#56 Familial Acceptance & Self-Love with Mike Talplacido

Episode Transcript
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#55 Bibingka Mama (Audio)

Bibingka Mama (00:07):
[00:00:00] My mom was born in the Philippines, my dad was born in Hawaii, but he, you know, went back and forth to the Philippines a lot. So I'm still considered as like first generation, but it's just sad to me that I can't speak Filipino because I wish I learned my language. I wish I learned more of like my Filipino culture early on, but I'm glad that I've been doing it now.
I'm glad that I'm like, You know, really honing in on it now because I can express my culture in a way where as an adult, I don't think I can do this as a kid, like you have, you're more brave, you have more passion and can fight for it more to where as in like, As a kid, you kind of get defeated and all these other kids are making fun of you or calling you weird and stuff like that, where you're just like, well, I guess I am weird.
And what am I supposed to do about that? You know, like, how do I navigate making friends and being a part of this white world? Whenever you do something [00:01:00] that's for your culture, of your culture, you're labeled as like, oh, strange.

Steven (00:10):
Hi, everyone. My name is Steven Wakabayashi, and you're listening to Yellow Glitter, perspectives from creation creatives and change makers making impact. This episode, we're joined by an extra special guest, Bibingka Mama. Bibingka Mama, pronounced she, her, is a Pinay drag queen, baker, songwriter, and entertainer serving Filipino cuisine with a funky twist.
Their signature dish, bibingka, is an ooey, gooey, coconutty Filipino rice cake dessert. After perfecting the family recipe, Bibingka Mama realized that most Americans weren't familiar with Bibingka and decided to begin building an empire to share the [00:02:00] Filipino culture through food and entertainment. They began selling these delicious rice cake from their family recipe at local New York pop-ups.
Bibingka's goal is to share the Filipino culture and food with the world. Welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me.

Steven (00:14):
Excited to have you and for us, we had met at an event over your Filipino food and I got to try some of your bibingka. You were actually, for listeners, Bibingka was so sweet and was like, here, try this.
And you were like, no, just take it. And I was like, no, we're going to, we're going to give you some cash for it. But I tried it. It was delicious. It was good. And I want to start off just what got you into food and cooking and making all of this?

Drag got me into food, which I think it's so funny. Because I never expected, you know, to be doing this type [00:03:00] of work.
Yeah, I went to school to be a fashion designer. I was in design for over a decade, and I just never thought I would be cooking. But it's something that, you know, I do enjoy for the most part. Like, I think I love seeing people's reactions about, you know, when they enjoy the food, when they foodgasm. I'm just like, Oh, I did that.
I think it's funny to say that drag brought me here. You know, the passion for sharing my Filipino culture and educating, you know, my Filipino culture. It keeps me going with the food events and stuff.

Steven (00:19):
Yeah. And what part of Filipino culture in particular do you feel like? Especially in even like America or New York City that we're missing.

Definitely, there's not enough food here. And I think for, in a lot of ways for you to really know a culture, it's through the food and through the [00:04:00] food is the hospitality, the caring, the love and with Filipino food, you feel all of that. Cause a lot of it is a sharing culture. It's like you come together, food brings you together.
And it's this, beautiful, like, sharing hospitality type of vibe that you get in the Filipino culture. And I feel like Brooklyn just needs more of, I would say, Queens, you know, Queens has a lot of Filipino food. Manhattan, there's some events in Filipino, Filipino Fest is happening, Ube Fest is happening, which is great because it's creating this food culture moment, or movement, and I just think we need more of it, and more people need to know what Filipino food is, you know, we should be able to, you know, order it on Uber Eats, honestly, and we can't, I mean, we can, but it's like, in Queens, it's still a far, far trek.

Steven (00:22):
Yeah, what are some misconceptions around Filipino food? [00:05:00]

Maybe the flavors. I think not a lot of people know what the flavor profile is like. And I think, you know, once people really know and understand that, they love it. It's very different to Thai food, I would say, and very different to like, very similar to Indonesian.
So I feel like there's still some similarities there, but there's not even a lot of Indonesian food here. So I think people mistake a lot of Asian cultures and, you know, like, oh, you're having Chinese food. Is it the same as Chinese? You're like, no, it's completely different. You know, it's completely different to Japanese food or Korean food.
So I think there's, you know, an Asian culture in general, there's a lot of misconception on what food is even within the Asian communities. And I, You know, run to a lot of Asians who have never had a bibingka.

