Philippine Independence Day Celebration and Philippine Food Festival 2010 in Tokyo
Filipino chef Mr. Him Uy de Baron with Ambassador Domingo Siazon Jr. and Madame Kay Siazon.
Tokyo, 11 June 2010. The Philippine Embassy, in cooperation with the ASEAN-Japan Centre, celebrated the 112th Anniversary of Philippine Independence and Philippine Food Festival 2010 at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo on 10 June 2010.
In his Independence Day speech, Ambassador Domingo L. Siazon, Jr. noted that the Philippines successfully completed the first automated national and local elections last month, resulting in the proclamation on 9 June of Senator Benigno Aquino III and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay as the President-elect and Vice President-elect, respectively, of the Philippines.
Ambassador Siazon said that with Japan’s hosting of the APEC Summit in November, President Aquino will have the opportunity to visit this country and to further strengthen the close economic ties that have been established with the entry into force of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) and the ASEAN-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEPA).
The Ambassador also welcomed guests to the Philippine Food Festival 2010, where they were able to sample an array of dishes prepared by a young and talented Filipino chef, Mr. Him Uy de Baron, who works for the Travel Café Philippines in Makati City. Guests had the opportunity to try Filipinos dishes such as lechon (roast pig), caldereta (beef in a tomato-based stew), bangus (milk fish), kilawin (vinegar-cured fish) as well as Philippine fruits, fruit juices and desserts.
While enjoying Philippine cuisine, guests listened to the Ryoma Quartet, whose members use a combination of violins and traditional Japanese musical instruments to produce a unique style of music. The Ryoma Quartet played their original compositions and the famous Philippines love song “Dahil sa Iyo” in honor of the occasion.
The Food Festival kicked off the Philippine Food Fair at Hotel Okura’s Terrace Restaurant, where lunch and dinner sets featuring Filipino dishes are available daily from 11 to 17 June 2010.
