It all started in 2015.

It all started in 2015. I just came back from my father's funeral, still very deeply emotional. Then a lot of memories started coming back to me in a much clearer way. A lot of deep memories; about who my parents truly were to me, their influences in me, the many moments of sharing their knowledge about cooking with me, and the experiences of our Taste of Manila restaurant venture in 2004. Revelations, clarity and light bulb moments would arise. But also new hope and opportunities. And the idea of redemption with a restaurant idea started popping up. It came with a name: Lumpia Mania.

I thought about opening a restaurant again. But this time, it'll all be my own decisions. If it fails, it's on me. If it succeeds, it's on me. I felt like I was zero for one in restaurants, and if I can make one succeed, at least I'd be batting five hundred. So I wrote a lot of ideas one night, and I decided that it was going to be "lumpia" that will bring Filipino to mainstream America. I also wrote down my ideas about the logo, which I will share in another story.  Then I remember thinking about business models. 

I remember how my parents used to take us to Panda Inn Restaurant in Glendale, CA back in the 80's. They also had one in Pasadena. Everyone raved about their Orange Chicken, which was one of the three main dishes we used to order back then. The Panda Beef, Orange Chicken, and The Sweet and Pungent Shrimp. Everyone raved about their Orange Chicken, but my favorite was their Panda Beef. (If you're ever out in Pasadena, they are still there, on Foothill Blvd., and they still serve Panda Beef.) But then they opened Panda Express. One. After another. Then another. And then hundreds more. All because of the Orange Chicken. To me, it was really very awe-inspiring. 

So this business model is what I envision for Lumpia Mania. But reversed, and with a twist. I want to open as many Lumpia Mania fast food restaurants everywhere. But not like Panda Express, where they have 20 dishes on a clear window. More like a Yoshinoya/Beef Bowl system, where you order, and the food is put together at that moment. And the customer's name is called, a la Starbucks. I like that personal touch. Then once we have twenty plus locations, we will look to open a sit down,  fancy yet comfortable, family type, great service restaurant, called Lumpia Manila. Same logo, but with an L added to Mania. And after a few of these are established, we will open one in Manila. On Roxas Blvd near Makati and The Mall of Asia. With dishes I remember my parents made for me and my siblings, back in 1977, when I first migrated to America. By that time, hopefully within the next three years, we will have quite a few of these dishes established; Kare Kare, Beef Kaldereta, Palabok, Pancit, Bistek, and of course Dynamite Lumpias, Lumpia Burgers, and others. Just like what Panda Express/Panda Inn did.  

All these ideas, written down back in 2015. And now, to make it all happen. It's all very exciting.   

Lumpia Mania's Mission Statement from our Business Plan reads:  To bring "lumpia" and Filipino food into the American consciousness and mainstream. I've been mulling around this idea way back since 2015, when I first put the concepts and ideas down for Lumpia Mania. I remember watching both Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods and Michael Bourdain of No Reservations back then, mention separately in their shows, that "Filipino food is the next big thing". I remember thinking then that it won't happen anytime soon. Why? Because of two reasons. One,  most Filipino restaurants cater mostly only to Filipinos. (Even Jolibees) And two, whenever you go to any Filipino eatery of any kind, they serve so many various dishes that it's hard to focus on one or two dishes. And these two reasons are why I started Lumpia Mania. The only way Filipino food will become mainstream in America is if we cater to all  Americans and let them love it the way they will love it. To do that, we have to "Americanize" some of our dishes. Maybe not some. Maybe just a couple, or even just one. Back in 2015, I remember thinking that it was going to be lumpia that Americans will accept like they do tacos, or pizza, or hotdogs, or hamburgers. It was never going to be pancit or adobo, which are the two most popular Filipino foods to most Americans. Lumpia, in my opinion, has surpassed their popularity. Why Lumpia? Because lumpia is a finger food, it's convenient and easy to eat, the sauces are tasty, and most of all, it's fried. Everyone loves fried foods. And most non-Filipinos who've gone to their Filipino friends' parties always remember the lumpias. I just wished they tasted lumpias like those made in the 1970s, when they were made with a lot more meat and they came in 8 inch dynamite-sized perfection. But yes, the food that most Americans will identify with when it comes to Filipino food is lumpia. It's already reached that point these days, and it's just a matter of time a Filipino restaurant chain, with a great name like Lumpia Mania, becomes a ubiquitous, nationwide, American restaurant.  Wink-wink.  

How does a food become American mainstream and in our American consciousness? I don't exactly know the histories of a lot of the Americanized foods I mentioned above, but I do have an experience to share that answers the question for one type of food. Here it goes..

