Philippine Cuisine: Preserving Culinary Traditions

[Manila-X]

Is Filipino food a world cuisine? Usually in Asia, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai or Indonesian are considered as world cuisines and are enjoyed by people of many nationalities. How about Filipino food? Would Filipino favourites like the Chicken Adobo, Chicken Inasal, La Paz Batchoy or even the halo-halo get the same recognition and admiration as those of Thai food or even Singaporean food?

[kiretoce]

I would say so.

[Sinjin P.]

Yes.

[leylander]

My aunt in Rio said many locals frequent a Filipino restaurant there...

so, i think, yes..

[diz]

I was watching Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, and here is a list of what he ate in the Philippines. The following foods are "bizarre" to him.

* Balut (duck eggs with legs)
* Roasted coconut and rice pastec.
* Shrimp pancaked
* Deep-fried whole baby chickens
* Cheese ice cream on a hamburger bun
* Frog legs and fried leaves
* Sinabawang balut (balut soup with cow’s feet)
* Soup No. 5 (made from "back and ball of cow")
* Uok (giant coconut worms)
* Gin-a-tang-bi-low bi-low (rice pudding with tapioca pearls)
* Dinuguan (pork innards and pig’s blood stew)
* Adobo-style crickets
* Frog stuffed with pork
* Rambutan (tropical fruit)
* Lumpia (Filipino egg rolls)
* Snails
* Laing (sardines wrapped in gabi leaves)
* Tilapias
* Mangrove worm
* Bananaque (deep-fried, sugar-coated banana)
* Tuna collar

I agree with him. I find some of these foods somewhat "bizarre".

[kunoL8]

i'd say yes. i think the problem with filipino food is the presentation. a lot of pinoy restaurants, especially here in the US are of the carinderia, "turo-turo" style which i think makes it so unappealing to non-pinoy diners.

[Manila-X]

Originally Posted by kunoL8

i'd say yes. i think the problem with filipino food is the presentation. a lot of pinoy restaurants, especially here in the US are of the carinderia, "turo-turo" style which i think makes it so unappealing to non-pinoy diners.

I think it's the same to most Filipino eating places overseas. But I did noticed that in US cities especially those in New Jersey and California.

I have never seen a fine Filipino dining place other than Maxs during my US trips but saw a nice Thai restaurant.

[bitoy]

Originally Posted by WANCH

I think it's the same to most Filipino eating places overseas. But I did noticed that in US cities especially those in New Jersey and California.

I have never seen a fine Filipino dining place other than Maxs during my US trips but saw a nice Thai restaurant.

I believe there are 2 Fine Dining restaurants in San Diego that serves Filipino dishes. One is Villa Manila and I don't remember the other one ( Aling Pacing?).
If you think that Max's here in the US is a fine dining restaurant, there might be a lot more all around here that still serve dishes to the table of the customers. In New York, I'm not sure if you can count Cendrillon as a Filipino fine dining restaurant, it might still be owned by a Pinoy couple.

Back to the question: Is Filipino food a world cuisine?

Sure it is, we are part of the world. Bulalo, Sisig, Kare-Kare, Kinilaw na kambing, Batchoy, Hototay, Lumpiang Sariwa, Sotanghon, Luglug, Laing, Azucena, Pinadapang baka...etc, I'm sure some foreigners must have tried them. I can not guarantee that they would like the flavor but at least they know that we have our own local dishes.

[crappypants]

no. no patis and bagoong please

[BoNduRanT]

What happened to that Pinoy restaurant in New York?

[tigidig14]

gerry grill in cali is
filipiniana in here (chgo) is
i dont know about ny though
i know there's one in toronto but i forgot the name, it was located in their downtown

[BoNduRanT]

Naalala ko na name nun NY resto. Cendrillon.

[Lili]

Cendrillon is still making good business and presenting Filipino dishes in noveau cuisine style.

[BoNduRanT]

Good to hear

[Rajah_Soliman]

will you consider KINILAW NA TANGIGUE and INIHAW NA BAGAYBAY Filipino standard cuisines? if affirmative, YES.....

[tyronne]

It's interesting when people (non-Filipinos) learn during first acquaintances that I'm Filipino; they start enumerating Filipino foods like lumpia, adobo, pancit, etc with excitement. It makes me smile when people try to tell me that they know something about my culture. It's always interesting. So, either they already tasted Filipino food or they know someone who eats Filipino food. So, I would say yes to the question. If there's more Gerry's Grill-type of restos out there then it would really help promote Filipino Food. Because it doesn't only depend on the food itself. Location/ambience, presentation (as being mentioned above) and the people also matter.

[jadebench]

Originally Posted by tigs

gerry grill in cali is
filipiniana in here (chgo) is
i dont know about ny though
i know there's one in toronto but i forgot the name, it was located in their downtown

uy may gerry's grill pala sa chicago..san banda? sabihn mo naman sakin.

[Lili]

^ Same thing. When people learn that I'm Filipino, they mention 'paehncit', 'lampya'. That they went to this place where the food was laid out and you just have to point. It's called Elvie's Turo-turo on 1st Avenue, 14th St. in Manhattan.

[jadebench]

my american friends loves sinigang!

[Lili]

Originally Posted by Rajah_Soliman

will you consider KINILAW NA TANGIGUE and INIHAW NA BAGAYBAY Filipino standard cuisines? if affirmative, YES.....

You know what? Ceviche bars are fast becoming popular here in the States.

And ceviche is very much like our own kinilaw. Here is a ceviche. Sometimes, they serve it in martini glasses as chasers.


What is bagaybay?