Almost every page felt like a tiny battle between the perspective I could now observe Manila through, and what I remember of growing up in a megacity that wove an endless patchwork of realities together. Definitely a recommended read!
Read MoreIn social sciences, the study of foodways explores how the history, traditions and culture of a place influence the food from that area. So I wondered, how did Quezon’s foodways shape the delicately colourful “kiping”?
Read MoreLet’s take a dip into the reference collection with one of my favourites, "Fishes of the Philippines" by Genevieve Broad. What an amazing resource!
Read MoreWith most of the world instructed to shop for groceries once a week, the idea of planning to feed ourselves (and the people around us) has admittedly become daunting. When was the last time we paid this much attention to meal planning?
Read MoreIn the realm of coffee table books I own, this is definitely in the top three. Philippine Markets is easily one I can get lost in!
Read MoreMy taste buds needed to uncover a version of the Philippines that held countless culinary treasures. I wanted to eat my way around the country - realistically, in stages - just like Claude and Mary Ann.
Read More“Eating the Filipino way,” Felice and Bryan write, “is not only a celebration of cooking, but of how valuable relationships are with one another. ‘Kain na’ is the call to table.” And if this book isn’t the best invitation you’ll get to eat at a Filipino table, I don’t know what is!
Read More“The writing done about food must be worthy of its subject,” writes Doreen G. Fernandez. “It should be not just utilitarian reportage, but writing that depends heavily on the unsaid, on the assumed, on the subtext of culture. It should require full participation from the reader.”
Read MoreGrowing up in Paranaque, the thing I associated most with this nearby province was my family’s annual summer holiday. And if I hadn’t read this book, I would have continued to live knowing just a slice of Cavite’s specialties.
Read MoreThese aren't just stories about foods and dishes recreated in expatriate or second-generations' kitchens across the globe. It’s a series of love letters written by people who care a lot about their heritage, their culture, their cuisine, and life as we know it, told in so many ways.
Read MoreFrom pulutan mainstays such as adobong mani (garlic-roasted peanuts) and sizzling sisig (thrice-cooked pig’s ears, snout and cheek), regional specialties such as kilawing puso ng saging (pickled banana hearts) and guinataang kuhol (field snails cooked in coconut milk), to dishes like "Insectxotic" (stir-fried grasshoppers, beetles or crickets) and paes (steamed stingray) - this book’s got you covered.
Read MoreBrazo de mercedes cake was my aunt’s favourite dessert. When I was a kid, I often enjoyed a generous slice (or two) in exchange for spending an afternoon with my younger cousins. I watched Doc Brown and Marty McFly with them so many times on VHS that I still crave that pillowy, lemony meringue every time I hear Christopher Lloyd’s voice.
Read MoreDoreen was my gateway to food writing. I didn’t even know the genre existed - much less how it flourished in her hands, in the Philippines. For that reason alone, Tikim will always be my favourite book of essays.
Read MoreTo the saying that the world's a stage, Nora Daza adds: "Life is a meal." And if life is simply all the meals you've ever had, strung together - Let's Cook With Nora makes your life as honestly delicious and rooted as it can possibly be.
Read MoreEvery book on this list has earned a place on my shelf because it signifies some part of my life that has become so intertwined with food and cooking.
Read MoreWithin 200 pages, chef Gene Gonzalez brings his hometown of Sulipan, geographically from the province of Pampanga, to brilliant life - illustrating the lengths that illustrious families went to prepare both everyday (pag-aldo-aldo) and celebratory fiesta meals.
Read MoreI am writing this because, as historian Ken Albala says, “the history of cooking methods, recipes and food customs can help us become more responsible consumers who get greater pleasure from what we eat.”
Read MoreMemories of Philippine Kitchens is more than an indispensable guide to Filipino food; it’s the beacon I follow, time and again, for a bit of spiritual guidance on why the study of Philippine foodways matter.
Read MoreKapampangans (or the people of Pampanga) have built a regional cuisine recognized across the Philippines as one of the best.
Read MoreA people of diverse tongues and customs, Bicolanos are bound together by their almost fanatical devotion to their unique and indigenous cookery.
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