We're No. 1 !!!

I've written about Anthony Bourdain before and he remains one of my favorite people, in general. Now, with the airing of his episode of No Reservations shot in my home country of the Philippines, he's given me another reason to love him even more.

Bourdain has been an unabashed lover of pork, a meat that suffers from a bum rap, in my opinion. And, in his blog, he has placed our roast pork dish, lechon, as the best pork he's ever had. That's no small thing. He's a classically trained chef and has eaten pretty much everywhere (this time, no exaggeration. It's what he does for a living now). For him to say that this wacky collection of islands harbors something that deserves a superlative like best (in the world!) is something that makes me really proud to be a Filipino.

I'm also thrilled because I was able to actually eat that exact same lechon on a different occasion. (Thanks once more to MarketMan, who created that porky tour de force) And it was incredible, no exaggeration.

Need I say more?

Onto the episode itself...

Some have commented that the episode itself is rather dull, with a lack of the normal wackiness that accompanies Bourdain on his travels. I think it just reflects an experience that most Filipinos can identify with, that of just relaxing and letting things flow. People complain that the beaches were missing, as were the more cosmopolitan sections of the country. Yes, they're nice, but so were the parts of the Philippines they showed. If anything, we saw the Philippines that most people outside of the country don't often see. And if it's a little slow, fine, but maybe it's also a little more sincere, since we don't spend our daily lives dancing for joy on the street or traipsing around in swimsuits in front of a beautiful beach (though we do, sometimes).

The easy going episode told me something that we Filipinos should realize. We really shouldn't be trying so hard to impress people. We're impressive already, we just have to believe that we are.

I liked the episode. It was very...Filipino of them.