#filipino food puns | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

etes-secrecy-post · 20 days

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Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE! (W/ BIGGER TEXT!)⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

😡 WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EVER LIKED & REBLOG MY SECRET POST! THIS IS FOR MY SECRET FRIENDS ONLY, NOT YOU! 😡

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

Take a Taste: with Chowking Spicy Chao Fan [Recorded: Mar 30th, 2024]

Hello! It’s time for another “Take a Taste”! The series is about delicious food with my two paper dolls.

Today, it's time to share my food thoughts from the past month of March 30th, 2024; "Black Saturday" on Holy Week 🙏✝️. Once again, I break the "Holy Week" ❌🥩 rules. From "Breakfast" with Chili Con Empanada and Sprite Lemon Plus 🌶️🥟🍋🥫, and now a Chowking Spicy Chao Fan, with nice refreshing Iced-Tea for dinner! 🌶️🍚🍋🧊🥤Yum-yum! 😋🍽️ Will the "Spicy Chao Fan" fried rice beat the "Chili Con Empanada" from before? 🤔 Let's find out, right now! 🙂

If you haven’t seen my previous episode, then please click → [CLICK ME!].

IMPORTANT NOTE: No #OnThisDay throwback post for this date.

So, without further ado, let’s get started:

1st to 5th Image(s) 📷📲: ↑

• [1st & 2nd Images] It's 9:35 PM 🕘🌙, and we've arrived home from a family province. 😊 Here, we've ordered a Chowking Spicy Chao Fan fried rice, a normal Chinese-style fried rice with spicy fruit! 🌶️🍚 Plus, a tiny cup portion of chili sauce if I want an extra kick (no pun intended). 🌶️💥🥵 And of course, I can't munch my "Spicy Chao Fan" without a refreshing Iced-Tea! 🍋🧊🥤 Mmmmm, my paper dolls are waiting to see what "Spicy Chao Fan" looks like!? 🤤

• [3rd & 5th Images] Well, okay then! Here it is! 😁 I've opened their lids to reveal the scrumptious "Spicy Chao Fan" (right), along with the iced tea (left), and a small portion of chili sauce (middle). Did I mention, that you choose Siomai Dumplings or Lumpiang Shanghai Rolls (4 pcs for both, by the way); steamed or fried? I went for the "Steamed Siomai Dumplings" over fried, but the Lumpiang Shanghai Rolls were also good as well. 🥟 Also, the scent of "Spicy Chao Fan" was straight from a Chinese wok, and it's pretty darn good from our nostrils. Can you smell it, you two? 👃😊 Ah yeah, and don't forget a packet of soy sauce, too. Don't worry, I'll put that on my spicy fried rice after my taste test without condiments. 😉

Did you know: For those who don't know about "Chowking" (超群 meaning "preeminent") 🇵🇭🍚🥟🏬, it is a Filipino-Chinese-based fast food restaurant operated by the Jollibee Food Corporation, since March 18, 1985. Previously owned by the "Chowking Food Corporation" itself before it was merged with the aforementioned JFC, in the 2000s. The Filipino-Chinese fast food restaurant still operates today in my home country, as well as selected regions like parts of the Middle East 🇸🇦 🇦🇪, parts of Europe 🇪🇺, the United States 🇺🇸, Indonesia 🇮🇩, and of course China 🇨🇳.

6th to 8th Image(s) 📷📲: ↑

• All right, enough information let's have a "taste test"! 🥄😃 Let's start with their steamy dumplings! *munching* Not bad, but what would be better than dipping a chili sauce? 🌶️🥟*munching* Mmmm! That's better! I would say, it a pretty darn spicy. Not too high, or low, but just right. My paper dolls already tasted it, too. 😊

9th to 13th Image(s) 📷📲: ↑

• [9th Image] Now, lets try with Spicy Chao Fan, this time! *munching* Not bad, I would say an average spicy fried rice, in a good way. 👌🙂

• [10th to 13th Images] However, if I mixed the chili sauce and soy sauce together, then this is a pretty sure a good "Spicy Chao Fan". 🌶️🍚 And it delivers through our mouths! 🥄🔥😄

14th to 17th Image(s) 📷📲: ↑

• Well, paper dolls. Looks like our dumplings are gone, but we still have our delicious "Spicy Chao Fan" rice! And it was already spicy and delicious when I mixed two condiments (chili and soy sauce). 😊 As for the Iced-Tea 🍋🧊🥤, I've already sipped and its refreshing while I was eating, something that I need when I munch a spicy food. Otherwise, I might gonna buy a chocolate milk drink to ease my burning tongue. 🍫🥛→👅🌶️🥵 Nonetheless, we emptied our rice box because we enjoy eating "Spicy Chao Fan"! 😊 And that leads to...

