The Plan
So my niece’s birthday was coming up, and she wanted something different. She said “Can we do Filipino food? Like my friend’s party?” I was like, okay challenge accepted. First step: grabbed my laptop and typed “birthday party filipino dishes” into Google. Saw a ton of pancit recipes popping up everywhere.
Digging Through Old Memories
I remembered eating at this Filipino potluck years ago. Started scribbling notes: lumpia (egg rolls), that purple dessert thingy – ube halaya. Called my cousin who married a Filipina, and he yelled “ADOOOBO! Don’t forget adobo!” over the phone. My list was looking messy: appetizers, mains, desserts. Decided to split them into sections.
Test Kitchen Disaster Zone
Sunday became cooking lab day. Made adobo first – dumped chicken thighs in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic. Smelled like heaven! But then I burnt the first batch because I was multitasking with lumpia. Chopped veggies forever for pancit canton, nearly sliced my thumb off. The fried plantains (turon) got too crispy – banana leaked everywhere. Had to redo those twice!
Final Spread
Party day came. Arranged everything buffet-style:
-
Savory Stuff:
- Chicken Adobo (kept warm in slow cooker)
- Pancit Canton noodles with shrimp & veggies
- Fried Lumpia with sweet chili dip
- Garlic fried rice
-
Sweet Things:
- Ube Halaya purple yam dessert
- Turon banana rolls
- Halo-Halo station with ice, beans & jellies
People Went Nuts
Uncle Bob ate three plates of pancit. Kids lined up for halo-halo – they loved crushing the ice themselves. Everybody asked where I bought the lumpia, shocked when I said homemade. My niece hugged me sticky halo-halo hands and all. Filipino grandma from next door even came over saying “smells like my mama’s kitchen!” Best compliment ever.
Lessons Learned
Next time? Making lumpia filling ahead – my wrist still hurts from rolling 50 pieces! And ordering ube halaya instead of cooking it took forever. But seeing everyone eat with both hands? Worth every burnt plantain. Gonna frame that grease-stained recipe list in my kitchen.