Customer Rating: Summary: Graceful and Rich Collection of Essays about Pinoy Cooking Comment: This is an excellent book on Filipino cooking, and the cultural associations and history in various food traditions. The Philippines has many cross-cultural influences and it's interesting to have a knowledgable writer walk the reader through pancit coming from Chinese influence (noodle dish) and why it's a common birthday food (noodles are eaten for luck and long life in Chinese culture), and the variety of foods eaten at Noche Buena (the traditional Christmas Eve midnight feast Filipinos eat), the appearance of certain food in Filipino literature, etc. It will certainly make you hungry! Well written, I highly recommend it.