutsa that they use not the typical brown sugar or sugar coating. 4.  Kakanin sampler:  This is delicious.  My least favorite was the sapin sapin.  It was a little hard and the consistency wasn't ma kunat.  A certain kind of chewy texture that I don't know how to explain. 5.  Frozen tocino:  It seems a little pricey but more than enough to feed a family of 4.  This made the perfect tocilog at home.   I forgot to take a pic after it was cooked, but the color was perfect. 6.  Frozen longanisa:  Sadly, this was a little too sweet for us.  I'm not sure if it was just an off batch but I think I'll stay away from that for now. We kept adding to our order because we would see something else that looked good.  The gentleman helping us was like,"Anything else?"  Thank you to him for being so patient with us lol.  I highly recommend this place and can't wait to come back sooner than later.

OH MY GOSH. Literally so good. Even when I went there LAST MINUTE. I went there like 15 minutes before they closed and their food was so fresh and hot! I just got off of work in the Bay Area (I’m a travel nurse) and I called a lot of Filipino stores around this area to see what they had. Out of 4 places I called, No one answered. Finally the 5th place I called before I gave up, (imas kusina) ANSWERED THE PHONE. I was so happy because I didn’t have to waste time driving. They let me know that they had sinigang! WHICH WAS SO GOOD BY THE WAY. So I drove towards them and they were all so friendly, I wish I got the two girls names in the front! They were so much and friendly and PRETTY! I don’t have my mom to cook Filipino food for me anymore since I moved away from Los Angeles, but this place hits just like home :) thank you so much imas kusina!!! OH YEAH PLEASE GET THEIR KASAVA CAKE ITS SOOO GOOD. I’m going to gain like 30 pounds after today. lol. 11/10 STARS!!

Their lechon is really good! They also have yummy authentic desserts! I love to stop by here when I’m in the area! Also Riz the young handsome kid is fun to converse with! I love to see young people helping their family’s business!

Good filipino food. A bit pricey but that's how filipino food is. We always get the Shanghai lumpia. It's not a dine in place -pick up and go. They have some many choices you have to try them all

I would give 0 if I could. Poor service, food is amazing - however and this is probably why the business is still open. People were rude, dry, short and abrupt, and corrupt. They charged me an X-Large dish but only filled up the container halfway. When addressed this issue, the cashier said oh no it’s full. Well I have a picture! That’s probably full in Philippine or third world version but we’re in the US so people are warranted what they’ve paid for in dollars not in pesos. People were talking ending their shifts already while ringing up customers. I drove 1 1/2 hours to get to their place and never would happen again. Not that they care -

Boight gulay na langka today and when ent straight home after was excited to eat for its not common to see that delicase in the food choices. But was so disappointed to find put that it was bubbling and spoiled. I even asked the lady if its newly cooked and she said yes if its newly cooked how come its spoiled already house was just 10 mins away so my fanily end up buying at valero in berryeassa instead. I was very disappointed now at imas now for even their crispy pata is not the same when we boight the last time its tough now and not cruncy even tasteless.

Kare-kare was made with pork shank and I discovered this when I got home. . Who does that???? Desserts are old and food looked stale in the afternoon. Prices are also quite high considering there’s a bakery next door. Good luck to your business!

OH MY GOSH. Literally so good. Even when I went there LAST MINUTE. I went there like 15 minutes before they closed and their food was so fresh and hot! I just got off of work in the Bay Area (I'm a travel nurse) and I called a lot of Filipino stores around this area to see what they had. Out of 4 places I called, No one answered. Finally the 5th place I called before I gave up, (imas kusina) ANSWERED THE PHONE. I was so happy because I didn't have to waste time driving. They let me know that they had sinigang! WHICH WAS SO GOOD BY THE WAY. So I drove towards them and they were all so friendly, I wish I got the two girls names in the front! They were so much and friendly and PRETTY! I don't have my mom to cook Filipino food for me anymore since I moved away from Los Angeles, but this place hits just like home :) thank you so much imas kusina!!! OH YEAH PLEASE GET THEIR KASAVA CAKE ITS SOOO GOOD. I'm going to gain like 30 pounds after today. lol. 11/10 STARS!!

