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🇵🇭  "Food is part of what makes Filipinos so welcoming and hospitable to others. I treasure the birthdays and holiday parties where my extended family members would come together to share a delicious spread of classic Filipino dishes that would cover an entire dining table. The list is extensive: pancit, adobo, lumpia shanghai, leche flan, palabok, mechadong baka, lechon, and more."

Discovering a sense of belonging through filipino food

🧑‍🍳  ‘Many of the dishes are real showstoppers’ - restaurant review

Sarap belongs to the chef Ferdinand “Budgie” Montoya, and is part of his ongoing exploration of the food of the Philippines, where he was born

Sarap Review

"The Filipino tongue is so complex that it defies the five basic tastes as ordained by the Western scientific taste groupings: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory or umami. Somehow, these taste descriptors are not enough to classify the complex taste and texture of Filipino food."

Learning curve

Derived from the Spanish word adobar, or “to marinate,” adobo unites the many places that once fell under the Spanish Empire. But adobo is also an example of how separate cultures persisted and evolved despite the Spanish influence. The word adobo speaks to a shared history of Spanish occupation, but taste adobo from Mexico beside adobo from the Philippines and you’ll instantly witness how traditions diverged.

People All Over the World Love Adobo—But What Is It?

🍅 🍌 This tangy, sweet, and fruity sauce is perfect for salty or savory dishes that need a little balance. It is commonly used in hotdogs, burgers, fries, fried chicken, skewered street food, as a side sauce to dip in, and in main dishes like stews or meat marinades as a substitute for tomato ketchup or paste.

Sweet & Tangy Filipino Banana Ketchup Recipe

Neighborhood restaurant and bakery Kasama in Chicago's East Ukrainian Village just snagged its first Michelin star.

The 2022 Michelin Guide noted that the restaurant "Has now evolved to represent the true vision of what the couple had in mind for Kasama with a dinner tasting menu that emphatically displays this talented team's training, experience and heritage for an experience that is ambitious, clever, and distinct."

Kasama

🍫  Chocolate is usually associated with the likes of Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland – European countries that do not grow cacao beans at all. That being said, here's a look at what Filipino chocolate is really like and why it deserves your attention as much as chocolate from other countries.

Filipino Chocolate Guide

🤔  Not sure what there is to like about this.

Is this the future? God help us!

Filipino Metaverse Food Hall

Coconut macaroons have been a much loved Filipino pastry for many generations. This tasty bite-sized treat is perfect for the holidays like Christmas, New Year, or fiestas as well as simple parties or gatherings. It's also a great welcoming treat when your friends come over. A subtle, sweet, coconutty scent permeates the home as the cookies bake.

Coconut macaroons recipe

🍩. Filipino donut shop Kora, Located in Long Island City, Queens has as a 10,000-person waiting list for donuts with flavors inspired by the owner's love for ube and leche flan.

Kora

🇵🇭. The Philippines archipelago comprises around 7,000 islands, each with its own history, culture, and identity. Filipino cuisine reflects the influences of Spanish, British, American, and Japanese colonization, as well as significant influences from Chinese, Mexican, and Pacific Island cultures, all of which are visible in traditional and contemporary dishes.

Considering the different landmasses and the historical ties with many nations, it is easy to understand why the cuisine is so diverse and offers such a varied palate.

Filipino Food Facts

✅  Even in the face of the pandemic, some Filipino food businesses are flourishing. Since early 2020, certain food businesses have experienced tremendous growth and are now more popular than they were before the outbreak.

'Overwhelmed with orders'

🍞. Pan de coco is a popular afternoon snack of soft bread filled with aromatic sweet coconut filling. They are popular at pananderias and local bakeries, as well as chain bakeries and grocery stores.

Pan de coco literally translates to “coconut bread”; these Filipino favorite sweet buns have Spanish roots. Coconut bread in the Philippines was influenced by the Honduran or Central American versions, which were served as a side to stews.

Spanish settlers introduced coconut bread to the Philippines sometime around the 1600s, where it evolved into a sweeter, more Filipino-style taste, and is now eaten as a snack or dessert in the Philippines.

Pan de coco recipe