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Popsie’s Food Truck: ‘Kakanin’ comfort food revisited
By Cristina DC Pastor In her quiet Jersey City home, Marisse ‘Popsie’ Panlilio cooks Binatog while her freezer is packed with quarts of mango and ube ice cream waiting to firm up. Elsewhere in the kitchen, her partner, sous chef Cosette Malig, cuts vegetables. There are slow and busy days in Popsie’s food chamber. But […]
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Down Memory Lane on Roosevelt Avenue
By Cristina DC Pastor The long and disorganized stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens — reachable by the 7 Train — was both familiar and unusual. Payag Restaurant at the corner of 52nd Street is now empty. Somewhere on 69th is Rosario’s Ihawan, a new and pleasant-looking restaurant. Rene and I were lured by the […]
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At Jo Koy’s restaurant, reconnecting with old friends, watching the comedy A-Lister serve tables
By Brendan Flores Prior to becoming the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) chairman and Wells Fargo Regional Banking Leader, I was a radio talk show host in Las Vegas. Little did I realize, I was following the footsteps of my Tita Josie who was the first female Filipino American radio talk show host […]
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Malagos Chocolate: Not quite Willy Wonka but close enough
By Cristina DC Pastor DAVAO City — Paul Hubahib, 13, and his sister Andrea, 7, were nibbling chocolates with their mother and cousin when I spotted them. What’s offbeat is they’re munching on chocolates they just made. At the Malagos Chocolate Laboratory, anyone — especially children like the Hubahib siblings – can make his/her own […]
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#metoo: Filipino women call for an end to sex abuse
By Cristina DC Pastor #metoo Two short words that now wield power in a society shattered by the actions of just one man. Or so we thought. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s pattern of sexual assault and harassment is just one story although it has psychologically bruised at least 40 women he has victimized over the […]
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Savoring Philippine cuisine’s rare ingredients, hidden flavors
By Cristina DC Pastor Amy Besa’s curiosity about Philippine delicacies that are off the beaten path began with the Cab-cab. A food scholar, she first tasted these paper-thin wafers made from cassava pulp in Bohol. She would later learn they are available around the country but known by different names — Kuping in Bicol, Kiping […]
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This year’s TOFA honorees: Profiles in excellence (Part 2)
Assemblymember Rob Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly’s 18th District in 2012, where he represents the cities of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro as the first and only Filipino American legislator in the 165-year history of California. It was his parents who instilled in him at a very young age the concepts of […]
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Community in shock over closing of Payag Restaurant; owner calls it a ‘wise decision’
By Cristina DC Pastor Payag Restaurant in Queens, known for its regional dishes from Cebu province and the Visayas, is closing after seven years. “Thank you for the wholehearted support for the past years. It is with a heavy heart that we announce officially the closing of Payag restaurant until July 31, 2017,” writes proprietor […]
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Filipino Restaurant Week: Not a food review
By Cristina DC Pastor Filipino Restaurant Week – two weeks actually – is winding down. It was a great excuse to visit restaurants that are off the beaten path, or to try Pinoy food fused with another culture’s culinary concoctions. In the last two years that I’ve made FRW an occasion to hang out with […]