Steven (00:26):
Cause you're mentioning to me they confuse bibingka sometimes with other dishes. What is it? So [00:06:00] for our listeners, what exactly is a bibingka?

So bibingka is kind of just like a rice pastry, I want to say. It's even different within the Filipino culture. So the bibingka I create is a royal bibingka, which is not in banana leaf. It's kind of closer to this Hawaiian butter mochi cake rather than a traditional bibingka in Manila would be cooked in a banana leaf.
Maybe it's still used that same rice flour consistency, but they'll put a salted egg in it. Sometimes there's cheese on top. So there's so many different variations of bibingka that Even within the Filipino community, it's like, oh, this is, I've never had this type of bibingka before. I'm like, oh, well, because it's Ilocano. It's an Ilocano version.
So, bibingka in itself is, I think it's kind of just, just a general term for dessert. Like a, like a rice cake dessert, but there's just so many different [00:07:00] types of bibingka. And the banana leaf also changes the flavor profile because it's cooked in it.

Steven (00:30):
So when I had it, it was very similar to mochi that some people may be eating, or even like a mochi, I meets a rice cake.
But I'm just curious, um, what, what is the range? So you're saying there's such a variety of it. What would be, take us through kind of like the range of what a bibingka could even be?

Yeah, I guess it's mostly gonna have that rice texture, that mochi texture. I had like a pre-made box, because I'm also working on my own kits to like, so you can make your own bibingkas at home.
But there was one that I had that was very like, kind of like almost like cornbread. So it's just interesting of what the different regions, how they make their own bibingka. So the bibingka in Manila has more of like a savory, like a [00:08:00] sweet and savory flavor with the salted egg and stuff. So I think with what I've been doing, I've been adding ube into it and I make a vegan version, which is. with banana. So then that kind of tastes like banana bread mochi, but the base is still there. Like that mochi rice cake is still there. So I think that is kind of like the basis of it. Um, but I've even done different flavors like pandan.
So it's like, you can kind of, you know, I've just been playing with Bibingka.
Figuring out new flavors for it and see what I can really bring to the table. For the ube one, I make my own ube paste and I cook it in there. And so it's like an ube bibingka or ube. Even the pronunciation in some of these words, I'm like, am I even saying it right?

Steven (00:36):
Yeah. Well, speaking of bibingkas and even your own drag persona, And for listeners, [00:09:00] you're decked out in this gorgeous outfit, uh, with a headpiece.
And I want to learn about how you even got into drag. What happened? Was there a moment in your life that just catalyzed you to move into the space, do what you're doing?

Drag, I would say kind of just happened to me. Maybe because I've always been sort of extra. And when I would go to parties and events, I would I would love to be in a look and I love to have fun.
I kind of thought about doing burlesque, but I've always was kind of shy about the fact of undressing in front of people or the act of undressing. I know there's an artful way of doing it, but it wasn't until Bubble_T, I don't know if you've heard of Bubble_T, it's a queer collective party production.
They're just amazing artists who put on these events for the Asian community. And because of their events, [00:10:00] I, you know, was able to bring forth the Bibingka-ness, I guess. Just one Halloween, they asked me if I wanted to perform. It was like their Halloween event. And I showed them a video of me, like, just whipping fans around.
I'm like, I'm going to be Katana, like, just whipping these fans. So, yeah, Paul, one of the, um, one of the founders is like, do you want to perform? And I was like, yeah, sure, why not? And I'm like drunk. I was like, it was one night I was drunk. I'm like, yeah, sure, I'll perform. I'll perform for you.

Steven (00:42):
Like, why did I sign up?

Yeah, within that one, I already had a name picked out because like, if I was going to do burlesque, I would be Bibingka because that's my favorite dessert. And I think it's just such a unique cute name that yeah, I even now and I tell people they're like, oh, that's such a beautiful name I'm like, oh wow, I'm like sharing even my name. I'm sharing my Filipino culture with a lot of people.

Steven (00:44):
Yeah

So yeah that Halloween night. I said yeah, I perform I created an Instagram and email and within a week.

Steven (00:46):
Oh, she was [00:11:00] business She's not I need to get a trademark.

Yeah, yeah, seriously. I was like, well, if I'm going to perform, it's going to become a thing.
So then, um, and it was just a great way for me to express my style and personality. I've always been sort of extra, and I think it was a great way for me to be like, let me just show off my extra, my extra side of myself. Um, and it's been fun, like at that one performance, it was like, I blew people away.

