KapaMEALya: Taglish Dinner

Family pic of the diners!

I got excited when I found out about this event. The whole theme of this dinner is English Pub food with a Filipino twist. I went to their website and checked out what the deal is with this dinner. It turns out they've been doing pop-up dinners, dishcrawls, etc for months now and the best thing about it is that they showcase Filipino food! Once I found out about this, I told myself, I need to meet the people behind this and check the event out. This is my kind of event!

Guests starting to come in

All settled

I looked at what they've served before and I was really thrilled. They've had Halo Halo Panna Cotta, Bulalo dumplings, Fishballs, Pea shoots adobo, Bicol Express ribs and a lot more. I like the idea to put a twist on a classic Filipino dish. I know some Filipino Food trucks here in CA like HapaSF and White Rabbit do their own interpretation of Filipino food. They are not original.. So what? These kind of food should not be compared to the authentic Filipino food but rather just to enjoy the familiar flavor and have a little fun with it. It may not be on the same form as what is traditional but that's the point, it doesn't have to be.

Trivia = Prizes

Kitchen cam

This event was created by KapaMEALya which basically means part of the family. Their main concept is bringing people together through Filipino food. This dinner was held at Mercury Lounge in SF. It's run by Filipino foodies and bloggers: Joanne, Albert, Fred, etc.  I also met their talented chef Dom, who is responsible for this creative, Filipino inspired dishes.

Inside Chef Dom's mind

Sprinkled with love

Spotted: Chef Brian of Magic Curry Kart helping out

What I love about this dinner pop-up is that it's very interactive. There are some trivia questions and some prizes to give away. There's even a T.V. where you can see the action in the kitchen and even talk to the chef to see what's cookin'. Also, to make things a bit more special, Adobo Nation was there to do a segment of their show about this dinner. That probably explained the extra energy that guests have for their camera time! :)

Here's the journey of Filipino food in an English Pub:

1st course - Tea sandwiches, Pinoy style. Bangus , Tocino, Tomato, and salted egg 

2nd course - Welsh Rarebit with San Miguel beer cheese sauce. This reminds me of my afternoon snack back in Manila but this is the grown up version

3rd course - Toad in a Hole. Longganisa on a puff pastry with sauteed onions and poached egg

4th course - Fish and chips. Fried Tilapia with sweet potato and purple yam fries

Balls ready to be served

5th course - Scotch eggs

Egg wrapped in Embutido, deep fried in panko

6th course - Cottage pie

Made with Mechado

7th course - Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Adobo with Coconut milk and Turmeric

8th and final course - Black pudding

Brown rice champorado

The whole experience I had was awesome. It really felt like I was in a Filipino family gathering. The whole crew was very welcoming and friendly. Everybody seemed to know each other, there's a lot of smiles and laughter, people were talking and very engaging. The hosts, Chris and Jo, did a great job in making sure everyone is having a great time. Some dishes were served family style and there's even some food to take home, just like going to a Filipino party. I left with some amazing food, happy belly, great experience and new friends. This will definitely not be their last event I'll go to.