Shanghai, 13 June 2021 – Hundreds of guests craving for a taste of the Philippines trooped to the first-ever Fiesta Filipinas -- Kain Na! event in Shanghai on June 13, 2021 at Found 158, Shanghai’s popular open-air dining complex.

Helmed by the Shanghai Office of the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC Shanghai) with the support of the Philippine Consulate General, the event trained the spotlight on Filipino cuisine and festival culture.

Seven locally based Filipino cooks served up classic Filipino dishes to over 800 guests that included Chinese and other expatriates in Shanghai and, not surprisingly, a huge crowd of Filipino kababayans eager for a taste of home.

Featured were Filipino favorites such as lechon kawali, sisig, adobo and halo-halo. The best of Philippine food products and ingredients were also on centerstage, which the Filipino cooks took full advantage of in their creations: sisig using Century Tuna, halo-halo topped with Pong Pong banana chips, dessert balls with MY San Graham crackers, bibingka based on Coco Mama coconut cream and maja blanca spiked with Tanduay Rum – a fresh and enticing take on this classic kakanín. 

The event also proved an excellent platform for promoting Filipino products. Liwayway of Oishi snack-fame, showcased its latest line of new snacks and beverages. Super Coco presented its famous virgin coconut oil and coconut-related products. Juga brand’s purees highlighted the singular brand of sweetness of Philippine mangoes in refreshing smoothies.

The booths drew crowds and saw fast-moving inventories, with further sales realized via e-commerce platforms such as T Mall, JD.com, Taobao, Pinduoduo and Suning.

“This initiative is in line with the Department of Tourism KAIN NA program, to promote Philippine gastronomy to the international market”, according to PDOT Chief Ireneo Reyes. PTIC head Tani, for his part, underscored the event’s role in increasing Philippine food exports to China, citing the introduction of over 20 various products to the Chinese mainstream market in the fresh and processed food categories.

Opening the event, Consul General Josel F. Ignacio proudly observe “that Filipino food is finally taking its rightful place, literally, on the table, and that the past decade has seen interest in Filipino cuisine surge globally” . Citing the success of Filipino restaurants and pop-ups in around the world, “Surely, Shanghai, a global city in its own right, should not be far behind”, he said.

Folkloric dances from Tribu Hiligaynon, a Filipino Community group performed the Masskara and Dinagyang festival dances which wowed both Filipino and Chinese crowds.

The event drew a Chinese social media coverage of the event was extensive, as the DOT enlisted the draw of popular vlogger Chang Lin, known to followers as “Travel Lin”, who featured the event live to 11 million viewers for 1.5 hours, earning over 2,813 comments and a million likes. A two-minute highlights video on her Weibo page garnered 700,000 views and 2,400 likes. 

At the sidelines of the event, the Consulate General also entertained inquiries and registrations for overseas absentee voting, from participating Filipino expatriates. END