Filipino food has indeed become the next big thing with the ongoing success of the FilFood Fest that runs until July 12 at selected participating restaurants across the UAE.
The month-long festival that was launched June 12 this year, held under the auspices of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and spearheaded by the FilFood Innovation Group, pushed the Filipino cuisine to the forefront as several well-known Filipino brands which are already established here in the UAE collaborated and innovated their Filipino dishes and came up with unique takes on each of their offerings.
“More people of different nationalities are now enjoying Filipino food due to cross-cultural influences at the workplace and at home. You can see Emiratis, Arabs, Indians, South Americans and Europeans dining at some Filipino restaurants,” said the FilFood Innovation Group.
Top Picks
Many diners were happy with their culinary journey and amazing experience at the participating outlets of FilFood in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dishes ranged from Classic Filipino food, Pan-Asian Cuisine, Premium Gourmet Cross-over to Flavors of the Islands, Filipino-Chinese food, and more.
Here are the top picks for restaurants:
Appetizers: Siomai House’s Siomai with chili Garlic; Shokudo’s Sushi with Tinapa; Max’s Restaurant Lumpia
Main Dishes: Sarangani Bay Bangus; Teriyaki Boy/Sizzlin Steak’s Beef Tapa; Max’s Restaurant Kare-Kare; Hot Palayok’s Sisig; Wooden Spoon’s Crispy Beef in Honey Sauce
Desserts: Magnolia Ice Cream; Max’s Restaurant Halo-Halo; Buchi from SFC Plus; The Noodle House’s Ueber Fleche; Fresh Harvest’s Fresh Fruits
Snacks: Classic not-too-sweet Pan de Sal with Purefoods Corned Beef; Panaderia’s Bibingka; The Noodle House’s Kwek-kwek; Hot Palayok’s Palitaw;
Family Feast: Off the Hook’s Finger-licking Boiled Fresh Seafood; Max’s Restaurant’s Salu-Salo
Filipino Beverages: Malagos Hot Chocolate; Kubyertos’ Kapeng Barako with Alaska Milk
Overwhelming response
With one week left till the conclusion of the FilFood Festivities, the restaurants have already seen a surge of not just Filipinos in the restaurants, more and more expats from other nationalities and even Emiratis have embraced the taste of Filipino food.
“The response was overwhelming from the time of launching at Dusit Thani Hotel during the Philippine Independence Day where many diplomats, international media, locals, foreigners and community leaders could not stop savouring the more than 30 dishes curated by Filfood in collaboration with more than ten world-class Filipino & International Chefs supported by cooks and bakers from participating restaurants,” shared the FilFood Innovation Group.
Promote your Filipino brands
The collaborative efforts of the Embassy, the FilFood Innovation Group, the chefs, as well as the participating brands were instrumental towards the success of the vision to highlight the authentic taste of Filipino Food.
The FilFood Innovation Group likewise urges fellow Filipinos to push for the use of Filipino products at their favorite restaurants and dining establishments to help fellow kababayans prosper: “Ask and encourage waiters, chefs, cooks and restaurant managers to use ingredients procured from the Philippines such Calamansi, Pineapples, Saranggani Bay Bangus, Milfish, Dona Maria Japonica Rice, Barako Coffee, Alaska Milk, Malagos Davao Chocolate, Magnolia Ice Cream, San Miguel Purefoods, and more. As a citizen, buying Philippine products and ingredients is your way of helping the farmers, fishermen, families and your own kababayans to earn back home instead of working abroad.
To learn more about the FilFood Fest 2019, visit: https://filfoodtrade.com
