Abstract
Hawaii is the most Asian state in the United States of America. The majority of its Asian population is composed of the Filipinos and the Japanese due to their migration history. Since tourism is the number one industry in Hawaii and that the majority of the tourists are from Asia, Asian food is part of the gastronomical space in the archipelago. This paper presents a study on the Asian cuisine and the Filipino food in the Big Island of Hawaii particularly in the city of Hilo. As an interdisciplinary study, this paper analyses the Asian food by using the approaches from the humanities and the social sciences. It aims to provide an analysis of Asian cuisine in Hawaii with a focus on Filipino food and the Filipinos, particularly the young Filipino Americans who are heritage learners. This study makes use of ethnography, experiential approach, and heritage studies to find out the state of Filipino food, and the cultural identity of the young Filipino Americans in Hawaii. Findings show that the majority of the Asian cuisine in Hawaii is represented by the Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Indians. Filipino food is mostly confined to the home, and it functions as a marker of loyalty, allegiance, and solidarity for the young Filipino Americans, thereby establishing their Filipino cultural identity. Keywords: Filipino cuisine, heritage learners, Filipinos in Hawaii, migration, Asian food
Highlights
For people who love to adventure, tour, and travel, the mention of Hawaii conjures the concept of paradise, swaying palm trees, white sand beaches, hula dancers, bright blue skies, and harmonious people living together
This paper presents a study on the Asian cuisine and the Filipino food in the Big Island of Hawaii in the city of Hilo
Highlighting the case of Filipino cuisine, this paper attempts to answer these questions: (1) How does Asian food fare in the Big Island? (2) Where is the locus of the Filipino food in the Big Island? (3) How do young Filipino Americans relate themselves to their culinary heritage?
Summary
For people who love to adventure, tour, and travel, the mention of Hawaii conjures the concept of paradise, swaying palm trees, white sand beaches, hula dancers, bright blue skies, and harmonious people living together. Everyone can see that hotels, parks, malls, bars, spas, shops, boutique stores, service centers, markets, and restaurants dot every major location in the cities and towns of the State of Hawaii Many of these facilities and establishments are just a few meters away from the beaches where tourists swarm, jet ski, snorkel, surf, swim, paddle, or laze under the tropical sun. Solidarity, and identity in the respective Asian communities These cuisines enter the market and the consciousness of the residents of Hawaii through the presence of the numerous restaurants, linguistic landscape, social media, websites, food deliveries, catering services, food trucks, and family gatherings.
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