Steven (00:49):
Yeah, how was it different? What was that like?

It was fun. It was great because the reaction I got from people and the way I felt afterwards, it's kind of that adrenaline rush where you're just like, this is amazing. I'd do this again. You know, I want to do this again. And I had people come up to me and just like, oh my god, like, Like this was your first time performing.
I'm like, yeah So that reaction itself, I'm just like, oh am I me? Yeah, like should I continue [00:12:00] doing this? But yeah, I did the song Katana by Princess Nokia and I dress as Katana. So it was Katana, performing Katana.

Steven (00:52):
Yeah.

Just blowing people away with my fans.

Steven (00:54):
Yeah. Yeah.

Was a lot of, it was a lot of fun.

Steven (00:56):
And coming out of that, like, what has it been like since then?
How, how long ago was that?

So that was 2017. It was October 2017 and you know, I was working full time so I was just doing it for fun. But the trajectory was so different than like, I was performing a lot more and people, you know, didn't know what the bibingkas were. So I started baking for my shows. And I think that's how it kind of caught on.

Steven (00:59):
You were feeding the audience figuratively and literally.

Literally, yes, yes. They're like, what's a bibingka? I'm like, well, I can't even explain it to you. Cause even if I were to tell you [00:13:00] butter, coconut, caramelly, you need to just taste it because the texture is there. And like, you know, it has like an egg tart flavor.
So I think once I started baking for my shows, I had stickers, I was passing out because people didn't know how to read it or say it because it's spelled so uniquely that people had a hard time pronouncing it. And it just kind of went from there where I was creating this traction where I'm like, well, I'm performing and then I'm feeding you and then I'm like You know, giving you this whole experience and all I have to say is the pandemic changed a lot of that.
I think after the pandemic, I started doing more food work and less performing.

Steven (01:03):
And what was that like with the transition into from 2020 to 2020?

So I kind of thought it was going to be more performing. I was doing like a little bit of commercials, too, like I've done a [00:14:00] commercial.

Steven (01:05):
Yeah, you're hustling.
You're like, no, we're going to like really do this. Yeah. Yeah,

I honestly I even created my entity. So in 2019, right before the pandemic, I incorporated myself because I was like, well, if I'm going to do this, I might as well create a business around it because bibingka is also something that is so uncommon. And you know, if I can create a bake shop and sell baked goods and sell more Filipino goods. Then I think that like, I think that I can like, definitely do something with this. So I was like, you know what, let me create my own entity. Let me see where this goes, even if it's just like part time, even if it's, I can collect a little bit of income through this and we'll see.
But now, you know, I quit my full time job and I'm doing it full time. And really trying to create this foundation of like, where do I want to [00:15:00] go with Bibingka? Because if I can be on TV and I can, you know, do my own shows or have a YouTube and like build on this, I can really, you know, bring this Filipino culture forward and, you know, share with everyone what bibingka is. And, you know, and I think, I've slowed down on the entertainment side, which is like fine for now, but like, we gotta build that foundation first to make sure that we're solid in what we're doing.

Steven (01:09):
Yeah. What was that transition like going from full time work and diving into full time creation?

Was pretty scary because sometimes I don't even know if, you know, like I'm lucky that I have a I guess, a good community that believe in me and knows that I can like, Or like, just enjoy my products that I'm like, you know, I've been stable.[00:16:00]
It's been scary because, you know, I don't have a set income. It's not like even now I'm like, okay, I gotta, I gotta hustle to make sure I can pay my bills. And all these other expenses I need to do and have for, you know, Bibingka. But, you know, my mom still doesn't even know that I quit my job. She doesn't know because I, I think it scares her to like know that I don't have that job security.
I'm like, I don't want her to worry about me, so it's better for me to tell her that I'm still working full time. Um, and it's been a year, it's only been a year, and I have built not only just, you know, Bibingka brand, but I've also kind of branched out into like, even trying to touch into the cannabis brand, because a lot of people know that I'm, you know, a smoker, I'm a stoner.
So I've created edibles using [00:17:00] coconut oil and just finding new infusions using Filipino flavors, still honing in on like the Filipino culture and, you know, using You know, cannabis is like a way for people to like, this, this is like medicine too. Like, I feel better sometimes when I'm on, you know, when I'm on an edible and like, sometimes the workday gets, it's a little bit easier.
So, uh, I have been able to build on the Bibingka brand in some ways where I'm just like, not only am I sharing, you know, doing, you know, regular Filipino food and snacks. But I can also infuse treats and even infuse a meal. I can infuse the bibingkas, which is something that I'm interested in like getting my licensing and stuff for.
Like, I see, like, the potential of all of this and where it can grow into, so I'm like, I just need to do it. I just need to, you know, not [00:18:00] be afraid and just do it.

