Dinner Diaries: Mambo Kitchen

Mambo Kitchen is a delightful Filipino – Fusion restaurant located in Northridge, CA. If you’ve been craving Pancit, this is the place for you. But don’t say we didn’t warn you, it’s highly addictive.

This local mom and pop owned shop is a refreshing delightful form the onslaught of massive restaurant chains and multi-million dollar restaurant groups most Angelenos frequent. Mambo Kitchen is easily a neighborhood go to.

We really dove into the menu and were able to sample quite a bit from their extensive selection, which is all made in-house, daily. Talk about quality and freshness.

For our appetizers we kicked off the round with:

Ilocos Pride Jumbo Empanada: Homemade pork chorizo, papaya, mung beans and egg. It’s a big departure from a traditional empanada. Be prepared for a new flavor profile experience.

Lumpia: Pork egg roll w/ sweet & sour sauce. This is a Filipino staple, we were entranced by how tasty it was.

Wings: They make wings at Mambo’s with a plethora of sauce selections. We tried the Korean BBQ flavor because, honestly we’ve never combined the two. The verdict? A hit.

Next for the main course we dove into their Mambo on the Go selections. These are rice (or garlic noodle) bowls you can arrange from their set menu, or be creative and build your own. We opted for some pre-created ones, and believe us we were not disappointed.

We took an order of their HONG KONG, which is deep fried pork spareribs with spicy salt and garlic rice. It also comes with a side of this magical aioli sauce, and honestly.. if we could have bathed in it, we would have. The owners lets us in on the secret ( it’s their best seller) and clearly for a reason! Can we drive to Northridge daily just for this bowl? The question is a hot topic of debate here at the office. On a scale of 1-10 for tastiness how silly is that? We think it’s manageable. Our next choice was their TAPSILOG, which they make with beef tapa, garlic rice, and a sunny side up egg served over top. The garlic rice, egg yolk and beef flavors blend together beautifully, creating a mouth watering combination.

Finally we capped our evening with dessert. Of course we saw Nutella on the menu and jumped at the chance. They make a banana Nutella egg roll, which let us tell you, we died. Part of our soul has escaped and will never return, as it does anytime we savor Nutella. We also gave their MAMBO’S UBE S’MORES: a try. Their S’mores are a departure from the campfire, and a fusion of Asian and American favorites. They layer a graham crust, topped with lemon custard, ube jam and fluffy meringue which is lightly torched.

Let us know what you think of our foodie selections at Mambo Kitchen! If you’ve been let us know what your favorites are on the menu. This restaurant is warm and welcoming, in addition to having delicious food, while also being very affordable. They designed this menu and selections with the phrase “ballin on a budget” in mind, (not really, but it is affordable and delicious).