A 10-course Filipino menu tasting event? A big Yes to ‘Merienda Cena’

One of the best ways Filipino-Canadians can feel connected to their homeland and culture is through food.

Shine Asuncion, founder of Kain Tayo! (let’s eat), a 55,000-member Facebook food group, organized Merienda Cena, a 10-course Filipino menu tasting event.

“We were so pleased with the turnout, and just how people came out to support and celebrate with us. Both seatings were sold out,” said Asuncion.

Held at Parkdale Hall in Toronto, Ont. on Saturday, April 20, 2024, the tasting menu featured traditional Filipino foods and offered two time slots from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The 10-course menu featured various Filipino traditional foods such as lechon (roast pig), halo-halo, BBQ, pansit, ham and arroz caldo. All photos by Motzie Dapul.

Merienda Cena was held as part of “Filipino Food Month Celebration”—where groups made up of professional chefs, caterers, and home cooks provided different meals to create one massive, celebratory luncheon.

In the Philippines, merienda is a term for small meals taken between breakfast and lunch, as well as mid-afternoon snacks.

The latter is what’s referred to as Merienda Cena, where Filipinos would eat smaller portions of unique sweet and savoury foods paired with a delicious drink.

The Merienda Cena event pulled out all the stops, with the menu consisting of chicharon (fried pork rinds), halo-halo (a shaved ice dessert brimming with sweet ingredients), pansit (savoury sauteed noodles), barbeque on a stick, lumpia (deep fried spring rolls) and arroz caldo (savoury rice porridge with chicken).

It even included delicious crispy bites of lechon (roasted whole suckling pig) that was cracked open and chopped up in front of the attendees.

Costing $40 per person, it was an unbelievable deal, with multiple merienda staples being served in one go.

It was as much an education on Filipino cuisine as it was a food festival to fill your stomach, even if not every recipe was a hundred per cent traditional.

The event also featured unique Filipino treats available for purchase.

The crowd for the afternoon portion was made up mostly of Filipinos, however, there was a significant number of non-Filipino guests wanting a taste of Filipino culture.

A 10-course sampling event was the perfect way to introduce them to different menus from the Philippines.

Kain Tayo! organizers said that they wish to do more events like this in the future.

It’s also a wonderful way to get to know people and socialize, bonding over great food and drink as per tradition at Filipino gatherings.

Here’s a list of vendors who took part in the event—a community of collaborators who ensured that this feast could be shared with everyone who came:

Motzie Dapul is a queer Pinay writer, artist, and animator who’s bringing Filipino and LGBTQ+ themed stories to global audiences, primarily through genre stories such as fantasy/mythology, sci-fi, horror, and romance (often all at once). She’s best known as the creator of supernatural horror audio drama The Hi Nay Podcast. ​She immigrated to Canada in late 2018 from Quezon City, and is currently based in Toronto, working in the thriving animation, film, and TV industry.