Steven (01:16):
I mean, it's scary, right? Switching from something that is regular, there's a paycheck that comes in, you just have to check some boxes, make it happen.
And having something that's completely volatile and you kind of get to decide what you're doing in the day, whether it's going to make money or not. It's very, it's scary. It's very vulnerable too. Yeah.

And it's a lot of event based stuff. So it's like, I have to make sure I'm booked for these events. I have to make sure that, you know, and I've been fortunate to where I have found people who will want to work with me.
And I have people selling for me now at different events. So I'd be able to like build a team and, you know, employ my little queer friends.

Steven (01:20):
You are, this is the Bibingka enterprise.

And I'm helping a community [00:19:00] that I feel like, for the most part, they're too afraid to be trans in a workplace, where I'm just like, well, this is a drag queen brand, so I encourage you to dress like a drag queen or drag king, however you feel.
And it's kind of inspiring me to continue because I'm like, helping people at the same time. with, you know, honing in on their own business and knowing how to do business for themselves and for their drag.
So, it's like, okay, I gotta keep on doing this and, you know, it's hard work, too.
Sometimes I look at job listings. Do I go back? No, I don't want to go back. I can't work for it. It's too, I'm too far in. I can't work for anyone else.

Steven (01:25):
Yeah. Well, along the lines of that, like Is like, what keeps you going?

Honestly, I think it's a lot of things. Cause I have now I feel like I have people who also do rely on me.
Like one of my really good friends. [00:20:00] Became like a business partner slash assistant and like, the fact that we are kind of accountable for each other inspires me to continue to do my day to day. So we do like Monday meetings where we're like, okay, what's our calendar look like? What do we need to do?
Where are we booked? And I think once I'm at the events, I think that what keeps me really going is the reactions I get from everyone and knowing that I'm constantly educating people about Filipino food, about my culture, or even when I'm like Cannabis items, because I do, you know, have my cannabis items available.
I'm educating people on how to use it properly. Because a lot of people nowadays, they just want to get like, blasted. I'm like, you don't need to get blasted. Like, this is meant to be micro dosable. Like, you need to just ease into it. And so I'm educating people on so many different things when I'm out that I'm like, [00:21:00] this is what is making me want to move forward is like, am I an educator? Like, do I just have my own school of Bibingka now? Like, is that what I do?

Steven (01:30):
It's Bibingka Enterprise and School of Bibingka

School of Bibingka, I actually thought about that

Steven (01:32):
Yeah.

During the pandemic, I was, um, back home and I was with my family and my, you know, my sister has two kids and so I was hanging out with them a lot and I was also in drag around them too, which was kind of like fun.
And I was teaching him how to do normal day things and I'm like, Oh my God, do I do like the Bibingka teaches kids how to like, you know, learn your shapes when, but all in drag. So I thought about that, you know, just like educating the children.

Steven (01:35):
Yeah, you mentioned, so you're with your sister and their family in drag, um, how has it been kind of navigating this [00:22:00] persona with your family and family dynamics?

I'm fortunate that I think that like my family is just like, oh, like, I guess you're doing this now. So during the pandemic, it was a lot of like, drag on Zoom. And so I would get into looks, I was making videos, and my mom would see me in drag and she would just be like, Okay, and I would be like, do you want to get into a wig?
So I think my mom enjoys it. I think she likes the whole theatrical ness of it and the fact that I'm having fun with these wigs and doing these things, and yeah, I try to get her into it in terms of like, let me dress you up. Let me put you in a wig. And she'll get into a wig. She'll, I think she likes it and I think that like she doesn't, yeah, she doesn't like poopoo it at all. She's just like, okay, I guess you're just, dressing up.

Steven (01:38):
That's cute. [00:23:00] And when you're at your venue, I remember. You just had all these snacks. Your table was decked out with all of these Filipino sweets, savories, and I'm just curious, along the lines of family, is this something that you grew up a ton with around Filipino snacks and goodies?

