The kilawin will be served in individual cups at the festival
At this year's Luckyrice Night Market, the Philippines will be represented by Maharlika, a unique pop-up brunch spot located in the French bistro Resto Leon. They shared with us two new dishes that they'll be serving at the event, taking place under the Archway in Dumbo on May 4. Tickets are still available. "Some people call us the Filipino culinary ambassadors," says co-founder Nicole Ponseca, "but it's not just the food we want to share, it's the way of life."
First up is a delicate cup of kilawin, otherwise known as Filipino ceviche, which comes with homemade taro chips. Although it's chock-full of diced chilies, the focus of this bite is the tilapia cured with vinegar, coconut milk and calamansi—a citrus fruit that's like a cross between a lime and a mandarin. The result is a cool yet fiery bite of tender fish that looks heavy, but is actually quite buoyant.
Along with the kilawin, chef Miguel Trinidad will serve a classic longganisa sausage, which he reconstructed into a contemporary "longa" slider. "It's not fusion because we aren't introducing new techniques in cooking," says Ponseca. "It's more our own modern interpretations on Filipino cooking."
First the chef takes the sausage out of its casing and mixes the cured meat with fresh ground pork. The savory patties are then placed on fluffy baliwag rolls they get from Filipino grocery Johnny Market. The soft bread is slathered with bagoong mayo made with shrimp paste and topped with atchara (a combo of shredded pickled carrots and jicama). And bam! A perfect savory, spicy, salty and sweet little snack. —Linnea Covington; photos by Noah Fecks