Overall:

• Overall, we're satisfied our "Spicy Chao Fan" from Chowking without my complaints! 🌶️🍚😁👍 For the price? Only ₱139 (roughly $2) with regular size drink of choice. So, I would say a solid worth an appetite, including my paper dolls! 😊 We're definitely gonna order it again, whether the Siomai Dumplings or Lumpiang Shanghai Rolls for our toppings, fried or steam; they're both good options. 😋 As for the comparison between the "Spicy Chao Fan" 🌶️🍚 (for dinner) and the "Chili Con Empanada" 🌶️🥟 (for breakfast), I'd say they're "tied"! 🙂👍

Well, that's all for now. 😊

If you haven’t seen my previous episodes, then I’ll provide some links down below.↓😉

Take a Taste:

○ 2021 Food Reviews: ○

• Popeyes U.S. Spicy Chicken Sandwich [Dec 6, 2021]

• Jollibee Chick'nwich & Crisscut Fries [Dec 21, 2021]: Part 1 [CLICK ME! #1], Part 2 [CLICK ME! #2]

○ 2022 Food Reviews: ○

• Mini Stop Chicken Fillet XL Sandwich [Feb 7, 2022]

• Minute Burger Cheese Burger(s) [Mar 1, 2022]

• Pepper Lunch Teriyaki Beef Pepper Rice w/ Egg (& Honey Brown Sauce) [Mar 5, 2022]

• Bacsilog’s Sulit Combo Bacon-Tocino & Samgyup Day’s Pork Herbs [Mar 12, 2022]

• Burger King Whopper w/ Sides & Drink [May 6, 2022]

• Marshmello’s Limited Edition Coca-Cola Zero [Aug 26, 2022]

• Cheesy Burger McDo with Lettuce & Tomatoes Meal [Recorded: Sept 16, 2022]

• Mcdonald’s PH McSpicy & Apple Pie (featuring their World Famous Fries) [Nov 14, 2022]

• Mcdonald’s McCrispy Hamonado Sandwich [Dec 31st, 2022]

○ 2023 Food Reviews: ○

• Foods from Delicious Restaurant & 1919 Grand Cafe [Jan 8th, 2023]

• Homemade Churros by my lil’ bro [Feb 12th, 2023]

• Lugaw Sisig from Mang Boy Alfredo Lugawan Restaurant [Recorded: Feb 18th, 2023]

• La Prato Stakehouse [Recorded: Apr 10th, 2023]

• Salt ‘n Light Snack Shack’s Cheesy Bacon Burger & Fries [Recorded: Apr 14th, 2023] (Published on May 5th, 2023)

• Delicious burger meal at Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant [Recorded: May 6th, 2023]

• Delicious meals at the Valenzuela Food Fiesta Christmas Bazaar 2023 [Recorded: Dec. 10th, 2023]

○ 2024 Food Reviews: (Chronological) ○

• Mang Inasal Pork Sisig [Recorded: Jan 10th, 2024]

• Mr. Shaw Shawarma Rice [Recorded: Mar 24th, 2024]

• Mang Inasal's Chicken Inasal - Pecho (Chicken Breast) [Recorded: Mar 26th, 2024]

• Uncle John's Chili Con Empanada and Sprite Lemon Plus [Recorded: Mar 30th, 2024]

• Samgyupsal dinner night at the Samgyup Mukbang restaurant [Recorded: May 12th, 2024]

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hwspirilovebot · 9 months

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Does piri consider latin american countries as family too? I imagine they'd be a very fun and chaotic group to be with. Also do you think they met as colonies or only after independence? It would probably be an awkward family dinner.

What do you think! Your hcs about everything and anything always make my day.

Thank you, anon! And ooh, absolutely. I want to outline a timeline on how Piri meets every Latin American country but this requires more research 😭 I promise to return to this ask once I gather more information, anon! I do headcanon that they all met during the colonial era, but they had better opportunities to get to know each other better once they were independent—especially with Piri being so far away.