I would say I'm fortunate that growing up in California, there's a lot of Filipino food available. So there was a lot of Asian stores that had sold Filipino goods. I did discover a lot of new snacks later on, like when I started doing this, which has been fun because I get to see what is available in the market, you know, now and what's popular and the different snacks available and people are even now are like, the funniest thing, this woman came over and she was like, are these props?

Steven (01:40):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember you telling me that. Yeah,

Are these pops? Like, no, they're just

Steven (01:42):
Are [00:24:00] these edible?

Are these edibles? You know, they're just Filipino snacks. They're from the Philippines.

Steven (01:44):
Yeah.

But yeah, I grew up with, like, some of my, you know, I know my mom's favorites. Like the type of chips that she would buy or even some of these like shrimp chips and stuff like that. Like a lot of them are not available on the East Coast or they're hard to come by or you need to really be at an asian store or like find any of these

Steven (01:46):
Not at your Whole Foods folks

I know, but H Mart.

Steven (01:48):
Yes. Oh my God.

Yeah.

Steven (01:50):
Favorite H Mart in the city?

Yeah, there's eight. I've been to the H Mart in the city, but in California, we have Seafood City, which is like huge. We have like, uh, some local ones in, because I'm from Stockton, so there's a lot of like, local ones. Yeah. But surprisingly though, there's still not a lot of Filipino restaurants, even on the west coast.

Steven (01:52):
Yeah,

you know, [00:25:00]

Steven (01:54):
A lot of them closed in the pandemic.

And I want to say, I think it's because majority of Filipinos are nurses. A lot of them don't. I'm going to stay with that stereotype.

Steven (01:56):
They're literally saving lives, but they're literally, like Filipinos are literally saving America 2020.

And I think it's harder to own and open a restaurant than it is to like, save lives, unfortunately. I mean, fortunately.

Steven (01:58):
Well, one of my Filipino friends was saying also, in Filipino culture, there's a lot of sugar, things are deep fried, and especially when it comes to diet culture in America, that things that are culturally significant and signifying what is a home cooked meal is stigmatized, especially in America and especially in the food scene.
And so they had this hypothesis where some of that stuff in its true Filipino form just really doesn't align with [00:26:00] this white concept of like white diet food.

Yeah. I think too, there's definitely different ways of like making a lot of these foods that, like adobo is one of those, it's like a Filipino staple.

Steven (02:01):
Yeah.

And then depending on who makes it, you know, and where you're from, it's different. And I think that's also part of it too, of why a lot of Filipinos don't eat at restaurants is because of like, well, my mom makes it and she makes it better. And I'm like, yeah, of course, because that's your mom's food.
But, you know, the person who's making this at their restaurant, that's what they grew up with. That's their recipe. And I think you should appreciate it for what it is. And most people, I guess, don't, or most Filipinos don't. And I think that's also another reason why, like, restaurants. are not that common.
But like my mom, how my mom makes adobo. Yeah, there's a lot of grease in adobo. [00:27:00] And growing up, I would like just kind of scoop out the layer of grease. So that I have more like sauce.

Steven (02:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Before I put it on. Well, when I'm, so, when I make my adobo, my friend Ashley said to me and like, oh, this is like the healthy version.
And I'm like, yeah, girl. I like mine more stewy than oily.

Steven (02:08):
Yeah. Yeah. But you know, the oil is, that holds all the flavor too.

The oil though is chicken. From the chicken. It's not any extra oil. So it is oil from chicken fat. So technically, it's healthier than any of the oils that most people would cook with.

Steven (02:10):
Like vegetable oil, yeah.

Yeah, like vegetable oil's not good for you. So it's like, you know, the fact that you're using just chicken fat to cook it, it's like, not that unhealthy.

Steven (02:12):
Yeah. Going back to growing up, you grew up in California, [00:28:00] and I'm just curious, navigating so many layers of identities that you have joy around now. Your Asian culture, your drag culture, your queer identity. I just want to learn more about what was it like growing up Little Bibingka navigating? What was that like in California?

So I grew up with siblings, and honestly, thank goodness, because if I was an only child, I wouldn't know. I probably would be a different person.
Yeah, my family was in industrial farming, I guess, as I would say. My dad was a foreman for a labor worker, so he employed a lot of, like, Filipinos and a lot of Mexicans to work.

Steven (02:15):
That's awesome.

