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Yana Gilbuena journeys across the 50 states cooking up Filipino dinners for strangers
By Cristina DC Pastor You’ll never know where she will turn up next because Yana Gilbuena is constantly transiting from state to state, city to city, table to table. Yana – whose birth name is Ma. Diana — is a nomadic foodie or a sojourning chef, one on a constant pursuit of the ephemeral feast […]
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How I enjoy my lunch in a bottle!
By Cecile Caguingin Ochoa Swapping comfort Filipino food, like ‘tapsilog,’ ‘kaldereta’ and ‘kare-kare’ for, ahem, healthful food bites or what favorite family friend, Kimmie Galanto, refers to as “clean food” was not easy. But given an appetizing choice of a nouveau menu via jars, I became a convert. And for at least two weeks now, […]
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Dollar Hits feeds the homesick soul with ‘Betamax, Enrile, Kwek-kwek’
By Cecile Caguingin Ochoa The posts and blogs from the social media were increasing and too many to ignore so I decided to pay a visit. After all, Dollar Hits Pinoy Street Food was just up my alley, two miles away from work at the L.A. Civic Center. The trendy street barbecue fare juts out […]
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Miss California USA 2014 visits Leelin’s
By Dante Ochoa On May 9, Miss California USA 2014 went up close and personal at a center of the Filipino American community in Cerritos, in pursuit of her recently discovered fondness for the taste of raisin bread. Turns out that Cassandra “Cassie” Kunze, who is the reigning Miss California USA 2014, got a taste […]
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A fast-food bakery that’s heaven-sent to busy housewives
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. There are all kinds of business enterprises. Ostensibly, they are organized for obvious reasons – to thrive in the manner their owners hope they would do in a multi-ethnic environment. In the Southern California area, when Leelin Bakery & Café made its debut in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock, affectionately identified […]
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Facing the challenge of the 6-pound Sisig Burrito
By Lawrence C. Ochoa “Sisig,” is the ultimate ‘pulutan’ companion for beer. In bars and restaurants, the many varieties of the sisig dish are bestsellers to pair with your favorite drink or to be chowed down with hot steamed rice. Originally, sisig was made from chopped parts of a pig’s head, containing ears, snout, the […]
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Philippine bananas coming to a store near you
By Dante D. Ochoa PANORAMA CITY, Calif. — Philippine highland Cavendish bananas, popularly known to Filipinos as “lakatan” and “latondan,” will now be available in the U.S., initially in California, some eight years after Philippine banana producers began eyeing the U.S. mainland market, according to the Philippine Embassy on September 14th. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia […]
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Barbecue and ‘bibingka’ dive gets two thumbs up from Guy Fieri
By Cecile Caguingin Ochoa I was driving around familiar haunts last year on Temple Street when I found a nondescript eatery called The Park’s Finest. What caught my attention was not the appetizing picture of barbecue ribs on their front banner but the words “corn bread bibingka.” I stopped, walked in and found it was […]
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Calamansi juice goes mainstream, now sold at Wal-Mart, Cost Plus stores
It takes a village to raise a child or grow an idea. Nothing can be farther from the truth for Victor Elizaga, founder and CEO of Pacific Fruit and Beverage of California. It was the Filipino community’s support for his All-Natural Calamansi juice drinks that got them on the shelves of major retailers, including Cost […]