Mama's Kubo – Tastes Like Mama's Cooking

When I was little, we had a Filipino nanny who stayed with us for many years, up until I started secondary school. I won’t share her name here, but we had a really good relationship. She looked after me and my sister while my parents were working, and sometimes she’d cook Filipino food – it was goooooood and I still remember enjoying it.

Mama's Kubo is based in London's Hampstead area. Part of my work used to take me to this area on Mondays, and I walked past Mama's Kubo a million times without realising it was a Filipino restaurant – it was always shut! Later on, when Joe and I were looking for Filipino food, we came across it and I was like, wait, that’s the place I always walked by. Turns out they only open from Thursday to Sunday. No wonder it was always closed on Mondays. Honestly, I thought it was just an abandoned café every time I passed (sorry, team Mama’s Kubo!).

They don’t really have an online booking system, so Joe and I just messaged them on Instagram to reserve a table. They replied pretty quickly and confirmed it for us.

We booked a table for 7pm on a Friday, and surprisingly it wasn’t busy at all – maybe because the location isn’t the most convenient. The place is run by a Filipino couple, and as soon as you walk in it feels really homely and welcoming.

We started with some drinks. Joe wanted to try the Filipino beer Red Horse, but they were out, so he went for a Tiger instead. I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol, so I went with the homemade iced tea. It was really refreshing – though I have to say, the portion was a little on the small side.

Looking at the menu, and again, we pretty much wanted to order everything! We asked for some recommendations and decided on one starter, one main and two veggie dishes.

We kicked things off with Tinapa Lumpia – a spring roll filled with fried smoked mackerel and vegetables, served with an onion vinegar dip. We’d never thought of putting fish in a spring roll before, so we weren’t sure what to expect. But wow, that first bite tho......it truly amazed us – the juices burst out, rich and savoury. The combo of soft fish with crunchy veg just worked perfectly. It was already tasty enough on its own, but dipping it into the vinegar gave it that extra tangy kick. Such a great little starter to get us hungry for more!

For the main, we went for the Clay Pot Chicken Adobo with Rice. I’ve had Chicken Adobo before and absolutely loved it – I even enjoy making it at home sometimes. But seeing it served in a clay pot definitely caught my eye. Claypot rice is a big favourite back in Hong Kong, and as a Hong Konger, I just couldn’t resist ordering it.

Chicken Adobo is a classic Filipino dish – chicken slowly stewed in vinegar, soy sauce, and peppercorns, giving it that really unique, tangy-savoury flavour.

But I have to say......I think I prefer it the traditional way, not in a clay pot. The sauce is really the heart of Adobo, and here it had dried up a bit, so it didn’t soak into the rice the way I was hoping. The chicken turned out a little on the dry side too. On the plus side, the crunchy, slightly charred rice at the bottom of the pot was great.

Next up were our two veggie dishes: Aubergine Bistek and Kangkong (Morning Glory) Stirfry. The Aubergine was sautéed in lemon, onion and soy sauce. It was cooked perfectly – the aubergine was soft and just melted in our mouth. There was even a hint of smokiness, like they might have grilled it first before tossing it in the sauce. We ordered some extra jasmine rice and that sauce with the rice was D..E..L..I..C..I..O..U..S!

Now, the Kangkong (Morning Glory). This veggie is not new to me or Joe. In fact, it's one that I've known since I was little. Two reasons that we had to get it:

1. My Filipino nanny used to make it all the time when I was growing up. She was the one who taught me that “Kangkong” is the Filipino word for Morning Glory – and that’s something that’s stuck with me ever since.

2. I’ve cooked it for Joe before, and we both loved it (I’ve loved it since I was a kid, so I may be a bit biased).

This version was stir-fried with chillies and soybean paste and it was packed with flavour. (Avoid the actual chillies unless you’re brave, because they’re fieryyy!) The dish tasted like home for me. Again, it was perfectly done too – the stem still had a nice crunch while the leaves were soft. And the sauce? It was so good that I was literally spooning it up like soup. Don't judge :P

We don’t always go for dessert, but after peeking at the menu, well, it was mostly me who couldn’t resist hehe. So we ended up with two picks: Biko, a sticky rice cake with ube ice cream and Buko Pandan, which is coconut ice cream flavoured with pandan leaves.

Ube is a type of purple yam, a root vegetable that’s popular in Filipino cuisine, especially desserts. And let me tell you, this Biko......OMG. The sweet, nutty flavour of the ube ice cream paired with the sticky rice was just beautiful. I honestly can’t even put it into words – it was that good. And if you’re thinking, “Sticky rice in a dessert? That sounds mad,” trust me, IT'S NOT! It’s amazing. Try it and thank me later.

The Buko Pandan was just as special. Pandan leaves are another big part of Filipino cooking (and actually South and Southeast Asian food in general). They give this subtle grassy-sweet flavour, and when infused into coconut ice cream, it’s yum and yum! It naturally turns the ice cream to this soft green colour – so cool and beautiful, innit!?

Both ice cream were amazing. Since visiting, I sometimes randomly “shout” to Joe that we have to go back to Mama’s Kubo just for the ice cream haha.

It was a night that felt both comfortingly familiar and wonderfully adventurous. And now, just writing about it has my mouth watering all over again......I'm ready for more Filipino treats!

Mama's Kubo

Unit 5/6, Palace Court

250 Finchley Road

Hampstead

London NW3 6DN

United Kingdom