Eat!

Nineteen days before Christmas and we're pretty sure you're stressing over the meals you plan to make for your family. Well, stress no more as starting with this issue and the whole of December, our PF culinary correspondent/cookbook author Elizabeth Ann Quirino will share with you recipes she chose for proper holiday meals. This issue, she offers Estofado de Vaca, Lobster Thermidor and Almond Jelly with Lychees for The Happy Home Cook.

Ms. Quirino also writes about the successful culinary tour of Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, owners of Purple Yam in Brooklyn and Manila, in "Savoring Hidden Flavors of the Philippine Kitchen." 

Cape Town, South Africa, despite its storied legacy of apartheid, remains a favorite tourist destination. But did you know that in Kalk Bay, one of the city's picturesque suburb, some 80% of the original fishing families are descended from Filipinos? Former Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. tells us the story of how Filipinos landed in Cape Town sometime in the 1860s in "Filipinos in Cape Town -- A Valuable Presence Since the 19th Century."

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo asks the question, "Will the Philippine Jeepney Soon Be Extinct?" as plans for a more modern, safer and more environmentally friendly transport system are about to be implemented.

Our In The Know links this week covers a variety of interesting topics you will want to bookmark: 

An Investment Boom in Philippines Leaves Neighbors in the Dust
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/an-investment-boom-in-philippines-leaves-neighbors-in-the-dust

14 Amazing Filipina Heroines You Don't Know But Should
http://www.filipiknow.net/greatest-filipina-heroines/

The Desirability of Storytellers
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/12/the-origins-of-storytelling/547502/

Young businessman reveals rivers of success bridged by enthusiasm
http://businessmirror.com.ph/young-businessman-reveals-rivers-of-success-bridged-by-enthusiasm/

For our video of the week, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presents Frank Chi's film which was inspired by Carlos Bulosan's "America Is In Heart."