I've been going here with my family for years. This trip I was the chauffeur. So many great eats here from cooked food, desserts, and frozen items to cook at home. This place is clean and always busy. There are all sorts of goodies everywhere you look. This trip we bought: 1. Laing: My mom's favorite and go to. 2. Karioka: One of my favorite items here. First bite brings me back to memories of my lola making this at home. It tastes exactly the same. The crunch with each bite and perfect amount of sweetness. The only difference is this is a lot bigger than what my lola made, but so worth the trip. 3. Turon: Perfect size with perfect ratio of banana and langka. This had the same crunchy and sweetness on the outside as the karioka. It tasted like the panutsa that they use not the typical brown sugar or sugar coating. 4. Kakanin sampler: This is delicious. My least favorite was the sapin sapin. It was a little hard and the consistency wasn't ma kunat. A certain kind of chewy texture that I don't know how to explain. 5. Frozen tocino: It seems a little pricey but more than enough to feed a family of 4. This made the perfect tocilog at home. I forgot to take a pic after it was cooked, but the color was perfect. 6. Frozen longanisa: Sadly, this was a little too sweet for us. I'm not sure if it was just an off batch but I think I'll stay away from that for now. We kept adding to our order because we would see something else that looked good. The gentleman helping us was like,"Anything else?" Thank you to him for being so patient with us lol. I highly recommend this place and can't wait to come back sooner than later.

Another Filipino shop part of the seafood city plaza in Milpitas! It offers both sweets and hot foods like fish, meats, and more. My mom got what she wanted with a large dessert platter for the holidays. It varies from $29 to their smallest platter to $65 for their largest platter. It's a small family shop and service was quick and easy. Can't wait to feast on the desserts!

High quality Filipino steam table combo plates and appetizers. Some items are best I have seen. Home style; everything made in house. Many restaurants buy frozen eggrolls from overseas or from wholesalers in the area. Low cost when they produce by thousands with automated production line. 1 ) Best veggie eggroll/lumpia I have ever seen. Large, not the standard 1in wide eggrolls. 3x as large. pi r squared so size means exponential cost difference in ingredients. Stuffed with cabbage, bean sprouts, 3mm sliced thin long beans, and melange of veggies. Like grandma style at home; makes the kids eat veggies. First time I have seen this in a restaurant. 2) maybe the best Turon in bay area: very distinct crunch. Not the standard brown sugar, banana, fry technique. They added an outer sugar layer to keep it crunchy and to prevent turon from getting soggy as it sits there. 3) never seen this in any other FF asian place, Grilled eggplant with distinct smoky flavor then battered and fried. Get texture of melt in mouth silky eggplant with intense bbq smoky flavor. Delightful. Eggs mellow out the texture and smoky flavor. Stunning experience. Owner on site. Hands on with other chefs/moms. Very personable. Named after owner's mom. Extremely large portion sizes. 1 item pinakbet rice plate: shrimp paste, eat the kabocha squash with skin, lechon, shrimp paste, eggplant, bitter melon. Very healthy. Simmered for long time. Small eating area; 4 stools. Boneless milkfish: nodoby serves this because of prep time. Owner kept on recommending it. Large portion. melt in mouth fish Catering business inside. Very high quality home style Filipino/Asian food. Not optimized for profit like Panda Express; optimized for quality with reasonable prices. 2 locations, they have following.

We just purchased this kakanin today and they tasted bad "sour". I hope this store check the quality of their before selling them. It's embarrassing we served it at our birthday dinner and some people are not familiar of the taste until one of us tasted it.

This location is located at the seafood city Plaza. We came on a busy Sunday and luckily they were able to still make us a tray. This is the best place to get Filipino desserts. They also have turo turo filipino.

