ESSAY
Half of Me is
Longing for the Taste of the Philippines
Words and Photos by: Gillian Mahoney
T
he crunch of the thin and crispy egg roll wrapper rang in my ears with each bite of the lumpiang shanghai. The savory pork melded with the sweetness of the minced carrot and onion. I wasn’t used to having rice for breakfast—my typical morning meal consists of cereal, oatmeal, or whatever I can throw together with minimal effort—but I soon realized it was the perfect vehicle for the delicious pork-filled egg rolls.
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In fact, every time I went to the Philippines with my mom, rice was a staple. My family ate it with every meal. My grandmother, or “Lola” in Tagalog, gets hungry quickly if a meal is missing rice. She often got up just as sunlight began poking through the windows to prepare breakfast. We paired rice with just about anything from Lola’s inventory—scrambled eggs with tomato or pork leftover from the previous night’s dinner.
