TJ Filipino Cuisine offers a taste of the Philippines

PEARLAND, Texas -- KTRK Meteorologist Elita Loresca, who was born in The Philippines, is sharing her heritage by taking us to her go-to spot: TJ Filipino Cuisine.

The all-you-can-eat restaurant offers 34 different foods, most of them are recipes from the island.

When asked about the menu, owner Tony Dinamling responded, "Filipinos like buffet. We eat a lot, you know that."

Tony, and his best friend Jojo Maravilla are the co-owners. Both of them are from the Philippines, but they first met in south Texas in 1996.

"We became friends over there and we talked about our future in America," Maravilla said.

When they moved to the Houston area they saw a need for authentic Filipino food in Pearland. They opened TJ Filipino Cuisine in 2006.

Today, you can find Filipino natives, who are missing the flavors of the island, make their way to restaurant. One customer told us, "I love it. It's like I'm home."

TJ Filipino Cuisine is located at 1826 Country Place Pkwy in Pearland.