I've, like, been surrounded by a lot of multicultural, like, you know, aspects of my life.
But, you know, it was still very a predominant white area where I grew up in. So there's, you know, in Stockton, there's like the north side, there's the south [00:29:00] side, and like there's The central, and I would say central to south is where it's like really rough, um, where there's more gangs and, you know, you can definitely now thinking about it now, I would say there's a lot, there was still a lot of segregation, you know, between the schools.
My cousin who grew up on the south side, her school was predominantly like Filipino, Latinos and Blacks, where my school very white and then she even like, you know, reiterated that to me when she tried to go to my high school. And you know, when I was in it, I just didn't really think much of it because there was still a little bit of a diversity.
We still had like, um, Filipino club, Khmai club, Japanese club, and there was still a different range of Asians still that were there in my schools and stuff, but when you are, uh, Considered as like English is your [00:30:00] second language, you know, like I grew up with my mom speaking Filipino to me, so I'd get my words mixed up all the time, and I got put into ESL, and I was, you know, forced to learn English a different way, but in some aspects, I'm grateful for that because I think I know English better than most of my, you know, white peers where they would take these regular classes and, you know, I would be in a writing class with one of my friends. I was like editing her paper and she was just like, how, how? Like you edited my paper like a teacher and I'm like, Hey, yeah, girl. Like, I don't know. Like, maybe, maybe you should take you ESL I don't know.

Steven (02:20):
Mm-Hmm. But that's crazy. They put you in ESL classes and you're excelling and you're literally helping them.

One of my teachers in high school, so I took an, I took a, a summer school before my first year of, um, high school. And the teacher looked at me and [00:31:00] was like, you don't belong in this class, do you? And I was like, and he was like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I'm like, a lawyer, so I can argue my way out of this class.
And he was just like, OK, let me do something for you. And like, I, you know, from there on, he kind of just wrote this recommendation. Like, I don't need to be in ESL in high school. And I'm like. Been in it early on too in elementary school when I was younger. But, you know, like, we all learn in different ways. And I'm, I am, even though I like, you know, see now that it's like kind of racist.
They even tried to do that to one of my friends when she went to my high school. They're like, no, like my, we're from San Jose. Like, get out of here. Yeah. Like they went to the, um, Like a huge high school in San Jose and it was like, my kids don't need ESL. One of them was like in like AP classes. She was like, yeah, the one of the smartest people I know, she's actually like, working for the San [00:32:00] Jose Health Department.
One of the, one of the head people who tell, like writes the, you know, basically the bylaws of like what we need to be doing go during Covid. So the fact that, racism is so like prominent when you're young and they want to take advantage of you in that capacity where you're just like, you don't know any better.
Well, you don't even know me..

Steven (02:26):
By making the assumption.

Oh, because I speak another language. No, you don't know any better because you can't even speak any other language but English.
Even when I I hate it when people are like they think less than when you have an accent, you know what I mean?
It's like, oh, you don't know you don't know English and they kind of label you as dumb Yeah, like no, you're dumb because that person can speak two languages and you barely even speak English, so that's the you know consensus I get from most Americans where it's just like you don't even, [00:33:00] if you're trying to label me as ignorant, you're the ignorant because you think that it's bad for me to have a second language.

Steven (02:30):
Was it always like that? Kind of growing up where you were in high school navigating itit with your culture?

I think the fact that I got out of ESL, I was able to excel, I think, in my celebrating my culture in high school because there was a huge Filipino community. We had Filipino club. So one of my teachers, actually, my anthropology teacher, was Filipino Native American. And, you know, he taught, like, AP Anthropology and, like, And he held the Filipino club.
I had balut for the first time at his class.

Steven (02:33):
Really?

Yeah, he brought in balut for everyone to try. [00:34:00] And everyone's like, look at him eat.

Steven (02:35):
I'm sure the white parents must have been like, uh.

Well, I don't think there was like, uh, permission slip or anything. Yeah, I think it was just like, I brought in balut. It's up to you if you want to try it or not. This is what it is.
So we all like, you know, we had a choice. So I, of course, had to try it because I'm like, well, I'm Filipino. I have to try it and see what it's about. I didn't like it. It was just like the thought of like the, I just don't like cartilage too.
But it was just such an interesting flavor and I couldn't handle the like half grown duck fetus.But I understand why it's a delicacy and why people like it, you know, people are into different things. But I appreciated that I had a teacher in high school who can share this Filipino culture with everyone. You know, I had my, my class was pretty mixed with like. , um, it was like, you know, white, black Latinos, [00:35:00] Asians, and you know, they got to taste Filipino food. Everyone knows about lumpia, but you know, all these like weird, or people consider as weird delicacies.

