You Are What You Eat?

In this case, I'd have to say yes. I'm a Filipino.

It's hard for me to really compare and contrast dinners between mine and my group of friends, since we're all different. The only thing I can really think of when it comes to food is just how it tastes. We all practically use the same ingredients, same produce, same whatever. It's just the way how it's cooked is what makes it different.

When it comes to eating dinner with the family, that's when the difference really shows between other families. Breakfast and dinner is a big deal when it comes to my dad. He always wants everyone at the table as soon as the food is finished. His reason being is that he hates it when the food has to wait for other people when someone took a lot of time making a meal.

Other than breakfast and dinner, there is a traditional.. I don't know if I should even call it a dish, but it's called Lechon.

(Don't worry, that's not me)

What it basically is is a slow roasted pig. Almost every Filipino social gathering will have this roasted pig sitting in the middle of a table. It may sound pretty ordinary, but there's just something about it that makes it taste good. On Anthony Bourdain's show "No reservations" he even went out of the way to say that lechon is by far the best pork that he's ever had.

But looking at food as a whole, food is very important to the Filipino culture. Going to a Filipino party, you will always be pressured to have something to eat, regardless if you ate prior to the party. If you don't either, you'll be missing out on the dishes that almost every guest contributed and you'll be making a lot of people upset.

Food is a huge thing when it comes to my ethnicity's tradition. Although there are many contemporary variations of our food, it's still the traditional Filipino food, and it's something that can't be easily changed.