Ima's Kusina saved my day, big time. I bought a large Lechon in another restaurant (Pinoy Bbq in Milpitas) but I had to return it because it was so over cooked that there is no moisture left in it and a large portion of it is like charcoal. I also bought goat meat caldereta but used beef neck bone instead. Good thing that I bought 4 food items in Ima's Kusina in Milpitas. Their fried chicken was so crispy, so moist, and so tasty that all my visitors were crazy about them. The beef intestine dinuguan was also a favorite, the Lumpiang Shanghai were perfectly cooked and super crispy, and their 2 kakanin ( sweets) in trays is a must-have in every parties. Come and visit Ima's Kusina. I highly recommend it.

I'd be wary of this place. I bought a platter of desserts and when I brought it home I found it had mold on many of the desserts and the sapin sapin was hard. Check the photos - see the mold we discovered on the products. I wish I didn't have to write this but someone can get really sick and serving moldy food to customers is concerning.

Customer's service. It's really bad in customer's service. I'm not from here and I'm just browsing when I saw this restaurant to see what they have. The lady asked me what I want. I said, I'm just looking . After I said that, . She gossip me to her partner. She was impolite , rude and unfriendly..This business shouldn't be here if this kind of bad customer's service will persist.

Came by to get some Ukoy. 4 stars. Their ukoy has minimal batter and plenty of veggies, which I like. But only one shrimp. Wish they had more little shrimp in it. Goes for 4.50$ for one Ukoy but it's pretty filling and comes with garlic vinegar. They also have a variety of deserts like cassava cake (4 stars) and sweet rice desert. Their banana egg roll: 2.5 stars. Was ok. Not the best I've had. Wish it had some jackfruit inside. And the banana was a bit hard and not too soft. They sell some hot foods for lunch - a la cart or part of a meal. I didn't get any since I was not sure what anything was. They had plenty of variety of fish dishes as well.

2023/037 A very quaint shop offering authentic Filipino homemade cuisine and traditional flavorful desserts. We came here to buy Carioca which is a sweet chewy fried glazed balls made out if sweet rice flour and shredded coconuts. Friendly and very welcoming store environment.

Their lechon is absolutely delicious, and the authentic desserts are a true delight! I always make it a point to stop by whenever I'm in the area. Riz, the charming young man who works there, is a pleasure to chat with. It's wonderful to see young people so actively involved in their family's business. Thank you for always providing such a fantastic experience!

Just so happened to be at Seafood City for the first time in a while and noticed this shop. I was excited to see that they had my favorite Filipino desserts, so I bought some biko, espasol and palitaw and they tasted pretty good. The next day, I saw that there was mold all over the biko, so I threw everything away. What a huge waste of money, and it's not like these items were cheap.

I had a bad experience here three times. First, I bought embutido, old embutido, and it tasted so bland. I threw it, and they say it was new. Second, I purchased chicharrones, which they told me were new. However, when I arrived home, they were as hard as a rock, so I threw them away. Last was the peanut. I asked the lady if it was new, and she said they just made it in the morning; okay, I paid and tasted it, and it was not crunchy, so I returned it, and I said, it's very old peanut, and the lady said they wouldn't accept returned so I just told her, you keep my money and the peanut., After leaving for a minute, I realized I had to go back and ask the lady her name. Still, when I did, they were talking about it, and they gave me a new one and apologized. When I tasted it, it was new at the time; I didn't understand why they couldn't just discard the old one. One thing they won't provide is the dates of their product's manufacture and the optimal time for it to be at its best. Shame on them. We paid the exact amount for the item bought and will dispose of it. Perhaps leaving a review will open their strategy to retaining customers, because if they continue to sell old food, which they will always claim is new, then it's only a matter of time before their business closes, as no customers will want to buy their food anymore.

