Manila Food

Me:  Excuse me, is this water filtered?
Waiter:  No sir.
Me: OH?!!
Waiter: Purified, sir.

I'm going to get into trouble with my Filipino friends for this post, but I'd rather be controversial than dull.

Of all the terrific food in Southeast Asia, Filipino food is the least artistic and creative.

Think about it: you know this is true from your own experience, even in the states.  Your favorite Southeast Asian food is probably Thai or Vietnamese.  You love the fresh ingredients, the vibrant colors and flavors, the impeccable balance of sweet, sour, salt and spice in every bite.

Filipino food, in contrast, consists of two things - stewed stuff and fried stuff.  Most of our dishes - even my favorite dishes like adobo or pinakbet consist of stuff thrown in a pot and simmered for hours.  There is brilliant seafood in the Philippines - everyday I eat fish that were caught hours ago.  But unless I'm very adamant, that fish is going to be fried, or thrown into a pot for soup.

When I walk the streets of Thailand, or Vietnam or Cambodia (Cambodia has terrific tasting and presented food, but is largely underappreciated in the states) I am struck but the diversity of the street food.  Noodles here, grilled goods there, sweets across the street.  In the Philippines I'm underwhelmed by the selection in any given place.  On a barbeque street in Manila, you'll find eight vendors all selling the same selection - chicken wings, livers, cubed blood and red dyed hot dogs.

Here's my theory - untested or confirmed.  The Philippines is an archipelago of over 7000 islands.  We never unified into an empire.  It was just too hard.  Some chief would get agro for minute and conquer a few neighboring rocks, but inevitably it was too difficult to maintain your territory when you have to travel to new places by boat.  It hinders communication, supply lines, cost and speed.  Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma are all in peninsular southeast Asia.  All these countries have housed massive dynasties and empires that would repeatedly make claim to each others territories across rivers and mountains.

So what does empire have to do with food?

An empire creates a royal class.  High culture - food, dance, art, sculpture, religious temples - are created when there is a royal class that collect taxes from a large population and have the means to patronize culture.  This is why there are beautiful temples all over the peninsula, but nothing of interest in the Philippines before Spanish colonization.  In the past, elevated food culture was created for the tastes of royalty.  Chefs were encouraged to create, innovate and perfect.  In the Philippines, the chiefs and kings didn't have a huge kingdom.  Everyone had to work.  There weren't professional chefs who spent years learning their craft.  You threw some stuff in a pot and put it over a fire while you went out to farm, fish or throw spears at the guys one island over.

If you caught some fish, you took it home and you fried it.

My empire theory fails to account for why the Indonesians are such food artisans, or why the Brits only pulled their act together 15 years ago.

Having said this - I love Filipino food.  It's not elegant or subtle, but neither am I.  Filipino food is the soul food of Asia - comforting, hearty fare meant to help you refuel after a day of physical labor.  It's food to ladle out over rice as big families come together at the end of the day.  The traditional Filipino style of eating - with your hands - also reflects this culture.  It's poor, communal, trusting and tender.

In the last five years or so, there has been a resurgence of Filipino cuisine as the influences of fusion cuisine, localvores and the global foodie movement have sent young Filipino chefs scurrying to their childhood favorites for inspiration.   For perhaps the first time, there is a batch of food artists willing to color outside the lines, and an eager group of multi-national eaters willing to be more daring, and pay a little more for it.  This is especially true in Manila malls where "modern Filipino cuisine," or even "subversive Filipino cuisine" abounds.

My dine often with my friend Jose (see my video here)- a mixed Fil-Am like myself.  It feels almost as if this food was created for us - we want food grounded in tradition, but we've sampled food all over the world, and we aren't afraid to take risks.  It tastes a little like home - but this is not your mother's sinagang.

Jose and I enjoying a gin and pomelo fruit cocktail.  It was damn good.  Good cocktails - both classics and innovations - are a rarity in the Philippines.  We tend to stick to San Miguel beer, which is one of the best of the Asian beers.

Corned beef sinagang with stuffed squash blossoms in coconut milk and banana shake.

Prawns cooked in coconut milk and crab fat.  This is one of the best dishes I had in Manila.   Why haven't I discovered crab fat before?!!!