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52% of Filipinos distrust Arroyo–survey |
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| KP GALLERY | |||
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| IT MAY be true and valid that although the Philippines is lagging behind in most areas of development and modern-day living with their counterparts in Asia, in some areas however, the Filipinos, at least a significant section of its urban population, are not only at par with the rest of the world if not ahead and better. The Filipinos themselves are best witnesses of this comparison. How many times have you encountered relatives and friends commenting about us, Filipinos in America, on how slow we do our "text messaging" and the available cell phone versions and editions in the United States are a couple of years late in compared to their counterparts in the Philippines. The other areas are in the field of food service business, particularly in restaurant and catering services. How oftentimes have you heard Filipinos' and Filipino Americans' envious comments on how much our Asian counterparts - particularly the Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese - have achieved in the areas of food services in the United States. The irony is "Masasarap naman ang lutong Pinoy, bakit hindi matanggap-tanggap tayo ng mainstream?" (We have great cuisine, how come we haven't gotten the acceptance of the mainstream.) The additional comment comes from among our kababayan, balikbayan and frequent visitors in the Philippines: "Bakit sa Pilipinas, ang gagaling ng mga restaurants, kayang pantapat sa mundo? Pero bibihira ang mga Filipino restaurants ang maipagmamalaki mo dito sa America? (How come in the Philippines, we have excellent restaurants, and they can compete with foreign establishments while here in the U.S., there are too few Filipino restaurants that you can be proud of?) There is the cliché that Filipinos often say when other nationalities asked about Filipino food - "the best Filipino cooking is found only at home." This cliché originated in Manila before the 1950's when famous restaurants and hotels, and even those owned by young Filipino entrepreneurs like Max's, Selecta, Aristocrats, and Bonanza, did not offer traditional Filipino dishes. It was only during the 1950s when the Manila Hotel opened its Bamboo Room and dared to serve an all-Filipino menu. It was a major turning point for Filipino cuisine. Later, many restaurants and established hotels started serving Filipino dishes and even went as far as using Filipino-food related words, like Barrio Fiesta, Ihaw-Ihaw, Sulu Hotel, Philippine Village, and Kamayan. Filipino food was suddenly transformed. From being just available in Filipino homes to being available, affordable, fashionable, marketable and internationally palatable. The late Doreen Fernandez, a respectable food writer, surmised the reasons why Filipino food has moved from the turu-turo or the carinderia type into being served in new fashionable restaurants with well-thought-out packaging, style and branding. First, there was the urbanization and commercialization of Metro Manila that has transformed the lifestyles of many. More and more people are eating out rather than eating at home or bringing baon (packed home-cooked food). Second, the influx of tourists and later the many balikbayans and OFWs who were craving for Filipino food, has created a bigger market for Filipino restaurants. Third, Manila urbanites began to develop a nostalgia for the good old days, rekindling the memories of provincial specialties and handaan (food fest) during fiestas, Christmas, rainy and harvest seasons. Fourth, being an international city, you can find in Manila the cuisines and restaurants of other countries such as Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, French, American, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, South Indian, Singaporean, Korean, and even Middle Eastern countries. Filipino entrepreneurs realized that they had something to offer to this international array, a product which could be attractive to both foreign and local gourmands. As they say, we should not be strangers in our own country. In other words, "go national before going international." The fifth reason for this proliferation of Filipino restaurants, according to Doreen Fernandes, was that the restaurants made money, drawing mostly local diners, and not only family groups and ladies' luncheons, but even corporate patronage, businessmen, and catering events. The four preceding phenomena - people eating out, the tourist drive, urbanization and the ensuing nostalgia, the recognition of the ability of Philippine cuisine to take its place among those of other nations-were buttressed by the strongest argument of all: profit. Pinoy cuisine, it was found, could compete in the marketplace, and make it. The above analysis of Filipinos in the restaurant and food services were culled from the Doreen Fernandez' essay "The Filipino Restaurants of Metro Manila" in her book "Sarap: Essays on Philippine Food" which was published in 1988, almost 20 years ago. Going back to our early premises, how come the Filipino restaurant and food services in America "have not made it yet" relative to their Asian counterpart and Philippine-based counterparts? Jojo Liangco, an immigration lawyer based in San Francisco who specializes on traders and investors visa and also a leading member of the Food Trip Barkada, monitors the trend and the state of affairs of Filipinos in food and restaurant business in America. He observes that many of our kababayans who ventured into the restaurant and food businesses are familiar with or have experiences in the carinderia and turu-turo type but not in a full-scale restaurant business that has proliferated and has become successful franchises since the 70s. The mindset of most Filipinos in coming to America is to work or be employed and not to run a business. To run a restaurant and catering service business is considered a "sideline" or an additional source of income but not a primary wealth creation venture. Furthermore, according to Atty. Liangco, almost all Filipino restaurants targeted the Filipino clientele, following the tenets "You can take a Filipino away from the Philippines but you can't take the Philippines away from a Filipino" and "Cooking for Pinoys to feel they never left home!" This is not bad per se. This is a variation of the third reason on Doreen's analysis, which is the ensuing nostalgia of the homeland, especially strong among Filipinos in the Diaspora. The fourth and fifth reasons, which are the recognition of the ability of Philippine cuisine to take its place among those of other nations, and make the business profitable in the mainstream world, should be applied in America. In the next issues, KP Gallery will be featuring a series on Kusina Pilipinas. Next topics include Manila catering, the story of Cedrillon, the making of the book "Memories of Philippine Kitchen's," the "Buko con Seta," the Patio Filipino's version of Halo-halo, and many more. There will be a Filipino community event at the Bayanihan Center on February 24 from 3 to 5 p.m. for the lauching of the "Memories of Philippine Kitchens." Its authors, Amy Bessa and Romy Dorotan of Cendrillon will talk about the book and do a cooking demonstration, respectively. The center is located at 1010 Mission Street (corner 6th Street), 1st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103. For tickets, please call Arkipelago Books at 415/ 879-0438 or 415/553-8185. ----------------------- KP Gallery will feature the remarkable "brand" of the Philippines, of Filipinos and of Filipino Americans. KP stands for Kulturang Pilipino, Kagalingan Pilipino, Kathang Pilipino, Kasal Pilipinas, Kusinang Pilipino, Kalinangang Pilipino, Katutubong Pilipino, Kalikasang Pilipinas at Karunungan Pilipino. KP Gallery welcomes suggestions and ideas, please send them at bayan2bayan@aol.com |
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