Apart from the shared history, economics plays a role. I headcanon Piri as a seafarer since he has that sailor outfit already, and tons of seafarers are Filipinos, which means Piri has spent time in Panama, or in any ports in Latin America. And since learning a language is Piri's love language (pun intended 😭), Piri would improve his Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and perhaps Guarani too.

Piri could be invited to their parties, and vice versa. The karaoke, dancing, boxing, beauty pageants, and food are *chefs kiss*. I could also imagine Mexico being so bewildered with Piri and Brazil using avocado as a dessert (to be fair, other SEAsians do this too).

Anyway, obligatory jejemon and funkeiro post:

#hetalia #hws philippines #hws panama #hws mexico #hws brazil

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kat-rambles · 2 months

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draft concepts for a sticker series I want to make

idk what to call it yet cos its hard to think of a pun between halimaw (monster) and some filipino food term HAHAHA

its basically like dungeon meshi but Filipino dishes made out of Filipino monsters

first is adobo made from sigbin. second is tinola made from ibong adarna

#I need to practice drawing/painting food??? its so intriguing #i think i need to make the sigbin adobo darker but with cool tones to kinda differntiate it from typical adobo

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wormwoodandhoney · 1 year

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book recs: food books! could be nonfiction, could be fiction about cooking or with sumptuous meal descriptions; anything you'd call a "food book", please! horror also not off the table (pun intended)!

i LOVE fiction food books. anything with heavy food influences, i love.

roselle lim books are so sweet and lovely, and have just incredible descriptions of chinese food. they are all a little bit magical, and all very sweet. i'd say natalie tan's book of luck and fortune is the MOST foodie, but my personal favorite might be sophie go's lonely hearts club.

i LOVE cozy mysteries, and my favorite cozy mysteries surround food. mia p manansala's series tita rosie's kitchen mysteries is very fun, and surrounds a filipino restaurant. the first one in this series is the weakest, imo.

a wizard's guide to defensive baking is a young adult/middle grade fantasy about a young wizard with baking magic- her familiar is a sourdough starter! love the creative uses of her magic in this one.

i don't have any horror book recommendations, although i'd love to read one- i would recommend the menu, which is a current horror movie starring anya taylor joy!

the only nonfiction i have is only tangentially related: girly drinks is the history of women & alcohol! i tend to read microhistories or something very specific, and food nonfiction tends to be so BIG.

#book recs #and one movie rec haha

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fullfinnoy · 3 months

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Hello good people! We are @FullFinnoy, a travelling couple who recently made the leap from South East Asia to Finland.

As a multilocal Finnish-Filipino duo, we're on a mission to explore and embrace life in the North with a mix of nature, culture, food, travel, and all things cool [pun intended] beneath the enchanting midnight sun.

Our channel is also a charitable platform dedicated to give back to the local communities in The Philippines. Your views and comments on our content are deeply appreciated and directly impacts our charitable causes. We'd be happy to have your consideration on subscribing to FullFinnoy.

Mabuhay!

#travel #philippines vlog #philippines #pinoy vlogger #foodie #nature #lifeinfinland #winter wonderland #finland

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6peaches · 1 year

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Sarah Gambito - One Night Only

The recipe invites itself to eat and laughs at its own jokes. Puns of tripled and quadruped meanings. Was I ratting on you? I invite everyone. Everyone is my friend. Would you like some of my sandwich? I really mean you can come forward with your mouth open. Once, I wrote a play. There was only one scene. A girl lists the food she wants to eat. Jasmine rice sautéed in garlic and sesame oil. A fish you caught yourself. I put gold flecks in the sauce so everyone will know how happy we are. I call the play Loves You Long Time. The manuscripts are drying and dying out in mouldering museums.

Pick one:

1. Filipinos don't care about their history 2. Filipinos can't afford to preserve the manuscripts in this kind of tropical heat. 3. Los manuscripts no existe. I only told you about them because I love you and you love me.

#poem #poet #Sarah Gambito #One Night Only

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soupbabe · 1 year

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Okay but Emil would absolutely have my heart (hehe no pun intended) if he made me dinuguan with human blood. Like I’m a sucker for that shit and it’s normally made with pigs blood. It’s a Filipino dish so really if he made it right I’d be a sucker for him.

