New owners Jun and Ning cooked wonderful all time filipino classics- crispy pata, kare kare, sinigang, lumpia shanghai and bicol express. The quality was superb. A surprise winner was the bicol express! Then we learned that they are from Bicol. Halo halo was fantastic too.
The service was super friendly.
Only minor negative comment was the use of plastic plates and cutlery. Will definitely come back!
Food and service was great. Decor is quite dated though and well overdue for an upgrade. Also was a bit of a surprise to see the manager of the restaurant bringing McDonald's in the place for his dinner. Not a very good look for the restaurant!
I’m not a Filipino but have eaten at this place several times and it never disappoints! The place is warm and simple and I love the staff always friendly! Highly recommend it - there’s something there for everyone
I highly recommend this place! I love Filipino food and my sister has never tried it so I decided to take her here. The first thing that hits you when you walk is in the amazing smell. We knew we were headed towards a good meal. We ordered the Pinoy spaghetti, sizzing sisig and chicken ginataang manok. The spaghetti was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. Sauce was different and tasty and the pasta was cooked well. The fried chicken that accompanied it was the juiciest piece of chicken I have ever had! Not to mention it's was HUGE! Lived it app much. Sisig is a already a favourite and this place did it exceptionally well. My sister really liked her chicken ginataang and we appreciated it being made with movies as it was flavourful and tender. She mopped up all the sauce with her rice. As we were leaving we also decided to get a flan which was lovely too. Service is extremely friendly and accommodating. The girl at the front was so warm and inviting. Will surely visit again.
Emailed an order about some dessert to take away. After a bit of a misunderstanding about the price we finally managed to clear thing up.
It was easy enough to pick up.
I liked their leche flan and buko pandan.
A Tale Of Two Tummies
+3.5
Food ordered:
Caldereta
Tocilog
Brazo de Mercedes (one slice)
Ube Ice Cream
Bill: $37.50
Big tummy: Since having our faith in Auckland-based Pinoy cuisine restored at another place, we figured we'd give another local Pinoy restaurant a shot. Firstly, I kinda need to point out that Turo Turo is relatively small for a dine-in restaurant, so you somewhat have to adjust your expectations accordingly when it comes to ambiance. However, what they lack in ambiance, they more than make up for with their dishes.
We ordered the calderete and tocilog for our mains, both of which were cooked and seasoned to perfection. The portions are a bit smaller than we're used to, but then you are only paying roughly $12-16 per dish, compared to the higher price tags at other similar places. If you want a small feed that fixes your cravings without breaking the bank, TT is the place for you. As for dessert, I only got to try a tiny bit of the Brazo (cause somebody ate all of it *cough*), but the ube ice cream was to die for. Personally, I think it could do without the pink cone triangle that comes with it (maybe just shaved almonds or something for texture instead), but otherwise it was a great way to end the meal.
One of the things that we did mark them down for was an inconsistency between what you are served and what the menu states. Similar to what another reviewer previously pointed out, we also didn't get the soup that is supposed to come with our order of tocilog (and we dined in). Not sure whether it's just a case of the menu needing updating or not, but we didn't really let it bother us. The thing that did put us off though was the creepy "homeless" woman/dude (I honestly couldn't tell) outside who kept bugging us and even came up to our car. I know that isn't really the restaurant's fault, but it's not something your diners want to be dealing with - I guess just put it down to poor location.
All in all though, I'd happily come back here if in the area - I'd just keep an eye out for the freaky homeless person.
Little tummy: We've been meaning to try Turo Turo for some time (it is basically in the opposite end of Auckland from where we stay) and being in the area, we finally got to pay them a visit. The restaurant was surprisingly small, but the atmosphere wasn't bad - my bf was quick to note that they were playing all the songs from Fili-teleseries that he "loves" so much hahaha. As for the food, the menu was cheaper than we expected, but the portions were also a bit smaller. The caldereta was delicious and very well cooked - I couldn't make better myself. The tocino wasn't quite to my taste though - my bf loved it, but personally I think mine is better. Their desserts were amazing as well. The Brazo had just the right amount of filling and the ube ice cream was perfect - not too creamy, not too sweet. I'd definitely be happy to come back here. if anything, it made me look forward to our trip to the Phils at the end of the year even more.