Recycled food. I ordered litson Togo..they push to sell old or recooked one while newly cooled they said it is pre ordered already. The one I bought taste bad like it was 2 or 3 days stock...smell n taste spoiled. The same with the 18 USD mix kakanin plate.. taste old. I don't recommend and will not come back here. They said food is new but it wasn't. Be careful of gastro problem.

I always order from Ima's Kusina for our family gatherings. Food is always delicious! We ordered Pancit Bijon, Shanghai Lumpia, Pinakbet, Arelyenong Bangus and Dessert Platter! Our order was ready when we came to pick up. The store was clean and the person that helped us was very friendly. I will definitely be back!

I bought camote Que this morning, it kinda looked different as I always buy it there . But didn't think of it much , until I took a bite and the taste was awful. It wasn't fresh . Disappointed

Best veggie lumpia in Milpitas. Also their card reader was broken and I had to wait ten minutes, but they felt bad so they gave me my order for free. Excellent customer service. Thanks you Ima Kusina staff!

Their kare-kare is the best one in town. My family and friends always ask where we buy this from when we have parties. So good and don't disappoint!

My mom and I went here yesterday night to look for some good Filipino food. But unfortunately it's not that good. The Laing has so many fish bones somehow‍ the tortang talong doesn't taste much, they put too much egg and ita overpriced. The pampano tinapa is $5 each cooked but they're so small. But they're sticky rice(kalamay) is good. That's only reason I'll come back for. But I hope they improve how the food is. I know Pampanga Food is really good.

The hubby travels to and from here to AZ to visit his family and with him being Filipino and AZ lacking a variety of Filipino food ...his mom asks him to buy stuff here and bring it when he goes to see her. This place is authentic and the staff is super friendly and extremely generous and kind. You gotta come early, as it's a small mom and pop shop and fresher during the day and made fresh daily. The parking isn't ideal as its located in a heavily congested shopping center but there is plenty of space to go around. The

Nothing extraordinary. I usually go to Goldilock's or Valerio's for my Filipino dessert fix (my mom's kitchen is still the best place though). I came in and got kalamay, suman gata, and suman latik; all of it was just "eh." The 3 desserts had great texture - If you're a Filipino-dessert lover like I am, you know that the texture of the dessert is an important aspect, but sadly, there was a lack of flavor. I was hoping for the kalamay to be flavorful & taste like Ube but was disappointed. Maybe they were having an off day but it also seems like my other fellow Yelpers had this issue too. The suman gata was the best out of the 3 because it's the one that had the most flavor, but it still wasn't anything special. The packaging is also difficult if you're planning on eating it in the car like I was (I couldn't wait to eat it, LOL). They wrap it with one layer of banana leaves then wrap the rest in plastic wrap.

I was excited to finally try the lechon belly as I was in the area. Bought a slice and brought it home for dinner. Sooo disappointed- while most of the skin was crunchy - the meat had a very strong unpleasant pork taste and smell (maamoy). It wasn't fresh? ... maybe boiling it first and dumping the water wouldve made it better. And the home made liver sauce tasted malansa. Mang Tomas na lang sana. Sorry- but not buying again . We had just had a bite of the belly lechon and no one wanted it. What a waste of $26.40 @ $16.50/lb.

I used to come to Ima's twice a week to pick up dinner. They make authentic filipino food. But I noticed from my last three visits that they don't give you enough food. They gave me 3 small pieces of squid for 1 entree. The following visit i hardly got any meat all veggie. I won't be coming here for a while.

This store is nothing more but a rip off store. Bought a combination kare-kare and paksiw with rice and to my surprise, the person that work there gives me beef Kare kare and it's hardly no lean meat, she gives me nothing but fat! I am very, very disappointed. I took it back and show her how he kare-kare that she gives me, and instead of apologizing about it she was arguing with me that I was lying. She did not give me a refund for it and continued to argue with me. Then, the food was cold and I was she charge me $17.20 it's not the money that I was complaining about! It's the service that I expect in this type of place. So people be very aware! Don't go to this place because it will surely rip you off. I would not recommend this place at all. BAD SERVICE!!

