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.
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.