Steven (02:39):
It's culturally different. And I think the way we talk about it. We sometimes demonize it, we other it, you know, I mean, think about what a hot dog is, right?

Yeah.

Steven (02:41):
I don't even know if that's like an animal part.

Yeah, it's like a lot of parts, but why is it so good?

Steven (02:43):
I know.

I know, I like hot dogs. But yeah, like bologna, like what's, what's in bologna?

Steven (02:45):
Spam?

Spam. I love spam.

Steven (02:47):
I love spam too. I was, I was, um, we were making spam musubi the other day and there's all these different spam containers, right, where you have to press and everything.
But the funniest thing was the best spam musubi maker where you squish the [00:36:00] spam with the rice. was a can. Because a can's perfectly shaped, all this stuff. And we were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We were just like, it was so, I don't remember what it was for. The event was just something we were making like a hundred of them.
And we just ended up using all the cans and just like shoving like Saran Wrap through it and just trying to, it was like a whole production line we made. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen the, the, like using a can and stuff before for the wasabi , not the wasabi, the musubi

Steven (02:51):
yeah, while we were doing the prep call, I think something that had come up that seemed to bring up a lot of stuff for you was also this notion of assimilation and your experiences with it, you know, and I'm just curious if you want to go and share a little bit more about your experience in navigating your cultural dynamics and how you kind [00:37:00] of navigated also this notion of Feeling the need to assimilate into culture here in America.

Yeah. Yeah. My, I feel like especially with. You know, my family are wanting to be American. We have to act American. And also, you know, I got this growing up too, that I was very whitewashed from my, you know, cousins, like, Oh, you're very, you know, you're very whitewashed. And I'm like, I, I guess so. And I think because, you know, we have our white friends and we try and act and be like them. And we forget a lot about our own culture in this, in the process where we're not celebrating ourselves and forgetting, you know, or even ashamed. And I think that's like pretty sad when you're going through it. You're like ashamed of your own culture that you don't even want to share your food or like the smells of bringing people into your home when it smells like [00:38:00] fishy or when it smells not normal.
And even my sister had told me a story where her friends used to make fun of her for having like weird food or having a certain smell in the kitchen and that really pissed me off because she told me later on and I'm like, oh, you should have told me, I would have

Steven (02:54):
Yeah, but she held on to that. She held that memory.

Yeah, she did. And it stuck with her. Like, um, have you seen that that show Pen15? And I think it was an episode where the Asian girl went through that and my sister's like, I went through that and I'm like, I kind of mean, I didn't, I don't think I went through that particularly, but it's just the fact that she went through that made me mad because I'm like, how dare these people judge you on your fucking on your culture You know, you shouldn't be doing that like that just shows how ignorant these you know. Now I'm looking at it like you're just ignorant.

Steven (02:56):
Yeah, and kids are so brutal. They're so brutal.

Oh my, girl. [00:39:00] They are so mean. I had to tell my nephew off recently It's like, don't talk to my mom like that. And like, what, what makes you think, like, excuse me.

Steven (02:58):
Yeah. But in the school, they're also a by product of their parents. And it's this amplification of ignorance that they've heard on one end, or if they watch TV and programming that has ignorance, and then they experience life.
Meet other folks like you or myself, because I grew up with that too. I grew up in a neighborhood. Which, it had a lot of other representation. It was mostly white and Latino representation, um, and Asian was a very small minority of it. But I remember, um, my mom had spent so much time also packing me lunch. She would make these bento boxes, and I remember one time I was just so angry with her, [00:40:00] and I was ashamed of it. Um, whenever I would pull it out at lunchtime, I remember kids in my class would laugh at me, they would point at me to a point where I just like would bring it sometimes, I didn't eat it, and then I was just like trying to eat a lunchable.

You're like, that's a great meal.

Steven (03:01):
Yeah, yeah, it's a good, it's a good meal. And it's funny, it's funny, it's funny, like on social media, I think it's so funny to see also, it's this interesting thing where all these like white chefs, right, are creating all these Asian foods and they're creating all these bento boxes by creating content.
And I just sometimes find it so fascinating to see this like. resurgence of it with all these people who are older looking for content to create and then also the experience that I had where I'm like, well, you look just like the people who demonized [00:41:00] this as a part of my culture completely, you know, and I think it's just, I think it's just tough navigating it.
And then I think going back to even just this whole notion of food and a lot of what you do and the importance of food, I find food is really, the first way we really enter culture, and in a personal way too, right, it enters our mouths, enters into our body, and I also find that food is sometimes the first thing that people demonize because it is so personal.

