- Take your “jottings” you made during 1.5 hours of observation and type them into a narrative of what you observed (This means that you should write descriptive text of what you observed. You must write in complete sentences). The minimum length for this part of the assignment is 2 single-spaced pages of text. You may include photographs at the end of the document, but these are optional and do not count toward the page requirement.
Filipino Food and Their Culture
The place for this participant-observation exercise is an ethnic restaurant. It serves breakfast and lunch and is opened until 6:30 pm. The dishes sold towards late afternoon are the leftovers of lunch time. It is a small place located between a video store and a liquor store. Parking is just along the street. There are only four tables in the restaurant and most of the clients would order takeout.
The dishes sold are Filipino food. The menu on a green board lists the food available on different days of the week. The food is placed on steamer trays to keep warm. When someone orders, he/she would just have to point at the dish you intend to have. Pointing at the dish is the “turo-turo” tradition. The Filipino word “turo” means “to point” because you just point the food you want to buy.
When one opens the glass door to enter the restaurant, the smell of the fish being fried and the spicy aroma of the broth greet the customers. Then the employee of the restaurant smiles and greets with welcome and good afternoon. There was one customer who looks like it was his first time in the restaurant, and he was looking at the menu, then, at the food. The very friendly owner smiled at him and asks him what he would like to order. When the customer hesitated, the owner brought out some plastic spoons and offered him a taste of the different dishes. First, the owner asked him to try out some noodles. I heard it was called “pansit.” It was thin white noodles garnished with vegetables like carrots and cabbage. Then the man was again given another spoon with chicken stew on it that was called “adobo.” After that the owner said, here, you must try this. The spoon contained vegetable leaves. I learned later that it was taro leaves cooked in coconut milk and was called “laing.” The man tasted two more dishes before he finally had a chance to order. The owner looks so excited asking him to taste the different dishes. The customer, on the other hand, seems more confused on what to buy when he was offered to try more and more food.
The customers who dined inside were mostly in groups. There were many who look like Filipinos, but not all customers were Filipinos. There were Americans and Hispanics who came in, as well. The groups always had at least one who was a returning customer and was bringing the others to try the food. There were two groups who occupied the tables beside me, and when I listened to their conversations, they were talking in languages that were not English or Spanish. In one of the tables, the diners talked very animatedly. They seem very excited, sometimes all four people spoke at the same time with lots of gestures and laughter.
The movements in the three tables were very fast, since I was occupying the fourth one. They would come in, order lots of food, eat, and then leave. Then another group would arrive. At one point, there were six customers in one table. One of the staff came to me smiling and very politely asked if they can borrow the two chairs in my table and explained that these would be for the other customers. When I said go ahead, she again cheerfully said her thanks.
There were also individual customers who ordered food for take-out. The staff immediately placed their orders in boxes with plastic spoons. Filling orders was not slow. Once customers pointed to what they wanted, these were immediately packed, and the customer leaves. Everybody was smiling, the staff, the owner, and the customers. It was always noisy as the TV was loud and broadcasting a Filipino variety show over TFC (the Filipino channel). At certain times, all customers laughed aloud at the same time and looked towards the TV, probably over a joke from the show.
I observed that most of the food comes with rice. Soup, meat, and vegetable dishes always came with rice. There was much rice for each serving. I noticed that the customers who ate there even ordered extra rice and there were some who would pour the gravy over their rice. A quick look at all the food in the trays gives one the impression of them all being greasy. I can see the meat in sauce and gravy in the different serving trays. When I asked what the dishes were made of, the friendly staff pointed to me the vegetables, chicken, beef, and pork dishes. There were also desserts and sweets.
I then ordered the famous “chicken adobo,” with rice, “turon,” and “halo-halo.” Steamed rice goes well with the flavorful adobo. The adobo was chicken boiled in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar with laurel leaf and black pepper. “Turon” is two slices of the “saba” variety of banana rolled in brown sugar with a slice of jackfruit in between and wrapped in a thin flour wrapper. The whole thing was then deep fried, and the finished product is a sweet, crunchy, and tasty dessert. After I finished the turon, I slowly ate my “halo-halo.” The “halo-halo” is another dessert that is made of different sweet fruits. “Halo” means “mix,” thus the term halo-halo means you have to mix the different sweets inside your glass of shaved ice and mix. The glass of halo-halo has a scoop of icing on top of the layer of slices of flan, “ube” jam or yam, and tapioca pearls. Below this is a thick layer of shaved ice that has been poured with milk. Under the ice is a mixture of cooked banana, yam, jackfruit, and beans that have all been sweetened. Two more ingredients are the “nata de coco” or sweet coconut, and strips of young coconut. One eats this dessert slowly, and it is a perfect companion to an hour of catching up about the latest gossip or just plain observing of the restaurant’s activities.
