Authentic Filipino food served at Fresno restaurant. Here are tips on what to order

As a young child back in the Philippines on farm land devoted to growing rice, Carolyn Imperial learned about the hard work and dedication, and even love, needed to turn crops into food.

Her family owned and worked on rice fields on the largest and most populous Filipino island.

And it was there on the northernmost Philippines island of Luzon that Imperial would watch her parents and other relatives plant and harvest crops while working long days that always started with early hours.

So when Imperial — many, many years later in life after moving to Fresno — decided to open her own Filipino restaurant in town nine months ago, she already understood the drive and effort needed to simply try to succeed.

She’s applied that work ethic in all that she’s tried in life while forging her own path and venturing from the family farming business into the cooking and restaurant industry.

It is at Imperial’s newer restaurant in northeast Fresno, The Philippine Kitchen, that folks can taste and see her hard work and passion that Imperial pours into the variety of foods served.

As well as her love and kindness displayed while greeting and interacting with customers.

“I’ve always loved to cook and love the feeling of people enjoying foods I prepared,” Imperial said. “I love it when people who’ve never tried Filipino food come in and try our foods.

“And it’s always great seeing our regulars, a lot of other Filipino-Americans, visit us.”

Located at the southeast corner of the First and Herndon avenues intersection and next to the folded TGI Fridays, The Philippine Kitchen serves authentic Filipino dishes made with longtime family recipes.

Imperial, no stranger to long days, keeps the restaurant open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Her husband, Larry Imperial, is a co-owner and helps run the business side of The Philippine Kitchen, which opened nine months ago.

As a Mexican-American, Larry helps provide a non-Filipino perspective on what foods to offer and tasting preference that might appeal to a broader community.

Carolyn ensures the Filipino authenticity and consistency.

She previously cooked and baked at the Filiipino deli/cafeteria PhilHouse, which is located inside the Island Pacific Seafood Market in northeast Fresno.

Carolyn also cooked a variety of foods while working at restaurants in Singapore for 10 years, taking a common practice in the Philippines of working abroad to find more opportunities and better paying jobs.

“We discussed opening a Filipino restaurant for a while,” Larry said. “She wanted a restaurant that offered a really authentic taste to her region of the Philippines.

“To her, it feels like home. And it’s really good, very delicious food.”

Filipino foods and Filipino restaurants might not be nearly as mainstream and common as other Asian foods like Chinese, Japanese and Indian foods.

But Filipino cuisine is becoming more and more popular across the United States due to the increasing influence and visibility of the foods specifically on social media — but also beyond.

The Filipino-American community is considered the fastest-growing among Asian-American and Pacific Islander populations, according to a story from The Food Institute.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 4.2 million Filipino Americans.

And of Fresno’s population (513,807), 1.06% are Filipino American.

For those not that familiar with Filipino foods, entrees like chicken adobo (braised chicken), and lechon kawali (fried pork belly) with lumpia (essentially Filipino egg rolls) and a side of pancit (noodles with a mix of chopped vegetables and meat) are popular choices.

Or come early and try a traditional Filipino breakfast like sinangag (garlic rice) and itlog (fried egg).

And don’t forget dessert: A go-to Filipino dessert is halo-halo, which is a colorful, cold dessert mix made with layers of sweet ingredients that includes shaved ice, evaporated milk, leche flan and ice cream.

All of which are available for order at The Philippine Kitchen — made with extra love and care from a Filipino native in Carolyn Imperial.

“Filipino food popularity is growing,” Larry Imperial said. “We have all kinds of people of different backgrounds who come in.

“My advice for anyone wanting to try Filipino food but are kind of unsure what to get is, try a little bit of everything. If you don’t like this, that’s OK. You might like that. With Filipino food, there’s something for everyone.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 5:30 AM.