![]() ![]() ![]() In the latest sign that New York City's obsession with Filipino food is legit, halo-halo, the absolutely insane, unapologetically messy, bean-encrusted dessert, is threatening to eclipse the cronut as the summer's best sweet treat. Three-Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse has opened two culinary schools in the Philippines, but he says the nation's cuisine can't be elevated until it's purged of excessive fat, salt and sugar.This article is from the archive of our partner. Filipino-Americans aren't accustomed to paying a lot for their native dishes and there are no standard recipes, since ingredients vary widely in the 7,600-island archipelago. The four chefs say challenges remain to mainstreaming Filipino cuisine. "I like to introduce many things that people aren't used to seeing, and being that Filipino cooking is part of my background, I want people to become more familiar with this cuisine for sure," she said. One of her first creations was the purple ube taro coconut flavor, which is now Nomad's signature product. Other Philippine-themed doughnuts she has created are coconut pandan, calamansi and halo-halo (a baked version of the parfait dessert, with custard, red beans and pandan). Two years ago, she left her pastry position at Mister A's in Bankers Hill to create the "globally inspired" doughnut menu at By age 7, she was baking trays of sweets for the neighbors and by 17 was in the kitchen at the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island.Īfter culinary school she cooked her way around the country, including four years as executive pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Village Pub in the Bay area. She grew up in Northridge, where her parents moved from the Philippines in the late 1960s. Zabala has delivered Filipino flavors in the most unique way: gourmet doughnuts. "I want to share my culture with everyone else but not force it," he said. Because most of the customers at his bayside restaurant aren't Filipino, he said revamping the dishes and names to local tastes introduces the cuisine in an accessible way. ![]() Locally, he worked at Prepkitchen, JRDN and Decoy before launching the Filipino-inspired menu at Tidal in October. Tangalin's family ran a fish farm in the Philippines and he grew up cooking in his mother's carinderia (street cafe) before they immigrated to Hawaii when he was 16. Tangalin's Tidal, at the Paradise Point Resort, has refashioned traditional bulalo (bone marrow soup) into a French onion soup, his mussels dish has tamarind broth, his house bread is pandesal and the ceviche starter is kilawin-style (a raw seafood or meat dish). ![]() Sinsay's warm beet salad is a vegetarian twist on paksiw (vinegar-simmered stew), his stir-fried dish is an adaptation of pancit bihon (noodles), and his roasted chicken dish riffs on lechon kawali (deep-fried pork belly) with Mang Tomas (pork liver) sauce. The unifying ingredient is vinegar, which Cruz said chefs traditionally used to stew fresh produce and proteins before they spoiled in the tropical heat and humidity.Ĭruz, Sinsay and Tangalin all work at restaurants affiliated with local hotels, so their menus read as mainstream American, but many of the dishes are Filipino in spirit.Ĭruz's Arterra, at the San Diego Marriott Del Mar, serves homemade longanisa as the breakfast house sausage and his Coca-Cola-sweetened ribs are cooked adobo-style with vinegar, garlic and onions. Cruz described Filipino food as a melting pot of international influences.Ĭhefs in the Philippines may cook with homegrown pork and rice, regional fish, ube (purple yam) and calamansi (citrus fruit), but they're with prepared with American sugar, Chinese noodles, Japanese soy sauce, Thai curry and Spanish paprika. After the base closed in 1992, Pacific Rim businesses from Korea, China and Japan flooded in. Local non-Filipinos may love lumpia, pancit and chicken adobo - traditional Filipino foods - but Cruz says they've barely scratched the surface of the nation's cuisine.Ĭruz was born at Subic Bay, the huge naval base built by the Spanish in 1885, but run by the U.S. Yet despite the community's strong local presence, most of its Filipino restaurants are deli-like shops known as "point-point" joints (point at what you want) in National City and Mira Mesa. San Diego County is home to nearly 200,000 Filipinos, one of the largest concentrations in America. As I got older, I developed a passion for finding my own culture." I identified with it, but I always shunned it. "When I was young, I thought Filipino cooking wasn't sophisticated enough. "She always pushed me to cook from my heart," Sinsay said. Then after he met his Colombian wife, Elyse, in 2010, he re-embraced his roots. Sinsay grew up on his dad's traditional cooking, but spent most of his career cooking French and other cuisines. Navy veterans who immigrated from the Philippines in 1960, wanted their four U.S.-born children to embrace America, so they didn't teach them Tagalog. ![]()
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