I was shocked with the number of pork dishes. There were pork skewers, pork stew, pork steak, and more pork dishes made of different parts of the pig. The staff explained what pig parts were in the dishes. One called “bopis” was made of internal organs. Another called “sisig” was made of pig cheeks and ears. The “dinuguan” was made of pig blood and meat. I had to mentally tell myself to be patient while the staff was explaining all these to me. I had to politely and firmly tell him that I do not wish to taste the pork dishes as he was offering these items to me.
As a Muslim, it was uncomfortable for me to see all the pork dishes enjoyed by the customers. I kept reminding myself that I was in a place where the people have a culture different from that of me. The concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism keep coming to my mind. It was difficult not to be ethnocentric especially when I was confronted with an item (pork) that is taboo in my religion.
Analysis
- Perform a preliminary analysis by reading through your narrative and identifying 4 observations of behaviors and/or activities that you can attribute to themes of food and culture that we have gone over in class thus far (these can be from the class readings, the lectures and/or the videos). Discuss each theme in a separate paragraph (4-5 sentences).
Observation 1: The staffs were smiling all the time and offering free taste to their customers. Filipinos are known to be smiling all the time. Their offering of the free taste indicates their confidence about the taste of their food and their desire to share it with other people. This practice also reflects their practice of fiestas (festivals) in Philippines where anybody is welcome to partake food in the homes. Fiesta is a tradition that is embedded in the culture of Filipinos. They remember it wherever they go and it is manifested by the kind of dishes they order, the quantity, and the manner by which such dishes are enjoyed together with family and friends.
Observation 2: Customers who come from specific regions in the Philippines prefer particular foods. They say that these dishes, such as the “laing,” are associated with inhabitants of the Bicol region. This is a place with hectares of coconut trees, thus the "laing" cooked in coconut milk. The “laing” dish is also a very spicy vegetable dish and in this region, most of their dishes are spicy. The “laing,” therefore, is representative of the type of dishes that this region has. When customers from this particular region come to the restaurant, the “laing” is always ordered. This dish is already associated with their identity. I also learned that the noodle dish “pansit” was an influence from the Chinese who have come and settled in the Philippines even before this country was colonized by Spaniards and Americans, and also invaded by the Japanese. The variety in the food and the way the dishes were cooked illustrate the different cultures that have influenced the Filipino culture. The traditions and identities of a particular group, nation, or ethnicity are indeed represented by the dishes that they have grown accustomed.
Observation 3: The majority of dishes come from animal meat, and at least two were vegetables. The eggplant, however, was an omelet, thus animal product, in the form of an egg, was still required. The menu of this Filipino restaurant shows the kind of dishes that its customers favor. This preference for meat and poultry is actually not exclusive to Filipino clients or to patrons of Filipino food. All over the world, there is a huge demand for meat and poultry. In order to supply such need in the cities, producers have to raise thousands of animals and millions of chicken to distribute to restaurants which sell meat and poultry products. In order to feed the world’s cities lands are being transformed, including rainforests, to raise animals for the meat that is needed by restaurants and shopper. This is the globalization theme wherein certain areas of the planet are being transformed, going into mono-cropping, for instance, in order to support the food needs of cities located far from the source of ingredients.
Observation 4: The Filipino channel was turned on loudly, the fixtures were very minimal, and food was cooked just very near the tables. Television serves as form of connection with the life back home. It showcases the jokes, the stories, and the native language. Since TV is a part of most households in the Philippines, having it in the restaurant gives an aura of being at home. The minimal fixtures highlight the simplicity of the culture and the importance given to the food and the people. Having the Filipino food, in the company of fellow Filipinos was in a way an opportunity for the customers to feel the connection of home. The taste of the food creates memories of being in the company of the family and tasting Mom’s cooking. The place provides a temporary experience of home to the Filipino customer. This observation falls under the theme of environmental and ecological approaches.
Reflection
- Write one paragraph (4-5 sentences) minimum reflecting on your position as a researcher. How does your own cultural identity and background affect how you ‘see’ and understand environments and activities?
As a researcher, it was interesting to enter a restaurant of a culture different from my own. I was challenged not to make any judgments and just to remain observant. My own culture influenced my perception of the dishes they prepared. Being Muslim, I felt the customers were eating food (the pork dishes) that was unclean. However, I appreciated the cheerfulness and happy disposition of the culture. The sweets I chose to eat also tasted delicious.