Ordered a few trays of desserts for my dad's funeral giveaways. They don't have a party tray menu with pricing so we went in and ordered from them. They were able to accommodate all of our requests and was able to do it a day in advance. We ordered 150 three flavored puto, 50 kuchinta, 50 Suman, a large tray of Ube Biko, and a large tray of regular Biko. They were so accommodating and friendly. This will be my forever go to when it comes to Filipino desserts!

My aunt bought this on a Wednesday and went straight home. We weren't planning to eat the food right away, so we put it straight into the fridge. Next day, mold everywhere. So glad we didn't eat it when we bought it because there was probably already mold that wasn't visible to the naked eye. I'm all about supporting small businesses, especially during times like, but my family and I will def never be eating from here. If you know what's good for your health, you should stay away from too. It doesn't look like they keep track of how old their food is nor know how to properly store their food.

1. I bought steamed rice cake (puto), it was bad. Not bad tasting, but SPOILED. In tagalog, panis na! 2. Another time I bought a tub of macaroni salad, it was spoiled, too! It tasted very sour and the macaroni itself has turned yellowish-brown and the contents were watery. Hot dishes are fine but don't trust anything that's on the shelf/counter or in the freezer/ref section. Who knows how long these items have been sitting there! No quality control. Store will not give you refund even if the items they sold to you were spoiled.

I bought this thinking it was Suman Ube but this doesn't look like anywhere near ube-not the color and definitely not the taste. Very misleading. False advertising. I called to verify and the lady that answered was very argumentative. Not even an apology that maybe it was mislabeled. SMH!

This review is for the Hesperian location in Haywatd: I did not find the Hayward address maybe because they haven't set up their own webpage. But it's the same name brand of Filipino fast food. I was really discouraged at first because they are more expensive than usual Filipino fast food but I said to myself maybe they're good so I tried it. The turon is good and the chicharon is really yummy crispy but the ginataang bilo-bilo I was frustrated because the ingredients still needed some cooking as the sweet potato and taro (kamote and gabi) are still hard to chew. The coconut seemed to be lacking too. And the sisig tasted bad like they used bad pork ingredients in it. I will not come back to this location and do not recommend it to anyone.

I really, really, really wanted to support a local small business especially during these times. But after scrolling and seeing many other reviews complaining of mold, I should've stayed clear. Like other reviews have stated..check the food before you eat it. I finished half a whole slice of sapin sapin. I noticed a slight weird flavor and it was slightly hard on the edges but I was like ok whatever maybe it dried out a bit and perhaps their recipe is different. After eating about half, I noticed the weird flavor got stronger. I lifted up the whole thing and found mold all over the bottom..white fuzzy mold.. The individual kakanin plater tasted kind of like plastic which leads me to believe it was probably old too =( Sucks because the desserts taste good but expiration needs to be checked..mind you, I ate these items right when I got home which is like five minutes away. The puto tasted fresh and good however hence the one star...

I bought desserts. My son ate half of it but did not realize it was moldy. He had bad diarrhea. He was really sick and didn't sleep well. Look out for food poisoning-like symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Individuals who suffer from asthma or other respiratory issues should watch for signs of an allergic reaction. If you've consumed moldy food and are concerned about your health, contact your doctor. I was going to let it go about the desserts but I'm still upset about the service. Zero star for customer service. Erly was very rude and unprofessional. You can't even ask her a question , she was sarcastic. She is making this place looks really bad! Few customers were complaining about her rudeness. She didn't say hello or thank you to the customers. First time I came here and I will never go back. I was so furious when I left.

This place is selling expired desserts items. I bought a pack variety of desserts, the cashier told me they ran out of receipt. The cashier was somewhat rude too by the tone of her voice. I opened the pack of desserts items when I got home, it smelled ready to be thrown away. I knew that's why she did not issue me the receipt so I won't be able to complain as I dont have a receipt to show them. They put all the leftovers in one pack and sell it to customers.

