By Matthew Fennell, Contributing Writer

June 2017 - Asia Society Korea was invited to attend the 2017 Philippine Food Festival at the Millennium Seoul Hilton.  The event was hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Seoul to showcase its rich, unique cuisine. H.E. Raul S. Hernandez, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea, officially opened the event with comments that highlighted the importance of food in constructing and shaping a nation’s character. For Ambassador Hernandez, “Filipino cuisine has evolved over centuries of cultural and geographic diversity with different regional foods spread across the archipelago.”

This fusion of various cultural backgrounds and culinary inspiration was on full display at the festival with cuisine prepared by Michelle Adrillana, a distinguished chef who was flown in from the Philippines especially for the event. Adrillana is considered one of the most sought-after chefs in Manila, having won many culinary awards and participating in various food festivals across the world. The 80 people in attendance sampled favorite Filipino dishes such as kare kare, kaldereta, sisig, chicken piaparan, ginataang kuhol, lumpiang hubad, and prawn sinigang. Desserts such as turon na munggo, palitaw, and halo-halo were also very popular throughout the evening. The event featured traditional dances performed by the Kaisahan ng Lahi ensemble as well as Filipino music sung by Mr. Reynan Dal-Anay and Ms. Faye Abadicio which gave guests an authentic Filipino cultural experience.