Also Sanguinaccio dolce I’d be a sucker for him, AGAIN. This is lowkey a reply to that not wasting food post you made.

Also I’m not a cannibal this is in a very romantic sense only and realistically if I found out I was eating a human I’d probably off myself :)

Emil hasn't experimented too much with blood outside of basic blood sausages! Dinuguan could be something he could try out next, the blood pudding does intimidate him a little bit so it'd be something he's try after making it normally (he's never that good with making desserts tbh).

Emil enjoys extra food ideas and appreciates the zero waste sentiment!

#also who said you were gonna find out 🤨 that mans sources is between him and God #aka whoever paid him to do the hit lmao #emil müller

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rillabrooke · 2 years

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Another one! Any character(s): How do you feel about cats vs dogs? (Also I'm curious about the origin of the name Salamangka? Is it a place, or an idea?)

Diana:

I'm such a dog person! We had a pit bull when I was little, but my dad got rid of it after my baby brother was born. He was the sweetest dog I've ever met. Samuel wouldn't let me have a dog, but now I want to get an AmStaff!

I don't mind cats, but I think they're standoffish. I just want a pet I can cuddle!

ask my character, “how do you feel about ______?”

[ an interesting question! a friend came up with the name actually, years and years ago, and i think she took it from a filipino word for "magic".

in my story, salamangka is a spanish restaurant owned by des potter, but the name is a pun hehe: her dad started it, and he took a lot of inspiration from the province of salamanca in spain, where one side of his family is from. he always said, "food is magical" - hence the name :)

but more importantly... it's also the name of an underground system of people who work to save and rehabilitate victims of gang violence, including gang members themselves. ]

#i think that's the first time i've ever mentioned the plot on tumblr dot com #hm. anyway #miss diana uses more exclamation marks than any other character lol #writing ask #salamangka #moonshine / diana maruta #perhaps-mr-collins-has-a-cousin #salamangka: my post

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filipinofoodart · 1 year

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How do you like your pusit? Adobo, inihaw, dried, positive, negative, optimistic… the choice is yours! Local names for our various squid include pusit, panus, nukos, locus (Bisaya), bomagto (Ilokano), lumayagan, dalupapa (giant squid), barawan, kalamares, and more, depending on species, region or location (NOAA 1981, Binisaya.com). Jokes and SQUIDDing aside, like most food prices the cost of pusit is rising. The average price per kilo of squid in 2022 was more than P149, up from around P130 a kilo from the year before (PSA 2022). Learn more about pusit from another puntastic illustration at @philippinewildlifeart. Printable greeting card: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1454085265/stay-pusitib-and-inkredible-filipino-pun

#puns #pusit #squid #nukos #purple #jokes

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peridoxikal-redux · 11 months

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Masterlist for my ocs' name puns

I know I haven't posted all of them here yet, but this is just something fun I can do in the meantime and preemptively have available. The puns are the really fun parts, after all. Not all of them are DB ocs, and not all of my ocs have name puns. These are just the ones that do. If I ever make more, I'll add to this.

Maki Asabi: 巻き寿司 (makizushi) -> sushi rolls. Asabi -> wasabi, commonly served with sushi in the United States.

Kabocha: Kabocha, a type of squash. Also referred to as the Japanese pumpkin.

Frez: Fraise -> strawberry

Korget: Courgette -> zucchini

Geler: Geler -> to freeze

Ube: A purple yam common in Filipino cooking.

Asaroth: "Azarath metrion zinthos" -> incantation used by Raven in DC comics.

Shimbaree: "Shimbaree, shimbarah" -> incantation used in Barney and Friends. Her birth name, Chimbara, stems from the same pun.

Sala: "Sim sala bim" -> German equivalent to "abracadabra", but also used as an incantation in Jonny Quest.

Inri: Hebrew magical formula for reincarnation.

Selica: "Salakadoola mechikaboola bibbidi bobbidi boo" -> incantation used in Disney's "Cinderella"

Ruha: Bruja -> witch

Egrette: Vinaigrette

Kamori: Guacamole

Kuru: Curry roux + くるくる (kuru kuru) -> onomatopeia for "spinning".

Beck: Barbecque sauce

Delais: Bordelaise sauce

Sihan: 섹시한 (segsihan) -> sexy

Aveni Asabi: avenir -> future. Surname pun is the same as Maki's.

