Monday, January 23, 2012

Bite on Kulinarya: A Filipino Culinary showdown

Culinary showdown stage
My first food event that I attended for 2012 and I'm glad it's all about Filipino food. There was a lot of Lechon, Calamansi, Longganisa and Pork BBQ. There's definitely a lot of food and my $20 food coupons were all worth it. Actually I would've been satisfied with fewer coupons since there's a lot of food. UFC was giving out free tastes of Lechon, Filipino spaghetti, Paksiw and Lumpias. There was also a sampling of Pili nuts which I'm excited about. Based from the people behind it, it would be sold at Whole foods and Trader Joes this year!



Secret ingredient: Pili nut



What I like about this event is that it showcases the different Filipino culinary enthusiasts whether they are amateurs or professionals. There was a cook off between the newbies and the pros. It's a multi-course cooking competition that kinda reminded me of Iron Chef where the secret ingredient is Filipino Food. Winners were: Arlene Nunez for the amateurs and Albert Rivera for the Pros.

There was also tastings from different Filipino restaurants, food trucks, food vendors, etc. The only thing I didn't like is the limited space. It was really packed inside and it's hard to move around, get your food and eat. I'm glad though that there's such events like these that highlights the Filipino cuisine and let the Bay Area people taste and enjoy it.

Food vendors




Cutting up the calamansi bars (Filipino version of the lemon bars)
The 2nd Annual Kulinarya event was held at the Carnelian by the Bay which is conveniently located at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. There was a Pili nut presentation at the beginning of the event. Restaurants like Intramuros, Tastebuds, Dampa and Patio Filipino were there to sample their dishes. Food coupons were sold for $5 each or $20 for 5. I have to say, the most flavorful dish I had was Naked chorizo's longganisa tacos. It's "Bacolod" style longganisa without the casing topped with tomato salsa fresca, queso fresco, cilantro dressing and jalapenos. It was really good! Tastebud's lechon wraps were okay too but I wish they put something to cut through the fat because it was just minced lechon on a tortilla with a garlic hoisin sauce. I feel like it's missing something.

Here are the photos of some of the food from the event!


Cheese rolls

Empanada
Chicken pot pie




"Longganisa" Chorizo tacos

Kaldereta

Bangus sisig

Binagoongan rice

Tastebuds
Lechon

cutting up the crispy skin

shiny Pig

Lechon wrap with Hoisin garlic sauce

Seafood Paella

Maja Blanca
 Ramar Foods

Tocino

Warm Tocino Spinach salad

Dampa Restaurant
"not so crispy" chicken skin
 UFC

Lumpia
Paksiw

I fully support events like these and I wish that there would be more events that showcase the Filipino food around the bay area. I think filipino food has a lot to offer and it shouldn't be just about the lechon or fried pork bellies or the lumpias and adobo. It's a diverse fusion cuisine that needs more exploration. Looking forward to more exciting Filipino food this year.

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