Moment ng Inuman at Rakran

“We’re bringing the flavors of our 7,107 islands to the island of Manhattan.”

That was the promise, and boy did they deliver.

Inuman at Pulutan, now on its sophomore year,  is back and it’s bigger. Launched just last year, the fun Philippine food and drinks event has become a much-anticipated party for New Yorkers who appreciate Filipino food and for Fil-Ams who long for the flavors they grew up with. Last year’s event was also a pleasant discovery for foodies who got their first introduction to the flavors of the Philippines.

“We really want this to become an annual event. One that’s anticipated not just by the Pinoys in New York but by NY foodies who either are discovering Filipino food for the first time or have tried it before and loved it.  It was also a good opportunity to present the liqueur products of Destileria Limtuaco which just started exporting these to the US,” said Michelle Sanchez, Special Trade Representative and Consul.

About 350 people attended this year’s event at the Midtown Loft & Terrace on Fifth Avenue, a much-bigger venue than the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. The move was done to accommodate the growing interest in the project.

A collaborative effort of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., The Philippine Consulate General, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center – New York and the Department of Tourism, ‘Inuman at Pulutan’ is now a must-go foodie event in New York City.

Foodies and happy hour fanatics had a great time enjoying modern interpretations of Philippine food (pulutan) prepared by New York-based chefs and restaurants, accompanied by San Miguel Beer and cocktails from Destileria Limtuaco.

Proceeds of the event will be donated to two organizations who have been helping in Typhoon Haiyan and the Bohol earthquake relief operations – Brick by Brick, a Philippine-based group to benefit the victims of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of  Bohol and Cebu last month and Handang Tumulong Foundation, a New Jersey-registered 501 (c) (3) charitable organization for the benefit of typhoon Haiyan victims.

As the interest in Filipino food and drinks grows, Sanchez is hopeful that this is something than can be done on a regular basis, something that foodies across the city can look forward to.

“Hopefully, the event will keep growing and become a major event in New York’s foodie calendar. I personally also want to turn over the project management to the private sector to ensure continuity and sustainability of the project,” Sanchez said.

The Pulutan

“I’m so excited to be here,” shared chef Leah Cohen, the woman behind Pig and Khao. She brought in her version of the classic dinuguan, or pork blood stew.

A Lower East Side dining destination, Pig and Khao showcases Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine, focusing on Thai and Filipino. “Not a lot of people think I’m Filipino so people are sometimes surprised if I tell them I’m half,” Choen shared.

In her restaurant – which received two stars from the New York Times this year – Cohen serves Crispy Pata and pickled mango salad (pork shank in soy sauce and five spice with coriander, crispy garlic served with a secret family recipe liver sauce); Grilled Pork Neck and Watermelon Salad (with chili lime fish sauce, shallot, chicharon, herbs and toasted rice) and Crispy Quail Adobo (Szechuan peppercorn, coconut vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves, crispy garlic, scallion and soft boiled quail egg).

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Cohen said of her two-star rating from NYT (the highest in the newspaper’s rating system). “It took awhile before it sunk in. We worked so hard for it and we’re happy to be sharing our cuisine with everyone.”

Maharlika and Jeepney’s chef Miguel Trinidad returns to Inuman at Pulutan for the second straight year. With his partner Nicole Ponseca at the helm, the duo has has garnered much attention in New York’s culinary scene with Maharlika’s opening two years ago with a glowing review in the New York Times and the award for “Best New Restaurant” by Metromix.

Maharlika Filipino Moderno has been a trendsetter in the food world and is recognized by Timeout NY (best new food), Tasting Table (Top 10 cocktail with Pacquiao Punch), Complex Magazine (Top Restaurant for 2012), Inc.com (entrepreneurship) and The Huffington Post (Best Cuisine) as a major player in the dining scene.

Jeepney on the other hand, earned two stars from New York Times as well.

Chef Miguel prepared sisig tacos, a popular pulutan originating from the province of Pampanga. The dish is traditionally made with thrice-cooked chopped pork jowl and ear, flavored with chopped liver, calamansi and chili and served preferrably sizzling.

Aris Tuazon, Ron Ancheta and their Ugly Kitchen team specialize in eclectic Asian fusion menu. Ugly Kitchen is best known for its ‘Holy Grill’ which pumps out perfectly-cooked mouthwatering pork belly that goes along with their unique bar sides and pastas.

This evening, they cranked it out a bit and served pork ribs adobo with Bicol express.

Also a returning chef, Lumpia Shack’s Neil Syham expressed his excitement to be a part of the growing event.

“Just to cook with this group of chefs is already an honor for us. I’m very thankful  that we have places like Pig and Khao, Maharlika and Jeepney, Ugly Kitchen that bring Filipino food out there,” he said.

