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FilFest 2023 highlights Philippine cuisine, culture

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Monica Galozo | TFC News Virginia

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HHhpH092-k8?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Filipino-Americans in Virginia Beach kicked off October with FilFest, a two-day festival celebrating Filipino culture just in time for Filipino-American History month.The colorful and diverse culture of the Philippines and its food were at the spotlight of the 9th annual FilFest USA, held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1.Its main attractions were Filipino food and Filipino-inspired food. The cuisine component of the festival was the culmination of the &quot;Flavors of the Philippines&quot; that ran from Sept. 22 to 29.Different restaurants in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia participated in the said event.&quot;It&#x27;s important for us to share with the community and promote to the community our small businesses,&quot; said Raquel Sangalang, FilFest&#x27;s media manager. &quot;That is why we did the &#x27;Flavors of the Philippines.&#x27;&quot;Among the participating restaurants is Maribel Arandela, a long-time supporter of FilFest.Arandela owns a franchise of Bambu, a Vietnamese dessert drink whose branch is the only one in the entire U.S. and Canada that serves Filipino-inspired desserts.&quot;I’m participating because my products are Filipino-inspired desserts,&quot; said Arandela. &quot;And it’s like exposing the Americans not only to Filipino but also to Asian desserts.&quot;On the first day of FilFest, Arandela said her desserts sold like hotcakes. She believes that they are a hit not only because they are Filipino but also because they are different.&quot;If you have passion for what you are doing, try to be innovative, not just make something that everybody else makes,&quot; she added.Another fusion of Filipino and American food during FilFest was introduced by Felynn&#x27;s Restaurant.Its owner, Ferrielyn Santos said that the Sisig is one of their best sellers and they came up with a different way of serving it.Santos stressed the importance of creativity in the food business by way of putting new items on the menu.&quot;You have to keep inventing new food and menus,&quot; she said. &quot;Just be creative in that. You got to keep everything new. If you stay the same all the time people will get tired.&quot;The entrepreneur added that in promoting Filipino culture, it&#x27;s important to start with food.&quot;Once they try it, it is hard not to like it,&quot; Santos said. &quot;If you want to help promote Filipino culture, you gotta start with food.&quot;

Philippine culture and cuisine take center stage during a festival in Virginia to mark Filipino-American History Month.