Tastebuds - Filipino, San Bruno

582 San Bruno Ave West, San Bruno CA 94066
650-583-0899
Parking: small parking lot and street parking
http://tastebudscuisine.com/

Last Visited: February 11, 2017

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Heidi recommended Tastebuds as a good place to try.  Since she's from the Philippines, I figured she would know what she's talking about, and since I drive by this place regularly, that was enough of an endorsement that I didn't think twice.

Since I came for Sunday lunch, I just missed the brunch buffet located along the wall in nice chafing dishes, but what caught my eye was all of the twinkling ceiling lights when it wasn't even Christmas time which resulted in a bright restaurant.  White tablecloths are covered by a glass tabletop and the inside looks a little nicer than the outside. 

- Pancit Miki-Bihon - Heidi recommended this dish.  Similar to other Cantonese style noodles, this dish had a variety of vegetables like celery, cabbage, and green onion.  It also had shrimp which was quite nicely done - not overcooked at all.  Unique to Filipino cuisine, it's a mix of rice noodles and egg noodles giving an interesting texture difference.  The flavors were comforting and authentic, but there was too much sauce making the rice noodles fall apart as soon as we scooped servings onto our plates.  Good flavor, but too much moisture.   $12.75

- Lechon Kawali - Tastebuds claims that it's the best lechon in the Bay Area, so of course that's a dish I had to try.  The roasted pork is cut and then deep fried resulting in a crunchy texture.  Fat has rendered from the multi-step process so each bite was very moist and tender. It can get dry if there's no fat in the cut, but overall, it was good. In case you need to purchase lechon by itself, Tastebuds also offers it in bulk up to 70 pounds.  $13.25

- Pinakbet - I had never tried this dish, but it's essentially mixed vegetables cooked with a sauce.  The vegetables included green beans, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, and bitter melon.  Good.  What I liked most aside from the variety was that the temperature is right - piping hot.  $13

- Steamed Rice - $1.95

Service was friendly, but it was hard to get their attention at times.  We had to ask for them to take our order as well as request more water mid-meal, but the actual interactions were always friendly and they also checked on us after the dishes were served.  Serving sizes are ok - not large, but not small.  While it was a good tasting meal, I still see room for improvement with the noodles.  Good flavors overall.