Giant Filipino empanadas, bright orange and fried until they crackle. A few times a month they come out of a kitchen in Copenhagen, and you just have to know where to order. This is Kusina.
This is Word of Mouth, where we find passionate people cooking what they love and show you how to get it. Filipino food in Copenhagen is still hard to find, and Filipino street food made like this is harder still.
The place
Kusina means kitchen in Filipino, and that is exactly what it is: a home kitchen making Pinoy street food and pastries for pre-order, with pick-up in Valby. No shop, no counter, no opening hours. They launched in October 2026, the first batch sold out, and the second one passed 90 empanadas before orders even closed.
The empanadas are Ilocos style, from the north of the Philippines. That means a crisp, bright orange shell instead of a soft pastry one, and a filling that is a full meal on its own. The orange comes from annatto, and it is the first thing you notice when you open the bag.
What we ate
The pork empanada first. Salty and garlicky pork, packed with pointed cabbage, mung beans, cheese and egg. Big enough to share, and you will not want to. The shell shatters, the inside is soft and savory, and every bite has a bit of everything.
And you cannot forget the dips. The lemon crème fraîche is cool against the crunch and cuts right through the fried shell.
The chicken empanada has a whole egg inside. Break it open and the yolk sits right in the middle of the filling. With it, a spoonful of spicy suka: tangy Filipino vinegar with onion and chili. Sharp, sour, a little heat. That is how you eat an Ilocos empanada at home, and it makes all the difference.
One detail we liked: they never fry the pork and the chicken empanadas together, so the chicken stays free of pork the whole way through.
Then something sweet. Hopia is a Filipino pastry with a sweet filling inside, flaky on the outside and soft within.
The ube hopia is purple yam in a thick paste that fills it right to the edges. Break one in half and it is almost entirely purple. Sweet, rich and very hard to stop at one.
The mung bean hopia is the quieter one. Earthy and lightly sweet, in a soft pastry that pulls apart. The kind you have with coffee and then go back for.
How to get it
Everything is pre-order. Send them a DM on Instagram at @kusinacph, or write to kusinacph@gmail.com. Orders open about a week before each pick-up day, pick-up is in Valby, and the dates are announced on their Instagram, so follow them to catch the next round.
When we checked, an Ilocos empanada was 89 kroner, or 149 for two. Six ube hopia were 119, six mung bean were 99, and a mixed box of three and three was 109. The dips come on the side: lemon crème fraîche, plain suka and spicy suka.
Who it is for
Anyone who grew up with Filipino food and has been missing it in Copenhagen. Anyone who loves a fried, filled pastry and wants to try one that is nothing like the empanadas they know. And anyone in or near Valby looking for a weekend lunch that feeds two. Order the pork and the chicken, get a mixed box of hopia, and do not skip the spicy suka.
Filipino street food, made at home and worth planning your week around.
But now… the real question is… where do we go next?
