San Francisco: Sights, Food & Filipino Feasts

*Post by Angela.

As you know from our previous post, our time in San Francisco was cruelly cut short, resulting in kind of a whirlwind of trip to see all that we could see and do all that we could do in a day in a half. After our dinner at Bix, we roamed the city and did a surprising number of things for one evening, including enjoying the sight of a fog-embraced Bay Bridge, braving the icy winds with Christopher Colombus at Coit Tower...

taking a quick stroll along the tourist-packed Fisherman's Wharf...

 and zig-zagging down the Crookedest Street.

The next day, after spending a rather depressing morning watching World Cup games (including the game of which we will not speak), it was time for the main event - my grandfather's 95th birthday party!  My immediate family (sadly, minus my little brother Jim, who, as you know, is hard at work at med school in the Philippines, but happily plus Mark and my sister's fiancé) headed over to the celebration at Patio Filipino in San Bruno (below) ... a fitting name as it a) serves Filipino cuisine and b) has a patio.  

Surrounded by virtually all of my dad's side of the family (which includes 22 aunts and uncles, and over 30 cousins, plus my cousins' kids), I snapped photos of the food as the staff set it up, buffet-style, while manuevering my way through greetings, introductions, hugs, and kisses.  While my favorite part of the party was seeing my family, the food was no joke, either. My heart leapt with joy as they carted out the main attraction, this beyond beautiful lechon, or roast suckling pig. Lechon is a staple at Filipino parties, and just one bite of the crispy skin and succulent meat was enough to send me into a blissful coma.

I was also happy to see some pancit palabok (below, right, a sort of stir fry dish made with round rice noodles, vegetables, and in this case shrimp) and chicken afritada (below, left, a tomato-based stew made with potatoes and bell peppers).

There were several other traditional Filipino dishes, including kare-kare (an oxtail-peanut sauce dish which I've attempted at home) and bistek (beef and onions slow-cooked in soy sauce and calamansi juice). Vegetarians would have a difficult time finding something to eat - the only vegetarian offering I can remember was the lumpia sariwa, or fresh spring rolls, which came with a sweet glaze on top... or the uh... steamed rice.

And like every meal I've ever had with my extended family, all that food ended up in a messy melange on my plate (see below). I was a little worried that Mark wouldn't be able to find anything he liked, but he did okay. That being said, I think real authentic Filipino cuisine may take some getting used to - it's very heavy, often greasy, and fairly heavily seasoned. Being the food of my heritage though, I ate it up and was happy than...well, definitely happier than our roasted pig.

But the real star of the evening was the handsome gentleman you see below. He looks pretty incredible for 95, in my opinion. He loved having his family around him, and we were all so glad to be there. He was also pretty happy about that gorgeous cake, which was made by the very talented wife of one of my zillions of cousins.

All in all, it was an exhausting trip, but well-worth it. I was so happy to able to celebrate my grandfather's birthday with him and my huge family, and to be able to share that experience with Mark as well. That being said, hopefully our next trip to the city by the bay will be a little less hectic!

Comments

[Sylvie]

Your grandfather is adorable and the food looks great. I haven't had good filapino food in FOREVER.

[Angela]

Thanks, Sylvie! He's the cutest man on earth, and my dad looks JUST like him! We'll definitely have to have our Filipino feast soon.