Craving for Pinoy food in the land of chili sauce...

Last year, whenever I would talk to a friend who's been living abroad for quite some time already, one thing I would always hear them talk about is how much they miss Filipino food.

Adobo. Sinigang. Menudo. Lechong manok. Lechong kawali. And all the other (mostly) greasy, unhealthy, cardiac-arrest-inducing dishes that a true Pinoy loves.

That was last year.

With the recent to move to SG, I now join my roster of friends who crave for Pinoy food every so often.

I miss the food cooked by Tey's Mom, Tita Tess. I miss my Mom's adobo. I miss adobo.

One would think that because SG is just three hours away from Pinas, there'll be an abundance of Pinoy restaurants.

Uhm, so far the ones I know are 7107 in Marina Square and Bonifacio in Chinatown (both of which are a bit pricey). The more affordable ones are Mang Kiko's at Lau Pa Sat and at the Youth Park. Oh, there's also Tapa King in Lau Pa Sat. Of course, the place where one is sure to satisfy his or her craving for Pinoy food is Lucky Plaza. Where else?! Haha!

Though there aren't that many Pinoy restaus, the good news is there are a lot of Pinoys in SG. The even better news is that there are a lot of Pinoys who cook.

I remember the first month at Mr. & Mrs. Bernabe's home. Weekends are always a treat because JoAnn would cook some fantab Pinoy dish. I remember the mom of Richie who did a really wonderful dish when she was here and I was here for vacation ages ago.

Recently, the Pinoys from the department I'm part of had an impromptu potluck lunch at the office. Happiness.

Alexie cooked caldereta. Pau brought steamed rice. CJ and Angela brought Tori Q. Chris and I brought roasted chicken. (It was a cheat though because I just bought from Cold Storage. But our peg is the Rustan's chicken so that should count already. Hehe!)

The star of the meal, without any doubt, is the caldereta. We all had second servings of caldereta and rice (eeeep!)

Now that I finally moved in a place I can call home, I'm getting my fix of Pinoy food almost every day thanks to housemate Cyp who loves to cook. So far, we've had sinigang, tinola and binagoongan. Yum, yum.

I recently cooked breakfast for them during one weekend. Nothing fancy. But what was Pinoy about it was the sinangag. Hehe! I know, I know. It's like saying I won first place in a contest and there are only three contestants. Hehe!

The thing is it's been ages since I last cooked. I'm glad the skill is still there. Maybe as I get well-adjusted to the new home, new life, I'd be able to cook more often.

So the next time there's a really major craving for something Pinoy, I'll just check out what's in the fridge and make something that looks and tastes like a Pinoy dish. After all, us Pinoys are very resourceful and innovative. We always find a way no matter what. Haha!