Philippine Cuisine

The Philippines was the recent destination of international chef/author Anthony Bourdain for his show “No Reservations” which airs on the Travel Channel. In each episode, the TV series features a country’s culinary character and history through the eyes of Bourdain who is frank and has a knack for seeing quality and excellence in dishes ranging from the very expensive gourmet to simple no-nonsense street-food. He chose the Philippines based on an online contest in which a Filipino-American living in New York won.

I have been a fan of the show for the unique perspective it gives on any given country/culture. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a renowned gastronome, once said, “tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.” A nation’s food gives us a lot of insight about its people’s ability, creativity and history.

Among the Filipino treats he sampled were sisig, lechon, sinigang and of course adobo. He tried out the street-food as he always does, went to a carinderia in Pampanga, a wet-market/restaurant in Binondo and ate lechon with a family in Cebu. In his stops, he always had a Filipino host share with him the food and they in turn shared stories and backgrounds about the food they were partaking in. One dish he particularly liked was the sizzling sisig. Aside from its appetizing form and taste, he liked the story of how it was developed by a Filipina who was thinking of a way to utilize unused (pig’s heads) food portions from the former U.S. Military Base in Pampanga (so many metaphors ‘eh).

Our food mirrors our history and identity. It is a pot filled with Spanish, Chinese, American and Southeast Asian ingredients. It is simple and practical. It is diverse and regionalistic. Some province will have a different take on a similar dish, Sinigang in Cavite will be different from the Sinigang in Davao and each will claim theirs as the best. It can be exotic and it can also be whimsical.

Overall, his impression about our food and our people was very favorable. Towards the end of the show, while thoroughly enjoying a freshly roasted Lechon with the host family in Cebu, Bourdain ponders why even though Filipinos are fairly represented overseas and discovering firsthand how unique and enjoyable our cuisine is, how come it does not have a higher awareness and profile on the global stage. One of the Filipinos at the table theorizes that it must have something to do with our willingness to adapt to other environments. Instead of a Filipino bringing with him adobo to Italy, he will learn to eat spaghetti. To this Bourdain pauses, smiles and says, “You know what I think, I think you’re just too damn nice.”

Contributing Writer: Monsoon is a thirty-something office worker by day and aspiring restaurateur/caterer by night (way into the night), he is currently based in Los Angeles.

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