Back in 1985, the year I graduated from high school, a friend of mine, John, asked me if I ever ate sushi before. I told him no, but I knew then that sushi meant raw fish. I was game, so he took me to a popular sushi restaurant in Japanese Town near Downtown Los Angeles. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. We ate so much sushi that the bill came out to more than $70.00.  I remember very vividly when we looked through the menu, that about 95% of the items on it were sashimi, which are "raw fish" sushi. And the other 5%? A raving, growing-in-popularity Japanese sushi called The California Roll. Remember, back in 1985, Japanese food was not in all of America's consciousness yet. But fast forward about 20  years later, there are Japanese restaurants wherever you go. The difference? There are now about 25 different versions of the California Roll in their menus, and the sashimi? It's still in the menu, but most Americans order the various versions of the California Roll about 95% of the time. I can't remember the last time I ate Japanese food for the sashimi, to be honest. 

So when it comes to mainstream American foods, the restaurants that are in my and my family's list to go eat out to, are: hamburgers and hotdogs (American/German), pizza and pasta (Italian), Chinese (Chinese food is mainstream all over the world) tacos (Mexican), Korean Bbq, Pho (Vietnam), Thai food, and of course Sushi (Japan), which again, is really mostly the different versions of The California Roll. Personally, I am not your typical American, and for a couple of reasons. One is that I am full-blooded Filipino, so in my list of restaurants to go to every so often, usually on weekends, is Manila Sunset, Max's Chicken, and few other local Filipino restaurants. Another reason is that where I live, in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles, there are an abundance of Asian restaurants to choose from. A lot are Chinese restaurants, because this area has a huge Chinese population, and for those who don't know, Chinese foods are incredibly diverse. From the ones I'm familiar with; Hong Kong Style, Cantonese, Szechuan, Dim Sum, Dumplings, Noodle Houses, and a few others. I would have to add, Panda Express is probably the most mainstream Chinese food in America. It's all so relative, but if you live in my area, you'll probably agree with me with my conclusions. 

Another interesting example is the Dodger Dog. To me, it's basically someone saying, we should put two hotdogs in a bun, so more Americans will buy it." Then someone suggested, "It will be impossible to do that, why not just make hotdogs twice the length of a regular one?" And voila, the Dodger Dogs are the best hotdogs in America. I know Americans love oversized items, so that is one formula to become mainstream. 

The irony is, the only one dish we are trying to Americanize at Lumpia Mania is the Lumpia Burger. The rest of our short menu: the Dynamite Lumpia, the Lumpia Fresh, the LM Flan, the LM Fruit Salad, and the Sweet Jelly Drink, are all recipes from my parents that go back to 1977. Our Dynamite Lumpia, with its dynamite-sized and meaty attribute, was already Americanized from the beginning. Somewhere in time it lost its way and became tiny and dry. I'm just bringing it back to its original form. Same with the LM Flan. Most flan you taste these days are bland and almost tasteless. Ours is creamy and rich, like it should be.  

When I drew this plan for the logo back in 2015, I didn't think it would come out so good. I remember not having to change much from the original draft I got. I wanted the font to match the Dodgers and Disneyland fonts. What the graphics guy I went with said that the font he used was a very rare one from a program he used at the time. I loved the font because it is not an easily recognizable font. Then I sent him the US Flag to match the star, and the Philippine flag to match the yellow star on the dotted I's. And the surfboard shape, it was perfect. I've started a few businesses over the years, and Lumpia Mania by far is my favorite logo.  

Life comes full circle sometimes, both perfectly and poetically. On Facebook today, a memory popped up of a meme that has a picture of a coffee mug with the words “Philippines Starbucks Coffee” on it, next to a plate of pandesal, and the block letters read above and below the picture: IF YOU EVER WOKE UP TO THIS IN THE MORNING.. YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS AWESOME. 

Pandesal brings back so many childhood memories for me. As a young child growing up in Manila, even before I was in school, my parents would send me to get the pandesal, almost every morning. It was a different time then. I would walk about three or four blocks to the nearby bakery, around six am, just when everyone was about to wake up, and I would buy a bag of pandesal, about a dozen inside. In the beginning, when I got to the bakery, I would watch all kinds of people ordering various kinds of bread and pastries. I loved watching all the people order various things, but most were there early for the pandesal. After going there many times, the workers started to recognize me, and since I was so young, they would always take care of me first. Two very specific memories are etched into my brain. I remember there was a time when my parents threatened to not send me to buy the pandesal anymore. Why? Because I kept eating them before I got home. I remember telling my mother once, that I don’t remember eating that much walking home. So one time they counted how much there was left, and out of the dozen I bought, I got home with just six in the bag. I had to stop eating them, since they seriously warned me they would let my older brother get them. No way! So I stopped. 

