I was born in the capital city of the Philippines: Manila. Aside from the seemingly never-ending heat waves, suffocating pollution, and daily traffic that would put Houston to shame, I loved it. Though I haven't visited in over a decade, I attribute my love for all types of cuisine based on the diverse culinary world that grows in my home country. From cooking, to baking, to (my personal favorite) eating, food has become an open window to all sorts of cultures and stories I've been fortunate enough to explore.
Much of my curiosity and love for food is also because of my parents. They're the typical food lovers that aim to try every restaurant they encounter in every city. Seriously,check out my mom's Facebook. It's practically a food blog.
My mother was born with Chinese and Filipino roots and my father grew up in the provincial town of Davao. Like most Filipinos, we were deeply influenced by Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Japanese and other Southeast Asian cultures. However, the Philippines was also colonized by the Spanish and the Americans. Therefore, I grew up on a fusion of authentic and inspired foods, ranging from rice, to noodles, to tapas, to burgers. My favorite, however, was the traditional Filipino food, which is a mixture of Southeast Asian dishes and provincial delicacies. Some of them are pancit (Filipino noodles), dinugoan (soup from pigs’ blood), kare-kare (a tripe and oxtail dish with a peanut butter soup base), and lumpia (Filipino egg rolls).
The best thing about living in a tropical island is the summer time. Those days, you can hit up the beach while having local fishermen deliver freshly caught seafood for you to grill on the shore. If you were extra risky, you’d get on a boat, travel 200 feet offshore, jump underwater, and spear for your own fish and sea urchin.
The best thing about living in a tropical island is the summer time. Those days, you can hit up the beach while having local fishermen deliver freshly caught seafood for you to grill on the shore. If you were extra risky, you’d get on a boat, travel 200 feet offshore, jump underwater, and spear for your own fish and sea urchin.
When I was eight, my family and I migrated to Baltimore, Maryland. I attended a new school with a great mix of Chinese-Americans, African Americans, and Jewish students. Aside from learning a whole new language, I also learned about different dishes from the lunch boxes we constantly shared and traded. In my first couple of months in the US, I learned about America’s hidden treasures like latkes, rugelach, Goober’s Peanut butter and Jelly, rice krispies, cheerios, and frosted flakes. Being a lover of all seafood, my mother had us travel up and down the east coast to try all sorts of crab cakes, mussels, shrimp, and her personal favorite, fresh oyster. Baltimore was only an hour away from Washington D.C., so we constantly visited their Chinatown, which we decided, had the best authentic Chinese restaurants and sushi joints.
When I was twelve, we moved to Houston, Texas. Here, I found my home in hush puppies, brisket, and crawfish. My parents never had to worry about their cholesterol until we found out about fajitas, Whataburger, loaded baked potatoes, and pupusas. I attended middle school through high school in a district with predominantly Hispanic classmates. I made friends whose mothers fed me posole, tamales, quesadillas, and tacos. I loved it so much that I’ve set a personal record of 10 beef fajita tacos in one sitting. What’s also great about Houston is that it is home to so many different cultures that you can find dishes from all corners of the world. For example, my mom worked with an Indian woman who introduced us to curries, tikka masala, and biryani. My father also befriended a man who came from Nigeria. He would often come by and deliver dishes that his wife made, such as egusi and dodo.
Though we’ve settled in a home here in Texas, my family and I still loved to travel. My favorite city is New Orleans, Louisiana. You cannot find a better city rich with culture, nightlife, and gumbo. Every time I visit, I overdose on oyster, crawfish etouffe, turtle soup, and beignets. As my sister and I got older, we decided that we would save up and spend our 20’s travelling and gaining weight. Our first stop was London, England. London had the most hipster vibe, lined with pubs and American-esque restaurants. We loved Paris, France as we tried kooky dishes like escargot and foi gras. The aunt we stayed with was married to a retired French chef who insisted we woke up to fresh brioche and fruits. We spent our evenings on red wine, cheeses, pasta, stews, and macarons. In our short stop in Barcelona, Spain, we had paella and tons of red wine. In our stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands, we had steak, red wine (I’m not an alcoholic, I promise) and every sort of cheese that I didn’t even know existed.
Though we are currently more focused in school, we never lack in adventure here in Houston. From my experience, food not only enhances your perspective of a certain place, but it can also become the integral part of the experience. The relationships and the conversations made around the dinner table are some of the highlights of our travels. In the future, I hope to continue my journey with an open mind, and a fork and spoon in hand.