A Filipino Buffet? Who would have thought! Located near Tooting Broadway this was one buffet which was worth travelling for to check out. People are always asking me to describe Filipino food and I generally have a difficult time describing it. There are clear influences from the Oriental cuisines but it also has an identity of its own but how to describe it? The food often consists of stews, or barbecues (with meat which has been especially seasoned), noodles, rice and also its fair share of deep-fried foods (such as spring rolls.)

The menu at Kusinang Munti changes on a daily basis with offerings including: Adobo (chicken cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and pepper), Afritada (chicken with potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes), Dinuguan (pork cooked in black pudding – a Filipino specialty), Kare-Kare (beef or ox tail in a slight peanut sauce), Lechon (roast pork belly), Lechon Paksiw (roast pork belly served in a vinegar and pepper sauce), and Pancit Bihon (stir-fired noodle dish.) The offerings sometimes also include elements of Chinese and Indian cooking. There are also a couple of dessert dishes (including lecheplan basically a cream caramel) and a soup of the day.

The restaurant is brightly lit and welcoming. When we arrived at 12.30 (they recommend if you come on a Sunday that you make a booking) the restaurant had a couple of other diners but didn’t get too much busier. What was clear that most of the diners were repeat (Filipino) customers and they had a good relationship with each other and with the restaurant staff. At the back there is a large tv that is hung from the upper wall and screens footage of the kitchen but from the sound system and the style of music being played I have the suspicion the restaurant also doubles as a karaoke lounge!

As I piled my plate high with the offerings from the buffet menu I was struck by how meat dominated Filipino food is. Sure there was A stir-fry vegetable dish (or maybe two) but my plate was filled with pork, ox tail, chicken wings, more pork, more chicken, and rice and noodles. Perfect for me but not so perfect for Pat who I think was feeling a bit of pork overload! I was in Filipino food heaven but I could agree with my brother that I couldn’t eat all this food all the time. The best dishes of the day were the Lechon (the pork belly was melt in your mouth and the crackling! Just perfect) and the Kare-Kare though the other dishes were pretty tasty.

The journey out Kusinang Munti makes it an event though I think it took us less time to eat there than it did to travel there! so it may be a while to come out again but it is a definite eat again. It’s fairly cheap as well so even though we had a 2-4-1 voucher courtesy of Time Out we didn’t bother with it as we would have felt well povo using it!