Interview by Natasha Gonzales
Article by Jackie Velez

San Antonio foodie influencer Alex Serna, better known as San Antonio Munchies on social media, teamed up with Sari-Sari Restaurant, Market, and Bakery owners Adrian and Camille De Los Reyes to launch Buddhafull Belly and serve up some late-night Chinese food on the north west side of town. With Serna’s menu being served straight out of Sari-Sari’s location in Leon Valley, Buddhafull Belly is a perfect fit for those looking for an inviting atmosphere and a delicious warm meal after hours.
“It’s something that I think the city needs,” said Serna.
Serna’s idea for serving Asian food late at night has been in the works for two and a half years. Serna attempted this idea with other restaurants, such as Singapore II Chinese Restaurant off of UTSA Blvd., but for reasons that were out of his control, it didn’t come to fruition. While Serna is grateful for the other past opportunities, he is now looking ahead to his new venture with Sari-Sari owners Camille and Adrian De Los Reyes. No other restaurant owner has ever taken on an influencer with an idea like this. Serna is extremely excited to work with Sari-Sari.
“They have a stellar reputation,” said Serna. They’re young and innovative in their approach, so I think together, we’re going to do a lot of amazing work,” said Serna.
Sari-Sari means “variety,” and that is exactly what Serna wants to provide for the community. The addition of Chinese food to Sar-Sari’s Filipino menu adds a great deal of flavor to the already fantastic menu that it provides. For Sari-Sari, which was one of the first to open a Filipino restaurant, the expansion of their menu can only serve positive results. Not bad for a restaurant that had its humble beginnings as a small oriental market long ago and expanded to a restaurant and bakery soon after.
This most certainly is a creative approach to late night food that Serna hopes will spark other restaurants to serve a variety of food in and around San Antonio. With an understanding of how crucial the need is to feed the late-night workers in the Alamo City, it’s a good reason why he aims to provide different options such as the Buddhafull Pork Belly and the Admirals Chicken as opposed to the typical hamburgers or tacos that one can get around every corner of the city.
“I think the people are hungry for it,” Serna said. “I think we need to start progressing forward and getting different ethnic foods out,” Serna strongly states.
Some other highlights from the menu include hand-rolled Egg rolls as well as Vegetarian Fried Rice and Vegetarian Lo Mein for healthy eaters.
Order online at ordersarisari.com from Thursday-Saturday between 10 p.m.-2 a.m. You can order for curbside or delivery within a five-mile radius.
Buddhafull Belly from Sari-Sari Restaurant, Market, and Bakery is located at 5700 Wurzbach Rd.
For more information, please visit Instagram @buddhafull.belly
Watch the video at https://www.instagram.com/p/COLZ2phF3QT/