We haven't had Filipino food for years. I had the Pinoy spaghetti with a piece of "joyful" chicken & garlic bread; my wife had Dinuguan (pork intestine cooked in black stew) served with 3 pieces of steamed sponge cakes (or with rice). Chicken was exceptionally good with crispy skin (soft but crispy); spaghetti was not cheesy but again just right; pork intestine was a bit tough in texture & the taste was "funny" (peculiar). We also had home-made purple yam ice-cream, which was not creamy to my liking. We took home Leche Flan (a custard-style dairy dessert with caramelised sauce) which I've had years ago made by a Filipino friend, & it tasted just as good. I'll be back soon for the big crispy hock (good for 2-3) ... (Food - 4/5; Service - 2.5/5; Ambience - 1.5/5)
I have been here on several visits, food is cheaper compared to the other Filipino restaurants here in Auckland and it's closer to my place. I love the Joyful
Chicken here no wonder my brother consistently orders this every time we go here. My other favorites are Sizzling Porkchop and Crispy Pata. I think their food tastes better compared to before. I love their Bico and Halo-halo Deluxe.:) Place though is not more of a restaurant but like a takeaway shop as my boyfriend had said but still rating it as 5 because of my food faves especially the Joyful Chicken!😊
Possibly the best Filipino restaurant we know - we'd rate it a 5 if we didn't have to drive top far for it!
Been here many times since moving to Auckland.
We usually come for the Crispy Pata and the kids have the normal pinoy Spaghetti and Fried Chicken. We've tried the Lomi which my picky eater of a son enjoyed. It's perfect for a wet and cold auckland day.
The desserts - well, we've driven from Browns Bay all the way to GI- We must have dessert! Can't pass up the Halo Halo special!
We ordered crispy pata which is an all-time fav of me and hubby. Our daughters ordered their all-time favs too - sisig and joyful chicken. Burp!!! Keep it up, Turo Turo!
Michael Jerome de Loyola
+5
The place is not that big so might be crowded when the cafe is full and not that fancy. We ordered the Joyful Chicken Spaghetti meal and Joyful Fried Chicken. They were generous to give us 3 pieces (missed from the picture) of the fried chicken instead of 2. Chicken was juicy, delicious and have that hint of a taste from Jollibee fried chicken. I haven’t tasted the spaghetti but my sister in law said it was nice. Halo Halo Deluxe is good for 2 people sharing. Overall all experience is excellent.
I got the spring roll type stuff. It's stuffed with meat and very delicious. However it feels abit expensive but worth the money @$12 for 8 small peices.
Been here twice but the first one was for takeaways order. Place is generously enough for an intimate party. Portions are good enough for one person, would recommend the place to a friend.
It tastes so good... I love it, the boss are nice and staff . Spring rolls are the best😋😋
Krystal - Leigh Vaovasa
+5
Never disappoints!! Good portions, fresh and hot when received. Very friendly & good customer service. Our go to when we need our Filipino fix ☝️
Lovely food, fantastic service! The staff are the most friendly people I've come across in a restaurant. Food is made with love, for sure! You cannot go to this place and not get dessert!!! They're super sweet but very delicious!
Fantastic food and very friendly staff. Definitely recommended. Very authentic and welcoming place. Not overdone. It is not a fancy restaurant but it does make you feel like you were in Manila.
Busog sarap! Just a bit too far from the North Shore
Nice food and affordable. The only thing that I didn't like was the cooking time. It's better to ring them before you go as it takes time for them to cook the food. Other than that, all good
It’s hard to find Filipino food restaurants in Auckland, that’s why this place is special. Food was slightly salty for me, but the flavour is very nice. My Filipino friends say their food is authentic, it must be true!
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