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Food is resistance
By Maricar Tangonan When I first arrived in America, I wasn’t particularly fond of Mexican food. Back in the Philippines, my only exposure was to the Texas-Mexican variety which, while popular, doesn’t come close to capturing the incredible diversity and depth of Mexico’s regional cuisines. Living in New York City changed that completely. Here, I’ve […]
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Abi Balingit wins James Beard Award for her desserts cookbook ‘Mayumu’
By Claire Mercado-Obias In the tiny kitchen of her Brooklyn apartment, Abi Balingit experimented making sweet treats with a Filipino twist. The successful recipes, she posted on her blog, The Dusky Kitchen. One day, a literary agent asked if she wanted to write a cookbook. After a resounding yes, she worked on it during the […]
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La Parrilla in Colonia, N.J. closes after 10 years
By Cristina DC Pastor La Parrilla de Manila, the family-owned restaurant in Colonia, New Jersey famous for its Adobong Balut, Lengua and giant Halo Halo has shuttered. Its last day was February 16. A short announcement was made but no reason was given for the closure: “La Parrilla de Manila will be closed until further […]
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Ai Aromin: The Ilocana and the New York restaurant she built
By Cristina DC Pastor Aillen ‘Ai’ Aromin’s migration from Aurora province in the Philippines’ northern region to New York City where she now runs a restaurant is an engrossing story of grit, grace, and gratitude. At age 7, she was cooking farm plants and vegetables for the family while her parents worked the rice fields. […]
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Introducing the history and philosophy of Filipino cuisine to the children of the diaspora
By Cristina DC Pastor It is still winter in New York and if you perhaps sometimes catch yourself dreaming of languid days in the Philippines, they will be filled with the golden sun, the warm sea, and of course the island cuisine that makes the Philippines the land of our hearts. There’s a book that […]
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How about a heart-healthy Arroz Caldo?
Kain na Tayo, an idea that originated from members of the 2023 Tayo Fellows cohort, seeks to improve heart health in our communities through healthy culturally-tailored recipes. For Filipino Americans, having a nutritionally focused approach to food can help curb the staggering issues impacting the community: Kain na Tayo aims to address difficult topics that […]
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‘Why is your Adobo so expensive?’ (Part 2)
By Cristina DC Pastor Chefs Aris Tuazon and Joel Javier said they have come across comments that say restaurant food, Adobo among them, is overpriced. “Definitely we encounter that,” said Aris. “The thing with these dishes we are creating that people complain about is that people probably know how to cook this dish. But beyond […]
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Why Filipino restaurants go out of business; 2 chefs offer their insights (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor Filipino food lovers of New York are in grief. We lost nearly half a dozen restaurants in the last three years, Maharlika, Jeepney, and on Aug 30 Purple Yam, the illustrious heir to Cendrillion, served its last plate of Ukoy. Before that, Ugly Kitchen was the first of the big leagues […]
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The road to activism is filled with good food
By Tricia J. Capistrano I got a scolding from Amy Besa. The original draft of this article was about how she and Romy Dorotan, through their restaurants Cendrillon and Purple Yam, “elevated” Filipino food. “It has been my intent to fight against the concept that we need to elevate,” Amy wrote. “It is we who […]