Provincial Coconut Concoction: Siomai and Friends Fries [chp 2]

Impressions of an American visiting the Philippines… A food van with big speakers woke me just before seven a.m., blasting an American pop song that I vaguely recognized from the 1990s. Kind of frat-boy spring break-feeling, like the band Sugar Ray, but not them… maybe. The van driver was selling fresh breads of all kinds,…

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Negro! Negro!: Siomai and Friends Fries [chp 1]

I was (am) an American of African descent, a visitor to the Philippines, Cebu area, such as Toledo City. The Philippines as a nation is famous for friendly people. When I arrived, I found out that the hospitality was more than just a rumor, and mostly genuine. Even in the United States, where skin color…