Like most holiday weekends, this past weekend just came and went. It was a low-key one, but I prefer low-key these days.
Friday, I got the best type of delivery. Crawfish!
Unofficial Start To Summer- Memorial Day Weekend Recap
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Monthly Archives: May 2022
This Memorial Day
A Place At The Table- Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month
As I mentioned in my last post, I was brainstorming ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I came across an Instagram post about “A Place at the Table.” Which is a curated box filled with treats from experienced home bakers and professional chefs honoring their Asian heritage. Of course, I had to support it!
As an additional bonus, a portion of the sales is donated to Heart of Dinner, a nonprofit combating food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly Asian American community.
Check out the beautiful packaging.
Check out the desserts.
Of course my favorite was the Filipino focused one, which was a Mango, Coconut and Sago piece (I may or may not be biased 😉).
Here are the home bakers and chefs who participated (from top to bottom and left to right): Ying Ting Hu, Guadalupe Lucero, Andrew Cheng, Kimberly Camara, Ruth Li, Shirley Yu, Christine Yen, Joy Chu, Ayaka Ando, and Kelly Miao.
Glad I was able to participate in and support this initiative. The box was a bit pricey ($75, $82 with tax), but it was well worth it! I would love to see more collaborations like this in the future.
AAPI Month
As May comes to an end, I want to take the opportunity to celebrate my Asian heritage.
First and foremost …
Proud half Filipina here!
I was brainstorming ways I want to celebrate, and one of the things is acknowledging all of the Asian representation I have seen lately. Which is amazing!!!
Earlier this month, I was excited to see that comedian, Jo Koy, has a movie coming out called Easter Sunday that focuses on a Filipino family. The movie comes out in August, and it looks hysterical.
Seconds into the trailer shows a spoon and fork decoration piece that is pretty standard for a Filipino household and is hilarious. The trailer also hints at many stereotypical Filipino bits, but I’m all for it. Representation does matter, and it was great seeing pieces of my world and what I have experienced on TV.
Speaking of movies, I was also happy to hear that one of my good friends, Louanna Factora, was in charge of hair and make-up for a new movie filmed in New York called Asian Persuasion with Dante Basco.
Dante Basco also has a film called The Fabulous Filipino Brothers which premiered this month on Hulu 🙌.
I also recently watched Turning Red, which focuses on an Asian girl going through puberty which gave me all the feels! It was very relatable, especially about pleasing her mom, her embarrassing moments, and her ride-or-die friends who centered her. I laughed, and I cried 😃.
It’s heartwarming to see Asians, specifically Filipinos, in the spotlight. I feel like that rarely happens. I want to see more of it!
Trying out Hug Esan in Elmhurst Queens
Two weeks ago, I attended my first ‘Eat Something New in Queens’ meet-up at Hug Esan, a Thai restaurant in Elmhurst.
I had such a great time. It was a date night/food adventure/reunion kind of night. An old friend from high school, small world, planned the event, and Andrew and I got to venture out, try new things, and meet new people.
Everything was amazing! Here is what we ate.
Until the next time!
Eat Something New In Queens Challenge
In March, I took part in the ‘Eat Something New in Queens’ Challenge. The purpose was to step out of your comfort zone, try new restaurants and food, and support local restaurants around Queens. Although I took a little staycation during the challenge, I still tried to participate. All the food I tried was excellent!
Here are the restaurants I tried.
Nneji is a West African spot in Astoria. It’s more a pickup type of place but has fantastic food. Don’t feel shy and ask the owner for recommendations on what to eat.
Coco Malaysian Cuisine in Elmhurst.
I’m half Filipino, so Filipino food is life, but I did find a new dish I had never had before at Kabayan Authentic Filipino Cuisine in Woodside.
My family stayed at the TWA Hotel in JFK, in Jamaica, during the challenge (more on the hotel in another post), but we still tried some great food.
Yardie Bistro was in the food court area of the hotel.
Splurged a little at the Paris Cafe by Jean-Georges. It was well worth it!
I had a blast trying all the food. The challenge has an awesome Facebook group page that offers food ideas and recommendations year round. If you love food and live in Queens, or don’t mind traveling to the borough, join the group!
Mother’s Day
To all the Moms, Step-Moms, Adopted Moms, Fur Moms, Future Moms, and Mother figures…
The Casual Explorer 