My first time to order food at this place to order ukoy for a party from this place and its so overpriced and everything else!! The lady with tattoos on her arm whos working the counter and is very rude. I will never ever buy food here again or come back to this place. Another thing... if u call them they dont answer their phones. I will just keep ordering from other Filipino places who are much more respectful to their customers. Hope this places closes dow load their lack of friendliness and over the top prices!. Dont come here!!

I really like the food here, however they are not managing the Covid issues very well. There's no 6 feet apart, there's too many people together in a small space, too scary for me to go there anymore. Please fix this so I can start coming back again.

I only come here for the chicharon. You can get better hot Filipino food at the stores around the area. Definitely lacks customer service. I almost wanted to apologize for wasting the young girl's time while we patronized your store. SMH.

Authentic filipino food. I love their pork belly, turn, filipino delicacies dessert, dinuguan, okoy, Apsara etd

Please taste your Palabok. I was so disappointed when my kids bought 2 packs and it tasted just plain flour. Your Lechon belly is the hairiest I've seen. Why sell garbage!!!

I ordered a large kakanin platter (Vilma's platter) and for $48 I got a huge, beautiful assortment of desserts suitable for the large party we had. Everything was delicious even a few days later! Came with a generous amount of coconut and toasted coconut sprinkled directly on some. The picture doesn't show how huge the platter was, but you can see how yummy everything looks as well as the assortment. So happy with my order and will definitely go back!

One star for the rude service Justine is her name. Obviously she don't want returning customers and just makes the company look bad.. Customer service is everything and you would think being the first customer right when they open, they would be more hospitable but NO they were just chit chatting in the back didn't even notice we were in there. Had to knock to get their attention and Justine came out with a negative vibe no tact!!! We could've taken food without them noticing!!! Plus I don't even know why they didn't open the store in time everything was out food was ready! They probably lost Track of time and was chillin in the back with no sense of responsibility that they got a business to run. Way to go y'all! There's plenty of Filipino food restaraunts I can go to definitely not coming back here.

Supposed to be zero star. I don't appreciate the owner LUNA A denying her product. She doesn't even recognized the white little bags that they use for their products. I think she should check her store more often. I have to smashed the Carioca in half so I can eat them but it's too hard and tasted burnt.

Those are all desserts should have to show the date of expired. They shouldn't leftover dessert without the stickers of date of expired.

I came here to eat lunch. Their food is horrible. My cooking is much better.lol I had banana blossoms "puso ng saging". There's no meat or flavor in it and fish. Fried Milk fish, it's so dry and cold. I think better stick with "kakanin" rice cake. Not on their "ulam".

I Went to Milpitas from Fremont and Im craving for this kind of Rice cake, I asked the lady if its new and she said YES everything is new today (Tuesday) since they are close Monday, so wth is this one i cant even slice it because its too hard, I end up eating only the caramel-like coconut topping and just threw up the rice cake remaining. So excited to go home to eat and I thought I will enjoy it but ended up very dissapointed with my purchase.

I'm frustrated for my order. I ordered Bangsilog and supposedly I will get sinangag right Cuhs it's bangsilog. I got white rice instead and there's no vinegar for my dipping

Bought Biko combo yesterday and here's what I've found. Molds!!! Super disappointed!! Trying to support local food vendor

Amazing homemade Filipino food and desserts!They also sell frozen pindang and longganisa (Also prepared in-store) plus a variety of hot and ready ulam.

I ordered combo meal, pancit and palabok and 6 pieces of cassava cake. I thought the prices are high but due to inflation, I understand. However, all the food I brought home were not delicious at all. The rice is overcooked and pasty, the banana hearts were undercooked and very vinegary, the squid was also very sour and the cassava cake has baked egg topping, both noodles were lacking flavor. Is this Pampanga style? Don't recommend the place.

Yummy lechon paksiw! We have been buying their desserts for years and they never disappoint. Also, great customer service.