Finding the taste of home is not easy, especially when in a foreign land. As a traveling chef, it’s one of the challenges I faced when doing my 50-state tour doing Filipino food pop-ups.

Filipino food requires at least 3 of the five basic tastes: salty, tangy/sour, sweet, umami and bitter and to be honest, sometimes a heat component (not a taste, but an important factor for flavor depth).

When I was sourcing my ingredients in all the different farmers’ markets, little mom and pop shops and big asian grocery stores, I always keep in an eye out for ingredients that I don’t need to substitute. When I discovered Manila Gold’s calamansi, I was ecstatic. Okay, scratch that, I was over the moon! To find a flavor that I rarely see, let alone in its purest form, was a big game changer for me.

Now, I can make my favorite dishes like Sisig, Inihaw na Isda and Bistek without compromising or settling for alternative flavors.

Manila Gold is not only a lifesaver in the kitchen, but also a cultural preserver. In my style of cooking, where I put emphasis on saying true to the integrity of the traditional flavors with local and seasonal ingredients, having calamansi in its purest form is a gift. From now on, I’m a Manila Gold loyalist. <3