Sashi Asabi: sashimi. Surname pun is same as Maki's.

Rameru: カラメル (karameru) -> caramel

Keeno: Quinoa

Gurret: Grits

Grusha: груша (grusha) -> pear

Haji: 海镜 (hǎi jìng) -> seaglass

Boe: bœuf -> beef

Oma: fromage -> cheese

Yasero: Casserole

Natto: Food of the same name.

Legu: Légumes -> vegetables

Hari: Haricot verts -> green beans

Asago: 朝ご飯 (asagohan) -> breakfast

Jiao: 餃子 (jiǎozi) -> a type of Chinese dumpling. Often called "potstickers" in North America.

Yosa: Jiǎozi -> 餃子 (gyōza) -> Same type of dumpling mentioned prior.

Risotto: Rice dish of the same name.

Gata Briefs: Garter + brief underwear.

Leggings Briefs: Garments of the same name.

Anasa "Anne" Briefs: Anasazi beans + same underwear pun.

Kiritan Shinhan: Kiritanpo nabe + tenshindon. Two different types of dishes.

Damie: Macadamia nuts

Temaki Zushi: 手巻き寿司 (temakizushi) -> hand-rolled sushi

Negiri Zushi: 握り寿司 (nigirizushi) -> a type of sushi where a slice of fish meat is placed on a bed of rice.

Chamomile: Chamomile tea.

Jun-Mei: 金駿眉 (jinjunmei) -> Jinjunmei tea

Minon Feuille: Filet mignon + mille-feuille dishes.

Konya Pekan: Picanha

Furan: Saffron sauce

Loh Keene: 身の代金 (minoshirokin) -> ransom

Yuro: Euros

Paiso: Pesos

Camembar: Camembert cheese

Rito: Burrito

Frappe: Cold drink of the same name + frapper -> to hit

Ikeban: Balalaika + ikebana

Seiyoku Shenron: 情欲 (seiyoku) -> sexual desire, libido, passion, craving, etc.

Alay: "Abracadabra alakazam"

Bokki Eteo: Tteok-bokki

Cycla Mann: Cyclamen flowers

Dycon Ladissu: Daikon + radish

Fasola: Solfege notation.

Remi: Same as Fasola.

Kasam: Same as Alay.

Kasupina: Circus peanuts, the candy ones.

Mya: Yam

Mynx: Phorminx, an ancient musical instrument from Greece.

Sifal: Salsify

Abusa: Absinthe

Mary: Bloody mary drink

Tugh: Literally just "Tough"

Kanai: 儚い (hakanai) -> ephemeral

Metoria: Same as Asaroth

Zinthe: Same as Asaroth.

--- This last part is specifically for my JJBA ocs ---

Luo Bo: 菠蘿包 (bo luo bao) -> pineapple buns

Bienka: Assuming Malroth's name pun can be taken from "mal", meaning "bad", I used "bien", meaning "good" so Bienka is Malroth's opposite.

Junko Kudo: Junko Yagami + Shizuka Kudo

[MOTHER GOOSE]: Unknown Mother Goose by hitorie/wowaka

Mariya Yoshida: Mariya Takeuchi + Minako Yoshida

[DEAD END JUSTICE]: The Runaways song of the same name.

Miki "Mickey" Sugiyama: Miki Matsubara + Kiyotaka Sugiyama

[PLASTIC LOVE]: Mariya Takeuchi song of the same name

Ritchie Yoshiki: Lionel Ritchie + Yoshiki Hayashi

[AWAKEN, MY LOVE!/AML]: Childish Gambino album of the same name

Yadira Noelle: Lauryn Hill's middle name, Noelle.

[JOY DIVISION]: Band of the same name.

Yui Manna: Yui from Yosei Teikoku + Mana from Malice Mizer, Moi Dix Mois, etc.

[EVERYBODY'S FOOL]: Evanesence song of the same name.

#peridox ocs #oc notes #and stuff

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alengthyread · 2 years

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U.S.!

It can be uncanny how am vlogging in the morning how I wasn’t going to spend a lot of money, and on the same afternoon went across the border to go shopping.

I checked how much balance I had for the rest of the month: $420, CAD.

So am back to being thrifty once again, and I hope more nice experiences.

