Tita Celia's: A Taste of Authentic Filipino Cuisine in Carson, CA

The best part here are the staffs. They are very friendly especially Eriz, Mildred, Josie and the little spanish speaking young lady. They usually work in the morning shifts. Food to avoid here is the kare-kare. The taste is good but every time I order I end up with fats instead of meat. I usually throw all the order and end up eating just the sauce and some vegetables. Yesterday, my bad experience is with the pork adobo. I ended up with fats and only had two small pieces of meat. What to order? Sinigang, fish, pinakbet, bilo-bilo, turon and carioca.If management is reading this review I hope you make changes on your kare-kare and other meat dishes with lots of fats.

Visiting LA and as someone who lived a long time in the Philippines I miss Pinoy food a lot. They provide counter service (cafeteria style) where you can see all the cooked dishes and pick what you want. Very authentic dishes. I thought the prices were good and you can mix and match your combo meal plates. The staff behind the counter were very friendly and willing to explain dishes to you. I tried a lot of dishes with the group I was with. If you are new to Filipino food, the Pork BBQ, Sisig and Lechon Kawali would be good first choices from what I tried. I did feel the kawali could have been a little crispier though. For more acquired tastes: I liked the ginataang kalabasa and dinuguan (made with pork blood) a lot. Kare kare was also good but felt it could have used more peanut butter in it. Desserts: Buchi balls were really good. They had flakes of coconut in them which I didn’t get much growing up. Gulaman drink was good. I was a little let down with the Turon (banana lumpia) mainly because it wasn’t that crispy because it had been sitting. Those would be better fresh. They had a water pitcher for free water. Overall a good place for laid back atmosphere and Filipino experience and food. Some of the crispy dishes weren’t as good because they had been sitting though.

What's great about this place is the workers namely Mildred and Josie. They always give their customers a welcoming vibe. I recommend their pork adobo, sinigang, binagoongan, turon and bilo-bilo. Skip the kare-kare or you will end up with all fats and maybe one or two small pieces of meat. It is a waste of money. FYI, I go to this place frequently so I have experience. Hopefully, management will see this post and do something about the kare-kare.

I liked their bilo-bilo. They were good. The breakfast meal was convenient and I liked it, too. The fish skin was a bit hard though. They weren’t crispy but so far, I had a good dining experience.