For this event, chef Neil prepared a favorite in their Smorgasburg shack. “We’re serving garlic rice fried lumpia topped with pork belly adobo, grated egg, adobo sauce and pickled atchara. We’ve been selling this at Smorgasburg and response has been pretty amazing.”

Chef Neil Lumpia Shack is a Filipino-inspired lumpia stand at Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg that creates delicious fried and fresh lumpia, or spring rolls. Last year, it was a Vendy Awardee for Best Market Vendor. This year, Neil and his team will open their first brick-and-mortar store in the West Village, where they will serve their lumpia, adobo, rice and noodle dishes.

Bacolod native Brandon Vargas introduces Inasal to the food mecca of New York. Inasal is loosely defined as “to grill”. Brandon is pleased to offer the authentic taste of his homeland. Chicken inasal has already grown from its early days as food stalls in the province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines to fully established restaurants in the Manila metropolis, and Inasal is determined to make it an instant classic in the hub of New York City.

The distinct and delicious flavor will remind Filipinos of home and will open a kaleidoscope of flavors to the sophisticated palates of New Yorkers, who are always on the lookout for the next big thing. Inasal looks forward to opening its doors in Spring 2014 and to satisfy the craving for Chicken inasal.

Brandon said he tried it out this year by selling at the Philippine Independence Day Parade and Festival along Madison Avenue last June. The response was great and there were people who approached him and thanked him for bringing that authentic inasal flavor. That is the taste that he wants to showcase in New York.

“If a place like Pio-Pio can make it big here, I don’t see any reason why our chicken can’t compete. When people taste inasal, they can easily differentiate it from Thai, Chinese, Korean or Peruvian chicken,” Brandon said.

And people definitely saved some space for dessert.

For tonight, it was bibingka.

Bibingka-esk presents a new twist to the traditional Filipino dessert. Bibingka, a traditional Filipino rice cake popular during Christmas time, is presented here in bite sizes but still packing the flavor and taste we all know.

Eileen Formanes presents a version of bibingka (called Bibingka-esk) that marries the traditional and new by infusing the traditional flavors of this wonderful Filipino dessert with modern flavors. This venture combines Eileen’s love for baking and her culture. Launched in March 2013, Bibingka-esk aims to share how good Filipino desserts are. Initially, Bibingka-esk was sold at the Hester Street Fair, but now, Eileen is selling her goods at the LIC Holiday Market in Long Island City.

The Drinks

For the “inuman” part of the event, attendees had an unlimited (or shall we say bottomless?) supply of San Miguel Beer and cocktails made out of Destileria Limtuaco products.

Established in 1890, La Fabrica de Cerveza de San Miguel, Southeast Asia’s first brewery produced and bottled what would eventually become one of the bestselling beers in the region. Within the span of a generation, San Miguel Beer would become an icon among beer drinkers. Today, San Miguel Beer–the Company’s flagship product–is one of the largest selling beers and among the top 20 beer brands in the world.

Destileria Limtuaco and Co. Inc., backed by 5 generations of master blenders and over 150 years of tradition, has earned the distinction of being the quality leader in the Philippine liquor industry.

The organizers showcased three distinctly Filipino liquors – Paradise Mango Liqueur, Amadeo Coffee Liqueur and Manille Liqueur de Calamansi and bartenders prepared various cocktails using these key ingredients. The result? Mango Mojito, Vernie Varga and Barako Old-Fashioned.

Mango Mojito featured the mango liqueur, an exotic tropical drink that successfully captures the delicate aroma and luscious flavor of sun-ripened Philippine mangoes and premium aged rum, a time-honored product of the Philippines as a sugar producing country.

The Vernie Varga drink highlighted Manille Liqueur de Calamansi, which captures the essence of calamansi (Philippine lime) using the citrus fruit’s rinds to make a drink that is zesty, fresh and packed with an intense citrus aroma in a vodka base. Mixed with cava and muddled sili (bird’s eye chili) and lemon wedges, the drink was a hot cocktail.

Finally, Barako Old-Fashioned mixed Amadeo Coffee Liqueur, the best of Philippine coffee in a bottle, with Old Captain rum, angostura bitters, cinnamon stick and orange slice.

It was an event that was meant to celebrate Filipino food and drinks but because of the recent tragedies in the Philippines, it felt indecent to celebrate. That is why the gathering instead focused on the camaraderie of the Filipino community and the hundreds of friends that joined them to raise funds to provide to the typhoon survivors.

“Everyone who spoke to me congratulated us on the success of the project. It remained a fun way to promote the Philippines, our food and our products.  There was also general approval that we made the event more relevant by having it benefit the victims of the natural calamities in the Philippines. The chefs and beverage suppliers were happy to have contributed to the effort,” Sanchez said. “Well one person called it the more successful social event of the year. That’s probably a bit much but I’ll take it.”