With a few kitchen tools in her folding purse and a huge desire to spread the flavors of the Philippines, Yana Gilbuena travels to different parts of the globe to serve delectable homegrown dishes in her kamayan-style pop-up dinner.
Gilbuena’s SALO Series, culled from the word “salu-salo,” offers Filipino fare via a banquet where partakers are encouraged to eat food spread over banana leaves using their bare hands. Since its inception, the pop-up dinner has traveled the 50 states of the United States, Canada, part of South America, and here in the country.
From Iloilo to the world
The idea to share Filipino flavors to the world was born of one homesick Ilonggo’s desire for a warm bowl of arroz caldo.
“It started when I was living in New York and there was this need to have arroz caldo (hot chicken porridge) in the middle of winter,” recounts Gilbuena.
She continues, “It got me thinking that even though New York is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, how it is that Filipino cuisine is not well-represented?”
Thus, apart from serving well-loved Filipino dishes like adobo (chicken or pork stewed in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, and peppercorns), pansit (noodle dish), and lumpia (spring rolls), the nomadic cook promotes regional specialties from Philippine islands as well.
Gilbuena acknowledges that there are some Filipino dishes that most Fil-Ams who grew up in the US are not familiar with. In fact, she recalls that they were “pleasantly surprised” by the regional dishes she served them.
“They had probably been to Manila or to their parents’ hometowns in the Philippines but never really explored places beyond that. So, me bringing dishes from the remote islands like Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and they were just like, ‘What? We have this in our cuisine?’”
“And I would reply in jest, ‘Yeah, girl. You need to travel a little bit more!’”
Despite the lack of formal culinary education, the 34-year-old cook traces her love for cooking to her early days in the family kitchen, growing up in the cuisine-rich region of Visayas in the company of her aunt, grandmother, and cooking-inclined yayas (nannies).
Gilbuena recalls her bonding time with her aunt was highlighted by cooking and baking recipes printed on the labels of canned milk.
“I became really comfortable with making fire and all those stuff on my own, like dealing with old stoves. I have very fond memories of the kitchen growing up, and I think that’s where it all started. And then the rest, I just learned along the way,” she shares.
Big hopes for Filipino cuisine
While many food enthusiasts and critics from across the globe have been noticing Filipino fare and tagging it as “the next big thing,” Gilbuena believes that our cuisine’s full potential has yet to be fully discovered and explored as it continues to evolve amid constantly changing influences.
“It’s definitely getting there,” Gilbuena asserts. “There are so many more Filipino restaurants popping up everywhere across the US, and I think that’s one of those things that cause people to realize that, hey, there is a market for Filipino cuisine, and not just for Filipinos. So I think it will just continue to expand more as the years go by.”
She likewise thinks that the most defining thing about Filipino cuisine is that it’s constantly evolving. “The more influences we get, the more it expands,” she says.
Gilbuena relishes how adobo can take on so many flavors in just one bite. “I think we’ve mastered the whole balance of sweet and salty, vinegary and spicy, that other cuisines have tried to do for the longest time.”
This fusion of flavors that Gilbuena is enamored with is made even tastier and more full-flavored with the well-loved Filipino condiments made by NutriAsia, which she uses in her dishes.
She reveals that ever since she started cooking, she has been using Datu Puti vinegar, UFC banana sauce, Silver Swan soy sauce, Jufran sweet chili sauce, and Mang Tomas all-purpose sauce.
Hence the partnership that Gilbuena forged with NutriAsia as its brand ambassador is instrumental in furthering her advocacy of raising more awareness for Filipino cuisine.
“This collaboration makes sense because I use NutriAsia products all the time. I love using Filipino ingredients to make Filipino food. Adobo is the most common one. I’ve tried making adobo using a different kind of soy sauce. It just doesn’t taste the same,” she shares.
“I’ve used red wine vinegar, too, but no—the flavor is just not there. So why not use the flavors of home to make the tastes of home.”
Gilbuena’s SALO Series pop-up dinners continues to thrive touring the world. With a constant craving for discovery and experiment, and a passion for Filipino cuisine, she aims to continue taking on the world, one pop-up diner at a time.
“I am definitely gonna go on touring Filipino food. I wanna include Europe and the Middle East in SALO’s itinerary, and from there just continue spreading the flavors of Filipino food,” she says.
“I can’t picture myself doing anything else but this.”