Another vivid memory was the challenge of buying pandesal when it was raining. In the Philippines, there are only two seasons, wet and dry. Six months of the year, it’s hot and humid, and the other six months, tropical rains. Sometimes it would rain day and night, and for days the streets never get dry because of the rain. Quite a few times it would rain on my way to the bakery, and by the time I got home, the entire bag would be completely wet, and the morning breakfast ritual was ruined. The morning breakfast ritual, I should reveal, consisted of just the pandesal, butter, and instant coffee. I still remember my parents allowing me to drink coffee at about five years old. Probably because the ritual was more important than anything else. And I never really questioned drinking coffee at that early age, not until I got older. Like I mentioned before, it was a different time, in my opinion a better time. Sometimes my aunt would bring these white cheese wrapped in banana leaves, called “kesong puti”, and we would eat the pandesal with that. I miss that cheese a lot. Sometimes my parents would cook Filipino sausages called Longanisa, with eggs, and the full breakfast was always amazing. But in most cases, the pandesal, butter, and instant coffee with sugar and Coffee Mate, was all we needed for the morning ritual. Yes, instant coffee. I never knew any other coffee existed until I got to America. And even in those early days in the late 70’s, my parents always served instant coffee with sugar and Coffee Mate. To this day, I still do this morning breakfast ritual. But the pandesal isn’t fresh from the bakery like it was in my childhood.  

Back to the meme, it’s such a wild coincidence, because I have that exact same mug in my kitchen cabinet. I’ve had it since 2008. My niece, who worked at a Starbucks in Manila, gave it to me as a going away present when I visited, and I’ve used it as part of my morning ritual ever since. How life comes full circle sometimes. 

But this story isn’t about just the same mug that just happens to be in that meme from six years ago. This story is about a certain kind of pandesal, and my friend Mike Zuniga. You see, for the last seven years, since 2015, when I first thought of the concept of Lumpia Mania, I‘ve tried many different pandesals for my Lumpia Burger. And ever since then, I’ve favored a particular brand called Golden Baker pandesal. I’ve tried many others, but to me, Golden Baker was the best. They sell a dozen on a clear plastic bag at the local Asian market as well as Seafood City, a popular Filipino market chain. When we started doing popups for Lumpia Mania a couple of months ago, I had to finally decide on where to buy pandesal in bulk. I researched the Golden Baker company, but the phone number on the bag never answers, and the address is some empty strip mall office in Downey, CA. I didn’t want to buy directly at these markets, because not only are they retail price, but they also never have enough. About two months ago, I was inviting various people to a Lumpia Mania Tasting Party at my house. I still wasn’t sure which pandesal I was going to use for our Lumpia Burgers. I came across Mike Zuniga’s cell number, and I texted him. The last time I spoke with Mike was about five years ago, when we met him at his friend’s bakery near Koreatown in Los Angeles. Even though it’s been years since I personally spoke with Mike, I always knew what he was up to through his Facebook posts. It’s an amazing thing, social media. I’ve always joked that “on social media, you can reunite with someone from high school after thirty-five years, and suddenly, you’ll know everything they’re doing and every food they’re eating.” Just wacky stuff. 

So Mike finally calls me back, just about a week before the tasting party, and we quickly catch up on the phone, and then he tells me that he now owns and runs his own bakery! And obviously my next question was, do you make pandesal? “Yes, I do”, was his answer. Suddenly I felt like there was some sort of providence happening with Lumpia Mania. The next day, I drove straight to Mike’s bakery, called Max and Lucy’s Bakery in North Hills, CA, with my Lumpia Mania partner, Frank. We taste Mike’s pandesal, and look at each other in amazement. After one bite I thought, “this had to be providence.” This pandesal is so good, light and fluffy, it would go perfectly with my Lumpia Burger! So we order them in bulk and Mike ended up going to our tasting party the following week. It was really great to catch up with Mike. 

So here’s the grander full circle part. I’ve known Mike since 2000, when I got closely involved with the local Catholic Church in Alhambra, CA, as a parishioner and eventually a Confirmation teacher. Mike was the lead cantor there. He has an amazing voice and I often wondered why he never sang professionally. Of all the people I’ve ever come across, Mike is one of the most genuine, and most generous people ever. The biggest issue we have is that he never wants me to pay full price for the pandesal that I order from him. So the argument always ensues whenever it’s paying time. To me, that is always the best kind of argument anyone will ever have. It’s an argument out of love. And Mike has plenty of it. If you constantly have that argument with a friend, never let him or her go. 

Life perfectly and poetically comes full circle because when I opened a restaurant back in 2004, called Taste of Manila in Alhambra, CA, which I co-founded with my sister and a close friend, I hired Mike as one of the managers. He was the same great guy then, and he is the same great guy now. 

There’s a line in the movie “Field of Dreams” that goes, “How can you not get romantic about baseball?”

Now I'll say, “How can you not get romantic about food?”