Filipino food has finally arrived – Washington Post

MANILA, Philippines – The day when Filipino food is mentioned in the same breath as Italian, Spanish, or other ethnic culinary favorites has come, according to the Washington Post.

“What took it so long?” They ask.

The article, written by Tim Carman, explains: “Nearly 3 years ago, before most Americans could pronounce sinigang, let alone find a place to enjoy the sour soup, Andrew Zimmern predicted Filipino cuisine would soon become the darling of diners who collect restaurant experiences like seashells on the beach.”

Zimmern, a TV show host, chef, and food writer, had featured the Philippines in his popular TV food travel show, “Bizarre Food.” He ate delicacies such as balut (fertilized duck egg), crickets, stuffed frogs, and even raw tamilok (woodworm); as well as regular Filipino fare. He described banana cue as similar to bananas Foster, but without the snooty waiter.

“I had said to some people, ‘If there was a great chef executing Filipino food at a high level, everyone else would line up behind them,’ ” Zimmern told the Washington Post.

This is what many Filipino chefs did.

Top Chef winner Paul Qui at Qui in Austin, Cristina Quackenbush at Milkfish in New Orleans, Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan at the Purple Yam in Brooklyn, and Nicole Ponseca of Maharlika and Jeepney – were named as trailblazers among young Filipino American restaurateurs.

The article said an obstacle to the development of Filipino food abroad is hiya – or shame. “Some Filipino immigrants in America have felt a sense of hiya around their food, with its duck embryos, pig’s blood, shrimp paste and other potentially hard-to-swallow ingredients,” the article said. 

Check out the full article on the Washington Post. – Rappler.com