The Filipino-Canadian dinner: eat at your own risk?

(First published at the Mill Woods Mosaic, an Edmonton, Alberta publication, Sept 2008)

The first time my friend Daniel attended a big Filipino dinner, he was flabbergasted. He looked down the loaded dinner table which was set up buffet-style, and beheld a spread that boasted countless dishes from varying countries of origin. He had expected, I believe, a collection of Pinoy culinary specialties he was familiar with, like lumpia, pancit and adobo --- and was not disappointed; but was surprised to see so much more: baked ribs, stir-fried vegetables, sushi, lasagna, blood stew (dinuguan), roast beef, chicken curry and stuffed milk fish (relleno). Sitting in the midst of all these, like a queen reigning among its subjects was a heavy-duty rice cooker filled to the brim with freshly steamed rice. The only thing missing was the lechon, the traditional roast pig, which Filipinos reserve for more special occasions.

Arranged neatly at the farther end of the table were a bowl of cut fresh fruit, a leche flan sitting on a plate of brown syrup, trays of brownie squares and rice cakes and the famous Filipino fruit salad, a glorious concoction of pineapple chunks, grated young coconut, kaong nuts, raisins, apple slices, grapes and cheese bits covered in thick canned cream. This was the dessert corner.

On the side table were different kinds of pop, which included the all-time Pinoy favourite, coca cola, and a purple non-alcoholic punch in a massive punch bowl.

He turned to me and asked whether the event was potluck and that we misunderstood the invitation. I assured him that I received clear instructions food-wise. We were asked to bring only ourselves, and if we were so inclined, perhaps a bottle of wine of our choice.

Now Daniel is one of those traditional Caucasian guys who believe that when you plan a meal, you stick to a certain theme, and he lives by that rule. When he hosts a dinner, he plans early and apprises prospective guests of the culinary theme. If it were potluck, say, he’d email everybody long before the dinner date and tell them what to bring.

For instance, if he fancied serving Greek, he’d prepare the main course which could be roast lamb and a side dish of calamari with tartar sauce. Others were instructed to bring things like a Greek salad, spanakopita or a dessert. The rest can bring drinks if they wanted to. No more no less.

When someone arrived with a contribution that diverged from the theme, the dish got quietly put away in the deep recesses of his fridge and was soon forgotten. Inflexible, I told him, but the guy was born that way.

But I digress. A Filipino gathering in a foreign country, I explained to Daniel, is the sum total of the community’s sensibilities and its continuing evolution. The food Filipinos serve is a reflection of our country’s history. Through centuries of colonization, through our private diasporas, through good times and bad, we adapt, we assimilate, we roll with the punches, we bend like the bamboo that swings with the wind; the food we serve during our parties reflects these. We take the best from our past lives and share it with the rest of the world.

So when you analyze a Filipino buffet table, the types of food on it represent the composite of what the host culled from her life experiences. She’s saying: here’s the special chicken curry I learned to eat and then make when I was working in Singapore; here’s a platter of Japanese sushi which I thought you might enjoy, and here’s a bunch of Filipino dishes I’m proud to share, because they anchor me, and because they remind me of home. I’m sharing with you my lifetime of culinary adventure. I’m sure you’ll like it.

For Daniel The Inflexible, this was a new way of looking at entertaining. And it works. He has since learned to appreciate the gustatory challenge of a big Filipino dinner, and when he hosts a potluck where Pinoys are invited, he now suspends his inclinations to control the theme. It’s become ‘bring whatever you want, as long as it’s edible’. He can now eat pakbet and rice with a side dish of roast beef without questioning its logic, although he still gives dinuguan wide berth.