A Taste of the Philippines Comes to Berryville

By Rebecca Maynard

Violah Lee is already known to many in Clarke County for her delicious Filipino food, which she has made out of her home and accepted donations to be given back to the community.

Lee, who opened Lions Den day care when she moved to Berryville in 2004, is now also opening a food truck, A

Taste of the Philippines, with a grand opening planned soon in Berryville.

“The reason I want to have a Filipino food truck is because I want to share my own country’s food with love,” Lee explained. “We have Thai, Chinese, Italian and Mexican restaurants here in Berryville, so we’re just missing Filipino food!”

“Filipino food is totally different from other countries’,” Lee said, explaining that it is a blend of the cuisines of several cultures and relies on soy sauce.

“We make egg rolls called lumpia that are different from Chinese, lo mein that is different from Chinese or Thai, and many more dishes.”

Some of the food truck’s offerings will include chicken wings with sauce, chicken egg rolls with sauce, chicken pancit, chicken fried rice, and chicken afritada.

“We make our own sauce for the lumpia, and pancit is clear rice noodles with veggies and meat,” Lee saide. “Afritada is chicken, potato and bell peppers, with cheese. It is all fresh, and cut by my own hands, not by machine.”

“Filipino food is not too spicy, but just right,” she said. “This community loves to try any kind of ethnic food, so that’s why I’m excited to introduce Filipino food.”

“I love cooking, and I have since I was three years old,” Lee said. “I grew up very poor, and I remember having maybe two eggs we’d have to divide between seven of us, cut in pieces so we could survive. I am just so blessed and fortunate here in America, and now I can help my family in the Philippines.”

Lee has shown her love for the community in ways besides cooking and donating. In 2021, she spent thirteen hours driving around dressed as the Easter Bunny, giving out baskets and candy and greeting children. She also dressed up as a variety of characters early in the pandemic and visited chil- dren outside their homes in character to help them celebrate their birthdays.

“I love this community, and it has great people who help each other and who have helped me,” Lee said.

She said that many people have asked when she will be opening and explained that she is in the final stages of getting all of her certification and paperwork completed. She also expressed appreciation for the town officials who have assisted her through the process.

“They have helped me a lot,” Lee said.

Lee hopes to very soon announce the date for her grand opening, so be sure to visit her Facebook page, “A Taste of the Philippines LLC,” for news.

“I put my time and my love into this community,” Lee said.