LECHON

Multicultural Dinner at Alexandra Hills (Redlands): A Mouth-watering Experience

One of the things that get me excited is FREE FOOD!I have been eating free food every year since 2011.  It all started 26th February 2011 at the hall of St. Anthony’s Catholic Parish. The parish priest Father Emmanuel Aguiyi and parishioners started to organize a multicultural dinner.

It created an opportunity for all the church goers and their friends to cook and introduce their national dish for all the attendees to try. It was a huge success and it became a part of the social activity of the parish every year.

two cute boys attending a Multicultural Dinner
First Multicultural Dinner
26 February 2011

Recently, my friends and I attended the multicultural dinner that was held at the Hall of  St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School. More than 20 flags of different countries were represented.

multicultural dinner invitation
Facebook page of the parish

As usual, the wait was killing me because I was so excited to taste what the participants had to offer! I am a food lover at heart. My share for the night was pastillas de leche.

daysofmum.com pastillas photo
my sweet pastillas ( Philippines )

I asked for permission from the early comers to take a photo of the food they brought. Some brought a savory dish while others chose sweets. My apologies for not being able to take photos of ALL the food.  I was busy tasting and coming back for seconds to the food I discovered to be really good! Sad to say, the other dishes I wanted to try were gone in minutes because they were a huge hit! I hope next time, I will have the chance to eat it!

In no particular order, here are the photos of the diverse cuisine I took before I started stuffing my mouth with food I cannot even spell or pronounce.

Maltese Bread Pudding
Maltese Bread Pudding ( Malta) 

According to Sylvia, Maltese Bread Pudding is a mixture of bread, eggs,  flour, butter, nuts and other ingredients.

Chicken Rendang
Chicken Rendang ( Malaysia)

According to Felicia, Chicken Rendang is chicken with coconut milk, toasted desiccated coconut and a paste of mixed spices ( ginger, galangal, turmeric leaves, lemon grass, garlic and shallots).

Pastiso
Pastitsio ( Greece)

According to Anna, Pastitsio‘s main ingredients are macaroni, minced meat and white sauce.

Tiramisu
Tiramisu ( Italy)

According to Annita, Tiramisu has cream and cake in it. It is alcohol and coffee flavored.

Sri Lankan cuisine
Sri Lankan cuisine

According to Jennifer, she prepared Vegetable rice, Spicy Yellow rice ( right) and Chicken curry.

Indian food
Indian food

The food nearest to the flag is Mutton Gravy ( Goat meat ) while the food with eggs on top is Biryani.

Here are the other photos.  I could not comment on the food because either the person that made it was not available to be interviewed or the program was about to start.

Pavlova
Pavlova and other sweets ( Australia)
Muesli ( Australia)
 Gyoza - Japanese dumplings
Gyoza ( Japan)
sweet food from Brazil ( don’t know the name )
dessert from Portugal
chocolate dessert ( Portugal)

Furthermore, my friends are excellent cooks! Here are the photos of the Filipino cuisine.  The church goers’ table representing the Philippines was loaded with food you definitely want to try. Believe me. I wasn’t able to take a photo of ADOBO but it was a hit as well.

The food that many people took photos of is LECHON… ( roasted pig )

LECHON
Lechon ( Philippines ) by Eddie
Pork Barbecue by Nikki
Sisig by Ronald ( almost gone )
Pan de Coco by Gina
Dinuguan
Dinuguan by Nelia
Puto by Fernan ( The partner of Puto is Dinuguan.)
Maja Blanca
Maja Blanca by Dulce
Pork and Prawn Spring Rolls by Pete

I just want to make something clear about the multicultural dinner. It is not a guarantee that the food you see in this blog will be served each year.

Every year, the cooks prepare a different dish. Similarly, one family could be absent. We will miss their presence and their mouth-watering dish.  I prepared pastillas this year because one of the ingredients of cassava cake (my share for many years ) was out of stock.

Everybody had a marvelous time. It was a chance to catch up with friends while dining. Moreover, there was entertainment after the feast. There were live performances from theatre-like singing to cultural dances, singing in their own language to guitar playing. I was able to capture only 3 performances. I needed to drink tea and get some fresh air outside. Inhale.. Exhale…

singing teens
impressive voices
cultural dance
cultural dance
Filipino girls singing
singing Filipino and English songs 

The event was well-attended. Kudos to the organizers of the multicultural dinner! Thank you to all the participants that brought delicious food.

Also, thank you to all that helped set up the hall before hand and the clean-up after the dinner.

Please do not be absent next year. Share your national dish with us. Everyone is welcome.

lady with lechon
See you next year!