Not only is she embarrassed to be back in her hometown after working so hard to get away from it, but she’s also trying to help her aunt (tita) and grandma (lola) with their restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, which is beloved but financially struggling. Since she’s returned to her hometown of Shady Palms, Illinois after a disastrous break up with her fiancé, Lila may no longer need Filipino food to remind her of her physical home, but she could definitely use the comfort it brings.

Like for Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast), the author of CRYING IN H MART, cultural food is a deep source of comfort to Lila - whether she’s making it herself or eating it, it’s practically its own language, grounding her and re-connecting her with her roots and flooding her with feelings of family, home, and safety. This care and attention made clear that, to our protagonist, Lila Macapagal, Filipino food is more than just sustenance.

(I may have come to find out who committed the murder, but I left with a recipe for ube crinkle cookies.) I bring up Manansala’s food writing because it was one of my favorite aspects of this book - I had numerous issues with the plot and mystery itself, but the way she writes about dishes like almondigas and mamón was truly stunning, with entire lines dedicated to describing a food’s appearance, scent, texture, and taste. Mansala’s food writing was so evocative and immersive that the smell of a Filipino bakery never left my mind as I read. Have you ever been to a Filipino bakery? If you have, you know that they, not Disneyland, deserve to be named “The Happiest Place(s) on Earth” - the sweet smell of freshly-made pandesal, little towers of hopia, and bright splashes of purple in various ube desserts are almost unmatched in their ability to bring me comfort and joy.ĭespite ARSENIC AND ADOBO being a murder-mystery, with dead bodies and vicious attacks galore, Mia P.

When someone rejected her food, they were really rejecting her heart.”

Food was how she found her place in the world. “In typical Filipino fashion, my aunt expressed her love not through words of encouragement or affectionate embraces, but through food.

Arsenic and adobo barnes and noble