Unless you lived under a rock you most likely ate out in a semi-fancy / fancy place. Most of you have probably been to a few fancy fusion joints, sushi bars, cultural fine dining places and the likes. In my case, I would say it’s been a fair amount of time, including business dinners and the friends that know how to make-a-hole-your-pocket eating out, it seems like I’ve been from restaurant to restaurant, menu to menu experiencing the fine dishes of Italy to the unique recipes of Thailand and everything in-between.
These restaurants ironically share something in common…you not only realize the amazing food but the very atmospheric feel and impression that comes with it. You come out feeling that you’ve learned something along the way without even opening a text book or having a professor right before you. Thousands of miles away and even without a hint of a clue, you take with you a piece of that culture by ways of your cravings awakening all your senses.
In my case, once those senses faded away from me, I realized that I’ve been there before, and I’ve seen those cultures before! It’s right there in my own personal back yard! I ate Thai food from a friend in school before, I’ve tasted that true Italian pasta and I’ve even ate true French food at a French home in France before…
I realized that the food I was spending the well worth $20 at those fine diners was deriving from the ordinary “authentic” places and people I know of. Many of these restaurants are from families back from their home that have invested on exporting their goods and recipes to the rest of world with an equal amount from culinary students who have been inspired by those recipes…
All of this just made me look back at my own culture in the Philippines. I come home, eat the amazing food my mother cooks, and looking and eating at the food makes me realize that all of those other nations with amazing recipes are no different from my own.
This inspired me to go out on trek to all of the Filipino restaurants in Jacksonville, literally Yellow paging and googling all existing restaurants. The good news, amazingly all of the foods were good, of course very familiar, and maybe not the best since I have my mother’s bias. Now for the not so good news…I come inside one of these restaurants and I’m greeted by a friendly middle aged man, who takes me to my seat, and takes my order. I complete my order and the same guy rushes to the back, 30 minutes later-he’s there with my food. When this waiter/host/chef removes his apron he’s wearing a Hooter’s shirt! I thought I was in a Filipino restaurant? And for quick access to certain foods, I have to point to already cooked food by means of “Turo-Turo”…
So maybe it’s not like that in all Filipino restaurants, I’ve actually seen several that were noteworthy, what I’m generally presenting is the unintentional lack of presentation and seemingly lack of care for what’s at hand. I even googled about other restaurants around the nation, same deal, I even landed on a YouTube video of a middle aged Filipino lady inviting to come out and line-dance and karaoke with her. Yikes!
I’m not really complaining about their business, but it just so happens to be the presentation of our culture. I don’t mind that we have restaurants like that in the Philippines and I know we have large Filipino populations that would support such a business in this country, but again it’s about the presentation of our culture.
As Filipino cooks, Filipino restaurant owners, and Filipino chefs…you’re not only blessed with recipes, you have an export, and in business terms special kinds of exports are typically worth more value and given more attention to as imports. In this case, a restaurant is an import of our culture. In Philippines case, our food is an export of our people, our history, and the arguably one of the few things that unite us.
I’m writing this not as an attack, but as a hopeful inspiration. I don’t cook and I wasn’t even born in the Philippines, but I believe myself as a true Filipino and have infinite respect for the culture and the hard working other Filipinos out there… We live in this great country that is obsessed about its many cultures and melting pot of nations, yet we come back from a beautiful land that’s hundreds of years a culmination of a melting pot of people all the way from the East to the West. Why present it in ways of “Turo-Turo” and “Karaoke bars”? Let’s reach out and show the true beauty of our culture, even as simple as food.
So once those senses fade away for you, I want to know your thoughts.
Immanuel Masinsin
a.k.a. Noel
a.k.a. Weng Weng
PS: If you try what I did, being a health nut, I only tried light menu items and increased my gym time. LOL
