I suppose you could say that Natalia Roxas is the reason I ended up doing 2 one night only pop up dinners in San Francisco and Chicago. Wait. I guess it could be Sarahlyn Pablo. Well, if we’re going there, I could point to this pledge I made in the beginning of the year to raise enough funds to build a public school library in Mindanao. Then again, you can also say it was because 2015 battered me into submission.

I’m not making sense, am I? I guess I should just start from the beginning.

I showed up to Purple Yam Malate’s holiday lunch in December of 2015 and there I was reintroduced to Sarah (I met her a week before that). After pleasantries, I suspected she had wanted to talk to me about something, but I was whisked away to a different table. Fast forward to months later, Natalia sends me a message on Facebook to ask for an interview. She mentioned that Sarah had suggested they interview me for their blog, Filipino Kitchen (www.filipino.kitchen) and I agreed to meet her.

Now, I had prepared to answer the usual questions asked of me during interviews, but 20 minutes into our meeting, Natalia had not asked a single question. We were talking about Filipino food, particularly in the US and here in the Philippines and I was eating suman. Wasn’t this an interview?

Then it all just broke loose. Me and my big mouth.

“You know, I plan on cooking a series of pop up dinners this year to help raise money to build a public school library.”

“That sounds great and let us know if we could help you with that,” Natalia didn’t miss a beat.

“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could do a pop up in the US?”

Natalia had found the opening, “If you’re going to Chicago, we could get everything set up for you. We also have contacts in San Francisco.”

Check and mate. I had been planning a month of touring the US in March, as a long delayed vacation/find myself/recuperate/escape 2015/research trip and giving up 6-7 days of that for pop up prep was not a big deal. The requisite right buttons had been pushed.

This is how I found myself planning 2 one night only pop up dinners in the US. This is how my menu named, “Isang Araw” came into being.

In making the menu, I wanted a mix of some Filipino dishes that aren’t necessarily known in the Filipino American community and add my interpretation on some that they are familiar with. Tocino, Adobo and Leche Flan were surely in. These 3 were already gaining popularity in the US and featuring these dishes would bring me the familiarity. I then added in 3 of my personal favorites, Lomi, Pesang Isda and Pares. With these dishes in mind, the theme of the menu surfaced naturally. I could create a 6 course menu that could mimic what a normal Filipino worker would eat in a day. Hence the name, “Isang Araw.”

First course: Magandang Gising

Tocino, Sinangag at Itlog or Tocilog was a natural choice as a starter since it was breakfast, but I want to start the meal (and keep the whole menu) light to dispel the notion that Filipino food was heavy, oily and rich. I took a look at the pantry and realized I still had a couple of bags of heirloom red rice courtesy of IRRI. I wanted a salad to start and the heirloom red would make a great rice salad. Thinking breakfast, wouldn’t it be awesome if the tocino was actually bacon, since the best parts of tocino are always the fatty parts? I wish someone would make tocino bacon. Oh wait. Sharwin, you are a chef who loves bacon. Duh.

Second Course: Panandaliang Aliw

Merienda would have to have noodles and more than Pancit Canton or Pancit Bihon, the Chinese side of me prefers Lomi. I love thick noodles. I was so sure US supermarkets would have udon noodles and pairing them with a lovely seafood broth and fresh seafood was a easy decision.

Third Course: Sige Lang Sige

Adobo would be the perfect lunch item but it’s been done in so many creative ways in the US. I needed an adobo dish that would be a sure fire hit; nobody in their right mind messes up Adobo and lives to be a Filipino chef. That’s when I turn to one of my tested recipes in my bank. My Adobo Taco; shredded chicken adobo served with green mango salsa, sweet spicy pickles and sour cream, was a hit among the Japanese journalists I had cooked for during Madrid Fusion and I knew it would be a hit in taco crazy US as well.

Fourth Course: Kontra Pagod

I was enamored with Pesang Isda when I learned how to make a traditional one in Pampanga that I wanted more opportunities to create a dish based on it. I wanted to harness the flavor of ginger and unleash it on my diners. Wasn’t I heading to San Francisco? Wouldn’t making a Pesang Isda Chowder be that perfect “wink wink” moment? In Chicago, I would tweak the chowder and make a Fish Steak Plate to honor Chicago’s steakhouses and the power of ginger broth would be harnessed through my “gravy.”

Fifth Course: Pampatanggal Amats

Pares as the final savory course made a lot of sense. It’s the richest and it’s best enjoyed late into the night. I’ve always had my Pares recipe in order, but I needed to dress it up. It can’t be brown slush on a plate. Roasted Cinammon Carrots would make sense with the star anise heavy beef and then some chicharon for crunch would be perfect!

Sixth Course: Regalo Kay Misis

This was a no brainer. I bring along my Chocolate Labuyo Leche Flan every single where I go, so why would this be any different? No need to put much thought in this, except maybe what would go with it. Perhaps some fresh local fruit, whipped cream? I needed crunch. How about a nice crumble? It would be nice if it were chocolate and not nuts. Oh but wait. There’s Milo. Milo trumps everything!

(to be continued)