"At work, I would eat Filipino food for lunch. My workmates would always ask why Filipino isn't as well-known like other cuisines. I'd try and share my food with them, but they would be hesitant to taste. This made me want to promote Filipino food even more."
For Melburnian Catherine Pascua and her husband Rafael, promotion of their own cuisine meant joining the multicultural Dandenong Market with a stall selling unfamiliar Filipino street food.
"It was frightening"
The couple established Si-KAT (a play on words for 'Si Kat', meaning 'It's Kat [Catherine's nickname]' and 'sikat', meaning 'popular') Pinoy Eatscetera in 2017 with the initial intention of having a pop-up market stall while still holding on to their full-time jobs.
Husband-and-wife team, Rafael and Catherine Pascua Source: Supplied
"I was working three jobs and Rafael was working full-time; but when I realised the potential of the stall and we were offered a full-time spot at the market, I quit my two jobs and only continued working as a technician. Starting the business was frightening because we knew a lot of Filipino food businesses that closed shop, but our love for Filipino food was stronger than our fear of failure," she shares.
While their love for the cuisine pushed them forward, Catherine admits that their first six months of operations were very trying. They had difficulty catering to a crowd that was unfamiliar with Filipino food and to a Muslim-majority market that didn't consume pork.
"It was so hard to introduce Filipino food to non-Filipinos. Of course they would be hesitant to spend $10 on food they weren't sure they would like, so we gave out free samples in the beginning," she shares, adding, "We started with 12 kilos of meat per week - that was it."
Sweet, salty and slightly spicy Filipino-style barbecue Source: Supplied
From the weekly 12 kilos of meat, their business grew a customer base of more non-Filipinos than Filipinos.
"We get support from the Filipino community, but the Dandenong Market caters to different nationalities. People here are adventurous so they want to try Filipino food," she says, adding, "Although Muslims in our area first got turned off from our stall because we sold pork, some of our regular customers now include Muslims who buy chicken arroz caldo (rice porridge) and chicken barbecue from us."
Both Filipinos and non-Filipinos patronise Catherine and Rafael's food. Source: Supplied
Pinoy street food favourites
Along with their chicken arroz caldo and chicken barbecue, Catherine and Rafael debuted their other offerings at the Dandenong Market for the Full Moon Festival and the Dandenong Market World Fare, including pancit (noodles), iskrambol (Filipino for 'scramble'; shaved ice with marshmallows, chocolate syrup and sprinkles) and silog (various breakfast meats such as longganisa served with garlic rice and egg) dishes.
"Our queue reached the last marquee during the festival and we were sold out in 3.5 hours," Catherine says, adding, "Also, our ube champorado (a twist on the usual chocolate champorado, a sweet rice porridge) with espada fish won as the most unique dish at the World Fare. We started getting recognised even by local papers."
The recognition has come as a surprise for Catherine who admits to not knowing a lot about food until she studied Hospitality in Cookery and worked as a line cook and Food and Beverage Senior Supervisor.
From the sweet to the sour - Iskrambol and green mango on a stick have always been a huge hit. Source: Supplied
The famous ube champorado with espada fish featured during the Dandenong Market World Fare. Source: Supplied
"I know the ins and outs of running a food business because of my previous work, but Rafael was the one who grew up really knowing a lot of Filipino dishes because his dad was a chef back home," she shares, laughing, "I'm proud to say that Rafael cooks really well - that's why I gained so much weight when we got married!"
At the Dandenong Market Source: Supplied
Several kilos and two years of selling Filipino dishes later, Catherine shares that the best lesson they've learned when it comes to creating a Filipino food business is having a strong belief in the cuisine.
"You don't need to give Filipino food a twist to impress other nationalities. Be straightforward with it. Cook it the Filipino way and they'll embrace it as much as we Filipinos do."
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