Why has it taken so long for Filipino food to become mainstream in Houston?
I stopped over at the only Jollibee in Houston the other day and I noticed that there was a minivan parked in the parking lot. When the door opened, packed liked sardines, unfolded out of the car, were three kids, a mom, dad and a lolo (grandfather). It seemed as if they had been driving for awhile. I imagine, that as soon as they arrived in Houston, they needed their Filipino food fix. They must of pulled up Yelp and searched "Filipino Food". One of the top hits was Jollibee, the nationally recognized chain.
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I immediately had flashbacks of my dad's Chevy van. He bought it in the 1980s. It was tan and bare bones, an empty shell of metal. There were no windows, carpet or chairs. I recall trips to Galveston when my brothers and sisters had to rotate shifts to sit on the cooler full of fish, preventing it from sliding around in the back. There was no seat belt law back then! As soon as dad had the money, he souped up that van and racked up a massive amount of miles. By the time the van was decommissioned, Chevrolet asked if they could study the van. It should not have lasted that long, exceeded 120,000 miles. The van was magical. The room on wheels carried our eight member family on road trips all over the United States - five kids, lola (grandmother), mom, and dad.
Meanwhile, back at the Jollibee parking lot, I got to thinking: why were there no Filipino restaurants in Houston when I was growing up? I mean, there were some steam table places, mom and pop restaurants, but it has taken awhile for it to hit the mainstream. It was not until my co-author and I wrote the Filipinos in Houston book, we had evidence to piece together the story.
The introduction cites Asian Texans by Irwin Tang. We discovered that there was a key change in Houston history when the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed, which abolished the quota system. According to Tang, the Filipino Texan population was 3,442 of which, the ratio favored women. In Houston, there were 326 women to 254 men, a ratio of 1.3 to 1. The gender imbalance continued in 1990, 72 men to 100 women.
Our research gave further context from the census. The Census showed an increase of migration between the years 1950 and 2000. The number of Filipino Americans in Texas went from 4,000 to 75,226, the seventh largest population of Filipino immigrants. By 2011, five percent (86,400) of all Filipino immigrants in the United States lived in Texas.
If we logically follow the narrative, the population influx occurred when first generation Filipinos came to Houston to work. Many did not focus on opening restaurants, although a few popped up, like Goldilock's, and Captain Wick's in Keemah. If there were any restaurants or side businesses, the investments came from day jobs or external investors from the Philippines. The influx of immigrant workers were targeted to work in the medical, engineering, accounting, or STEM disciplines, mostly women. This was a working class that most likely cooked at home. Let us not assume that just because the majority were women, the Filipino women, pinays, did all the cooking. Potlucks were prevalent in the community, where everyone contributed a dish. Asian vegetables were hard to find back then. When the community needed to make the dishes from the homeland, ingredients such as ampalaya (bitter melon) and talong (Japanese eggplant) were grown in backyard gardens, hence home cooking.
Children of immigrants in America, born in America grew up during the 1980s-1990s. We were the second generation. We ate some of that home organic cooking, and even brought it to school. I think of Eddie Murphy's Raw comedic stand up routine where all his friends "got Mc Donalds" and all he had was a "house burger". Except, for us Filipino kids, it was munggo (see comedian Joy Koy's latest routine Comin' in Hot) or rice with chicken adobo. Mom was busy on the night shift as a nurse, so that organic cooking did not always make it into our lunches. It was liverwurst, Vienna sausage, or jelly and cheese sandwiches. All I wanted was McDonald's. So American.
Meanwhile, back at the Jollibee parking lot, I got to thinking: why were there no Filipino restaurants in Houston when I was growing up? I mean, there were some steam table places, mom and pop restaurants, but it has taken awhile for it to hit the mainstream. It was not until my co-author and I wrote the Filipinos in Houston book, we had evidence to piece together the story.
The introduction cites Asian Texans by Irwin Tang. We discovered that there was a key change in Houston history when the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed, which abolished the quota system. According to Tang, the Filipino Texan population was 3,442 of which, the ratio favored women. In Houston, there were 326 women to 254 men, a ratio of 1.3 to 1. The gender imbalance continued in 1990, 72 men to 100 women.
Our research gave further context from the census. The Census showed an increase of migration between the years 1950 and 2000. The number of Filipino Americans in Texas went from 4,000 to 75,226, the seventh largest population of Filipino immigrants. By 2011, five percent (86,400) of all Filipino immigrants in the United States lived in Texas.
If we logically follow the narrative, the population influx occurred when first generation Filipinos came to Houston to work. Many did not focus on opening restaurants, although a few popped up, like Goldilock's, and Captain Wick's in Keemah. If there were any restaurants or side businesses, the investments came from day jobs or external investors from the Philippines. The influx of immigrant workers were targeted to work in the medical, engineering, accounting, or STEM disciplines, mostly women. This was a working class that most likely cooked at home. Let us not assume that just because the majority were women, the Filipino women, pinays, did all the cooking. Potlucks were prevalent in the community, where everyone contributed a dish. Asian vegetables were hard to find back then. When the community needed to make the dishes from the homeland, ingredients such as ampalaya (bitter melon) and talong (Japanese eggplant) were grown in backyard gardens, hence home cooking.