The few photos am gonna show on this one is the Filipino restaurant, just by the falls, with its interior design, and my parents basically made comparisons to the other Filipinos’ we’ve eaten in, and rate who was basically better, pun.

The journey was pretty much safe, I thought I had colon problems when were about to cross in the morning, but everything turned out okay.

We were at the International Mall in Military Rd., and my father and I had massages @ Relax Spa just in the midst of the mall, literally in the middle by the food court.

The massage was refreshing, I felt relaxed after.

But it was just a nice trip for the day, my parents and I kinda’ noticed that outdoor temperatures were getting cold, and good thing my father found his Nautica jacket inside his SUV, and we all ended up being warm.

We had to wait till the restaurant, Mami’s House, open @ four p.m,, because apparently it’ll serve dinner, and we got there early, and we ended up roaming around the vicinity of U.S.! Pun.

So it was a great day.

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fullfinnoy · 5 months

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We're a couple who recently made the leap from South East Asia to Finland.

As a multilocal Finnish-Filipino duo, we're on a mission to explore and embrace life in the North and feature it on our YouTube @fullfinnoy. Join and s u b s c r i b e to our escapades filled with nature, culture, food, travel, and all things cool [pun intended] beneath the enchanting midnight sun.

#finland #philippines #pinoy #filipino #travel #lifeinfinland #youtube

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itsmoonpeaches · 3 years

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Raya and the Last Dragon and Southeast Asian Food Culture

Disclaimer: The following is from the perspective of a Filipino SEA. Please feel free to add or edit from other perspectives. There are *spoilers* under the cut.

A thing that Raya and the Last Dragon got right? The homely, welcoming food culture of Southeast Asia. This is one of the most integral parts of SEA culture. Food defines who we are as a people, not just by what we serve to you, but how it is served.

There are many food scenes in RATLD, but each build up in the movie and really drive to the point what sharing a meal means.

Disney made a short featurette on food culture, but it’s barely the tip of the iceberg.

Ready to eat? Below is a breakdown and analysis of SEA food culture as it is portrayed in this movie.

First, how about food that is familiar to most of SEA? I’m just going to list a few fruits that I saw in this film just casually being thrown about or eaten. I’ve also listed them here in a short post about cultural nods I spotted.

To quote what I originally said:

Random fruits I saw that are native to Southeast Asia: longan, rambutan, dragon fruit, mangoes, jackfruit

Since then I have also noticed that I left out durian, mangosteen, and bananas. The fruits that might be unfamiliar to much of the Western world are linked for your own further reading.

Now, let’s get into the meat of things. No pun intended.

Family

What does food in SEA culture mean more than family? At least, in a Filipino household, oftentimes a family eats together for every. Single. Meal. (Or most meals.) Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? You better be sitting with your immediate family if they’re at home. If your extended family is there? Better eat with them too.

Sometimes it might be considered rude to eat without them when you’re all home together. Unless, of course you’re in a hurry or there’s an emergency. There’s an exception to every rule. Some families might even wait for everyone to be at the table in order to start eating.

Every meal is and should be made for everyone that intends to eat, and you should be eating at the same table. Eating is a time for a family to have a conversation, to share what they are going to do for the day, what they did, and anything new going on.

Raya has an important conversation about trust and togetherness with the other tribes with her father over a meal.

Not to mention that family means recipes. Versions of traditional dishes that you are taught by your parents, your grandparents, or any of your elders really. Cousins, and other extended family might share their food secrets too. You can learn to cook something by watching or learning the ingredients. Or, if your family is a cooking family, you can learn by doing.

Chief Benja teaches his daughter Raya how to make stew with different ingredients and she passes down the recipe later to her friends. It’s lightly touched upon that her father’s way is her own “best” way to cook this particular dish. Because, well, your parents or grandparents always cook it the best. (This is not an opinion. This is a fact. That’s only a little bit of sarcasm in there, but you get the point.)

Wealth

I think this might be something that is universal, but food in SEA culture can mean wealth. What ingredients do you use? How much rice do you have? Do you eat something with your rice?

Now, “wealth” in this sense does not necessarily have to mean monetary wealth. It could be the wealth of the land you live on.

