Since arriving in Canada, I've sought specific connections to Filipino culture. The music, handicrafts, and food of the Philippines bring back memories of the melody, touch, and taste several thousand miles away from home.
To celebrate Filipino culture and cuisine, we're lucky to participate in Canada's first-ever Filipino Restaurant Month. This initiative was made possible through the collaboration of the Philippine Department of Tourism, the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, and the Philippine Consulates in Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver.
It's a celebration of Filipino touch, taste, and sound in a month-long food festival style participated by 40 Filipino restaurants across Canada.
In Surrey, British Columbia, we visited a Filipino restaurant after our afternoon walk in the park. We had our sumptuous dinner in Grandt Kitchen, where they served a platter of various Filipino dishes.
What made it festive was when the restaurant was full of Filipino diners and the presence of a live band playing a selection of romantic OPM songs that gave a nostalgic feel.
Celebrating Filipino restaurant Month in Canada is a great way to level up our cuisine and put it in the mainstream where other competing Asian cuisine seems to dominate.
We must support our food and take pride in being Filipino. This way, we help elevate our Filipino cuisine to the global stage.
The first-ever celebration of Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada was a huge success and hopefully will become bigger and more widely participated in the years to come.
We have to offer the best of our Filipino cuisine to the world. We must showcase our culture, live on with our traditions, and pass them from generation to generation. Our Filipino spirit will always be alive wherever we are in the world.
©️ 2022 Del Cusay
