Filipino Cuisines, "Masarap Na, World Class Pa”

Global cuisines can be categorized by various regions according to the common use of major foodstuffs, including grains, produce and cooking fats. Regional cuisines may vary based upon food availability and trade, cooking traditions and practices, and cultural differences.

There are people really crave for Filipino cuisine especially the breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner meals and desserts. Filipino cuisine is really with richness and simplicity of good "Filipino" food, simply because that is how some of us Filipinos best enjoy them as is.

“Pinoy sarap” trait is what local food manufacturing company Mekeni Food Corporation is propagating through its world class products as it introduces its new tagline “Masarap Na, World Class Pa!”

Filipino cuisine is distinguished by its bold combination of sweet (tamis), sour (asim), and salty (alat) flavors. While other Asian cuisines may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation, Filipino cuisine is often delivered all at once in a single presentation.

Filipino cuisine is supposedly a mixture of Spanish, Japanese and American and to some extent the Chinese who, though not officially invaders of our Motherland, they comprise a big chunk of our population. Think of “pancit,” “siomai” and “mami” in the same manner as “hotdog” or “hamburger” for the Americans or “paella” for the Spanish.

But one thing is sure: if there is no true Filipino cuisine yet, there is true “Pinoy sarap.” Slowly but surely, all-time Pinoy favorites like “adobo,” “sinigang” and even “ginataang gabi” are getting into the global consciousness, introduced to foreign lands thanks in large part to our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Filipino migrants who help spread the word about the true “Pinoy sarap” qualities of Pinoy food.

Pampanga cuisine makes use of all the produce in the region available to the native cook.  Among the treats produced in Pampanga are longganisa, tocino,and calderetang kambing (savory goat stew), and combining pork cheeks and offal. Kapampangans  also make sisig.

We eat tocino and longganisa. Tocino is a sweetened cured meat made with either chicken or pork and is marinated and cured for a number of days before being fried. Longganisa is a sweet or spicy sausage, typically made from pork though other meats can also be used, and are often colored red traditionally through the use of the anatto seed but also artificial food coloring.

Mekeni offers various meat products such as hotdog, ham, bacon, corned beef and Ethnic cured meat products like tocino, longanisa and tapa. In producing these products, Mekeni follows a very strict processes from receiving up to the delivery of products to the end consumers.

This latest achievement thus places Mekeni Food Corporation in a good position to compete in the global market, highlighting “Pinoy-sarap” qualities that Mekeni Food Corporation can introduce to other food markets in the world through its products that are “Masarap Na, World Class Pa.”

“We owe these successes to God, whom we give glory to for guiding our family to make Mekeni Food Corporation what it is today. And through our new tagline, we can proudly show to the world that Filipinos and Mekeni Food Corporation are truly world class as we set on our path to export quality yet affordable products throughout the world” Mr. Garcia enthuses.

MEKENI products are now available in major supermarkets, key cities and towns’ wet markets and food outlets.

For more about MEKENI products, visit www.mekeni.com.

Mekeni Food Corporation started very small but its founders Tatang Felix and Imang Meding Garcia dreamt big -- not only for their own family but also for the whole community of Porac, Pampanga.

Tatang Felix started  a small poultry and piggery business  in 1973 with his wife to augment their meager  income as public school teachers.  Sending their five sons to college was a big challenge for the couple and their business had helped them realize their mission to the family.  All the five sons, Adrian, Pruds, Lito, Doods and Nards were immersed in the business at an early age.  The hardwork of the couple had paid off – they  fulfilled their family mission to send their children to college and  created a viable enterprise.

In 1986, the first Mekeni products – chicharon and tocino  were introduced and positively accepted in  the local market.  The backyard business had transformed into a major source of livelihood of the community.

World class! Mekeni products are manufactured under the strictest and world-class manufacturing standards with regard to food safety and quality. Their 20-plus hectare facility in Porac, Pampanga is the highlight of Filipino ingenuity and strong entrepreneurial spirit espoused by Mekeni Food Corporation founders Felix and Meding Garcia, together with their sons Pruds, Nardo, Lito, Adrian and Doods, who all pursued to create a manufacturing plant that will produce tasty, affordable, high quality and totally safe food products that Filipinos—and even the world in the future—will enjoy and savor.