Children of immigrants in America, born in America grew up during the 1980s-1990s. We were the second generation. We ate some of that home organic cooking, and even brought it to school. I think of Eddie Murphy's Raw comedic stand up routine where all his friends "got Mc Donalds" and all he had was a "house burger". Except, for us Filipino kids, it was munggo (see comedian Joy Koy's latest routine Comin' in Hot) or rice with chicken adobo. Mom was busy on the night shift as a nurse, so that organic cooking did not always make it into our lunches. It was liverwurst, Vienna sausage, or jelly and cheese sandwiches. All I wanted was McDonald's. So American.
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| Lovin' it Source: Houston Eater |
My first experience with an American review of Filipino food? I brought cassava cake to International Day at school, proud to share my food and culture of origin. I was met with fake vomit sounds by some of the boys. It was a zero stars review. So, never again was I going to share with them my food. So here goes my summary, with that bittersweet introduction and history lesson, why Filipino food has not made it to the mainstream in Houston:
1. Immigrants that came to Houston in large groups in the 1970s came to Houston to work STEM jobs, not open Filipino restaurants. If they opened restaurants, they catered to Filipinos.
2. It was hard to find the ingredients for Filipino cooking. Most grew the vegetables in their gardens. What people do not know is the market in the trade of Filipino vegetables is alive and well in the suburbs. Filipino vegetables grow quite well in the Houston climate, almost all year round. It was not until larger Asian grocery stores started opening up that we started to see more of the ingredients available to the general population.
4. Many Filipinos cooked at home and still cook at home.
Big families in Houston flock to their parent's house for Sunday family time and home cooking. Restaurants that make the Filipino dishes never taste "as good as mom's". It is like a DNA signature, different mom's make the traditional dishes differently. Different families might make some dishes spicier than others, for example. Also, cooking at home is cheaper than the restaurants. If you are fortunate enough to go to a Filipino event or dinner, bring a to go box. There are ALWAYS leftovers.
Photo by @gardeningfish
5. Sustaining success in the restaurant business is still evolving. Great things are happening in Houston for Filipino food now. Filipino chefs are starting to gain visibility. Look out for Gabriel Medina and his 'virtual' restaurant. That second generation? Corporate white collar jobs did not work out for some of them. Many left their white collar jobs due to the recession and opened up food trucks like Happy Endings. Some were DJs and opened up places that have become successful like Lincoln Bar or Flip 'n Pattis. Look out for new investments popping up like Pour Behavior, and Be More Pacific. Philippine chain investors now see the Houston potential with places like Jollibee in the Medical Center and Gerry's Grill in Chinatown. You can still check out the original Filipino Restaurants: Best of Filipiniana, Filipiniana Too, and one of the first Filipino restaurants Pier 8 in Seabrook and Godo's Restaurant in the Medical Center.
1. Immigrants that came to Houston in large groups in the 1970s came to Houston to work STEM jobs, not open Filipino restaurants. If they opened restaurants, they catered to Filipinos.
2. It was hard to find the ingredients for Filipino cooking. Most grew the vegetables in their gardens. What people do not know is the market in the trade of Filipino vegetables is alive and well in the suburbs. Filipino vegetables grow quite well in the Houston climate, almost all year round. It was not until larger Asian grocery stores started opening up that we started to see more of the ingredients available to the general population.
Photo credit @gardeningfish
3. Second generation children born in Houston, did not think Americans liked Filipino food.
It is complicated to explain Filipino food growing up when the ingredients were not even in the grocery store. Plus, the names of the dishes were in another language. Some grew up never learning their native tongue. Filipino kids wanted fast food. With an American palette, why would they want to eat something called bitter melon? Americans know pancit and lumpia, that is level one Filipino food. If you do not run away in fear, then we will add some chicken adobo and serve you fried eggs with rice instead of toast. We may even build you up to torta talong with bagoong on the side. If we are still friends, then maybe we move you to the super advanced level of "chocolate meat".
| Photo by @gardeningfish |
Big families in Houston flock to their parent's house for Sunday family time and home cooking. Restaurants that make the Filipino dishes never taste "as good as mom's". It is like a DNA signature, different mom's make the traditional dishes differently. Different families might make some dishes spicier than others, for example. Also, cooking at home is cheaper than the restaurants. If you are fortunate enough to go to a Filipino event or dinner, bring a to go box. There are ALWAYS leftovers.
5. Sustaining success in the restaurant business is still evolving. Great things are happening in Houston for Filipino food now. Filipino chefs are starting to gain visibility. Look out for Gabriel Medina and his 'virtual' restaurant. That second generation? Corporate white collar jobs did not work out for some of them. Many left their white collar jobs due to the recession and opened up food trucks like Happy Endings. Some were DJs and opened up places that have become successful like Lincoln Bar or Flip 'n Pattis. Look out for new investments popping up like Pour Behavior, and Be More Pacific. Philippine chain investors now see the Houston potential with places like Jollibee in the Medical Center and Gerry's Grill in Chinatown. You can still check out the original Filipino Restaurants: Best of Filipiniana, Filipiniana Too, and one of the first Filipino restaurants Pier 8 in Seabrook and Godo's Restaurant in the Medical Center.
Photo credit Yelp
Photo by@gardeningfish
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