I’ve already talked about how important rice is here. However, here is a quote from that analysis to highlight the importance of the above scene:

There is a scene towards the beginning of the movie when Raya asks Namaari, “Stew or rice?” when asking which she would prefer. Namaari never answers the question, but she says that it is her first time eating rice in a while. Though it’s never explicitly said, it could be implied that it is because they did not have as much rainwater for irrigation at the time.

Namaari’s people lacked wealth of land in the beginning. With rice being such an integral part of SEA food culture, that is sad.

A welcome into a home

One of the first things Raya says to the other tribes at the beginning of the movie is, “Who’s hungry?” You can hear phrases similar to that peppered throughout RATLD. “Have you eaten yet?” is another one.

When Raya asks, “Who’s hungry?” in the beginning, it is to welcome a huge crowd of tribes into their land to share a meal. The first thing someone in a Filipino household would do when someone is visiting is to ask if they’ve eaten yet. If they haven’t there is always a meal that is ready for them. Honestly, the meal might even be prepared for them already even if they weren’t asked.

Here, Raya and Namaari share their first meal together as the very first thing they do before they do anything else. It is food to welcome Namaari and the others into her home.

You can notice that they are sitting on the floor. This doesn’t necessarily happen in all of SEA, but sitting on the floor on top of mats or a spread like banana leaves to eat is common practice, even for royalty.

Togetherness and friendship

Eating with family or to welcome someone into your house are not the only reasons why eating together is important. It is also a symbol of being together. Even if you don’t have a family and you just live with roommates or friends, you might eat meals with them on the daily.

You share the food. That’s important. Say if you lived with a roommate. In this culture, you might cook a meal for both of you, not just yourself. You might cook together and contribute different dishes. That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions, but this is what I’ve personally observed between my own SEA friends versus my non culturally Eastern friends.

This is where culturally, the East and West seem to differ a lot. Western society is based on an individualistic culture. Meaning, the focus is on the individual and independence. There is less group mentality. Eastern society is based on a collectivist culture. The whole group is taken into consideration. This can be true for both East and Southeast Asia.

You can see this as the case in RATLD. As the movie progresses, so do the meals. Raya sits down to eat with her friends, and there is rarely a time she eats without someone.

Gift giving

I’ve mentioned that welcoming someone into your household with food is a part of SEA culture. However, it is important the other way around as well.

Sisu does mention a few times that she thinks that they’re best off giving offerings or gifts to the chiefs to show that they mean well. Now, it is common practice in some SEA cultures (and particularly from a Filipino lens), to give someone something when you visit. This doesn’t have to be every time you visit, of course, but it’s seen as nice and polite if you give a host something if you plan on staying there a while.

For example, if they are providing room and board for you on a visit for a few days. Even if the host is a family member, you should offer them something. Anything could work, but food is a good option. And it’s a great, safe option. Who doesn’t like food?

Sisu does try the gift route in Talon. She tries to buy a bunch of trinkets, which inevitably fail. The second time she tries? She snatches a pot of (what I’m assuming) is congee to offer to the chief of Spine.

It’s also interesting to note that this is the only time in the whole movie that gift giving doesn’t backfire on them. In Spine, they meet an enemy-turned-friend, Tong.

Trust

Ah, the theme of the entire movie...trust. What does sitting down for a meal equal? Trust. You’re trusting someone to feed you, to give you something good to fill your belly, to essentially be vulnerable with you. Sleeping is a vulnerable time, but eating is as well.

You naturally let your guard down when you eat, and if someone cooks for you, you don’t expect to be poisoned by it.

In the start of the film, Raya is skeptical of the congee that Boun makes. She eats it anyway when she sees that Sisu isn’t poisoned. Obviously, this is a particular issue specific for Raya’s character development. However, it is a part of the process.

By the time we reach the end credits, things come full circle.

Raya expresses throughout the film that she wishes she could eat a meal with her father again. I’ve also pointed out how important it is to eat together with friends. All of that is showcased in the credits when the cultural importance of food, trust, and togetherness return.

Raya and Namaari share a meal again. This time, as real friends. (Maybe even...lovers? I cannot unsee it, Disney.) This meal they have together is more of a snack, but that is something of note as well. It’s something intimate because they’re sharing sliced green mangoes with shrimp or fish paste dip (bagoong in Filipino Tagalog). They trust each other enough to share the same dip, to cut up the same mangoes, and to sit together over a meal.

If that isn’t the essence of SEA food culture, I don’t know what is.

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