No Reservations: Philippines

Better late than never, I suppose.  I'm sure a ton of other bloggers have blogged about this episode.

Was anyone other than me a little disappointed on how the show turned out?  Yes, the food was mouth-watering (most of it at least; I don't think I could have eaten the goat bile) and it made me miss the Philippines.  But while the main topic was the food, I noticed what I think were the main problems of why Filipino food was overlooked, and it seems like a cultural problem.

Anthony Bourdain asked a question which I have also seeked the answer for:  What is Filipino cuisine, and why does it not have the same popularity as other cuisines in the same part of the world?

I am more interested in the second part of the question.  It goes without saying that despite the various influences that we have drawn from other cultures, Filipino cuisine truly is unique and has its own flavor.  Therefore, it is a matter of making it more accessible and marketable.  I'm not talking about elevating Filipino food to the level of haute cuisine, where it barely resembles the original dish.  Rather, we need to improve the quality of our food so that it no longer falls under the 'exotic' category.  Examples are Chinese and Thai food.  They are popular enough to have gone mainstream without compromising their foods taste, identity, and presentation.

First:  Try cooking Filipino dishes using choice cuts of meat.  One of my complaints about Filipino food is that there is too little meat and either too much fat or bone, which more often than not, gets in the way of enjoying the food.

Why do we have to limit ourselves using, for lack of better word, non-traditional parts of meat?  A fellow blogger commented that the reason we resorted to the non-traditional cuts of meat is because our colonizers used the choice cuts and we were forced then to adapt and make do with what we were given.  Yes, it is a testament to our adaptability.  However, we are no longer under foreign rule.  If we stick to a tradition that was 'forced' upon us, then we are still shackled to the chains that our colonizers placed on us many years ago.

How many times have you eaten kare-kare only to sift through the sauce and find out there is no more 'laman' (meat)?  And even then, it is so hard to pry the meat off the bone that you end up just eating the sauce and vegetables on rice... with a little bagoong of course. 

Of course, there are certain dishes such as bulalo where the bone (particularly the bone marrow) is not only integral to the dish, but is the very essence of the dish itself.  But how about adding some pieces of boneless beef rib into the bulalo broth?  It would absorb the broth and retain the tasty goodness of the bulalo.

Second:  The Philippines has many different regions.  Rather than open a generic Filipino restaurant, open a Filipino restaurant that focuses on one specific region, such as Pampanga or Ilonggo food.  That way, Filipinos will already know what to expect, and foreigners will also not only know about Filipino cuisine but more of the region that the food originates from.  One good example of this is Chinese cuisine.  There are several kinds of Chinese cuisine... Szechuan, Mandarin, etc.  Chinese restaurants (real ones, not the Panda Express type ones) typically specialize in one region.  If one cannot create a whole menu based on one region, then specifying on the menu where the food originated from could be a good compromise.  The best of the Philippines, similar to what Bourdain suggested by narrowing down Philippine food into just a few dishes.

Third:  Support the Filipino restaurant and Filipino cuisine as a whole.  Chinese people eat in Chinese restaurants despite the fact that Chinese food is just as easy to prepare at home.  Even if you don't eat there, spread the word to everyone, not just Filipinos but to non-Filipinos as well.  Better yet, invite some friends and family over for a home cooked Filipino meal, or bring a Filipino dish next time there is pot luck in the office.

The most disappointing part that I saw during the television show was when Bourdain had dinner with Augusto's family.  Filipino food is meant to be shared and enjoyed... hence the huge portions served in large serving dishes.  One of the essences of a Filipino meal, especially with family, is the gathering around a table and being boisterous, especially when there is a special guest.  Augusto's family however, was shy and reserved, and dinner seemed like a procession.  In fact, it almost looked like they were slightly resentful of Bourdain's presence.  The fact that Augusto was almost as much a foreigner to his family like Bourdain did not help matters.  I don't blame Bourdain for trying to let Augusto and his family crawl out of their shells.  Is it the cameras?  Contrary to Bourdain, I think the same thing would have occurred had there been no cameras there.  There was so much potential to show true Filipino culture in this one segment and break through the stereotype that Filipinos are too nice (and shy).  Instead, foreigners did not see anything new about us, since (let's be honest here) we are generally shy in the company of foreigners... unless we are the overwhelming majority of course!

Too nice and too shy indeed.  We all know we Filipinos aren't like that when there are no non-Filipinos around.  I think Bourdain should have visited at least one Fiesta so that he could experience how outgoing and festive Filipinos could really be.  Then he would have a better understanding of our cuisines origins and why food plays a central role in our culture.

Kudos to Augusto for convincing Bourdain to visit the Philippines.  Maybe Bourdain secretly chose Augusto as a symbol of the Philippine culture...  A country colonized by so many others now struggling for its own identity.

I hope it won't be the last trip back for both of them, and that through this show, Filipino food will find its identity and rightfully find its place rightfully alongside other Asian cuisine.