Yeah.

Steven (03:05):
You know?

Oh, that's so different. That's so weird. And I'm like, yeah, weird to you.

Steven (03:07):
Yeah.

Because you're so used to your ham sandwiches and mayo, like. And that's, that's also weird. Like, you know, yeah, and that's what I even, you know, growing up, I think, because I'm the middle child, my, I don't know if my brother went, I didn't ask him, I should ask him if he really went through anything about like weird lunches, but you know, I would tell people my, I would have ramen for [00:42:00] breakfast.
I'm going to make us ramen for breakfast because it's just. Right? It's warm, it's easy, and I felt like I, you're having a piece of toast. What's the difference? Right? So it's, I have less judgment now, or I just appreciate what food is now in terms of culture and what it brings to the culture.
I don't think I am trying to think back if I ever, I didn't have any like lunchtime, like bad experience during like lunches and stuff. Cause I think by the time I was in school, my mom was making those hand sandwiches. Or, you know, we would be buying our lunch and you'd be eating a pizza or something, which is like, not even like, that's not even healthy.
Like, so, and I think that's also part of assimilation. My mom probably, you know, maybe she's not going to, bring me to school with like a tupperware of adobo and rice.

Steven (03:12):
I [00:43:00] mean, looking back now, like, it's, I mean, it takes so much time to make, you know, and looking back, I appreciate so much of what my mom was doing.
And she's also trying to do her best with what she has and it's just looking back at it, I appreciate it so much more now, but I think the double edged sword of assimilation is we do it for safety, right? We're trying to blend in. We're just trying to be a part of this community, but also at the same time, it's erasing a part of us so that we feel safe.
And especially as Asian Americans in trying to figure out, well, you know, who we are, where we are in our own identities. I don't know if you run into this, but whenever I go to Japan or Taiwan, I'm still seen as the other. Well, that's the American, you know, um, and still [00:44:00] in America, you're just seen as the Asian.
And I think social media has definitely helped bring a bit more perspective to the table, which I appreciate. But back in the day, can you imagine, I mean, for anyone who's listening now, imagine a world with no social media, no internet, right? And how much of a bubble people were in. Yeah.

Yeah. Cause I went to the Philippines when I was nine and, you know, and I knew that a lot of the kids there knew that I was different. They're just like, Oh, you know, I was like, even like a little chubby or like, Oh, look at this, like chubby American girl. And I'm like, okay.

Steven (03:17):
Rough. Yeah.

Right. And then I'm, you know, in America, like I'm not. It's weird, I'm not seen as American, and I'm like, but I am, because I speak English more than my own language, which is really sad to me now, because of this whole assimilation thing, I lost a lot of my language and a part of my identity, because I'm like, I'm not Asian, you know?

Steven (03:19):
Yeah, like, where does [00:45:00] language sit with that? Like, it seems like something's coming up, something really important.

It just makes me sad, because I wish I learned my language. I wish I learned more of like my Filipino culture early on, but I'm glad that I've been doing it now. I'm glad that I'm like, you know, really honing in on it now because I can express my culture in a way where as an adult, I don't think I can do this as a kid, like you have, you're more brave, you, you have more passion and can fight for it more to where as in like, as a kid, you kind of get defeated and all these other kids are Making fun of you or calling you weird and stuff like that where you're just like, well, I guess I am weird. And what am I supposed to do about that? You know, like how do I navigate making friends and [00:46:00] being a part of this, I guess, white world when you, whenever you do something that's for your culture, other culture, you're labeled as like, Oh, strange.
But, you know, at the same time, I was fortunate of having a huge family in Stockton, so I did get to do a lot of, like, Filipino things. So not everything was lost for me. I think that, like, most people I have to, like, deal with, a lot of them are lost, but like, you know, like, they don't, they didn't grow up with that. Like, I met some people who grew up in the Midwest and they were just like, I didn't get any of my culture. So I think that's pretty sad.
You know, like you grew up with no family around you and you're basically were by yourself and now you're just American.
You know, and my mom is, my mom was born in the Philippines. My dad was born in Hawaii, but he, you know, went back and forth to the Philippines a lot. So I'm still considered as like first generation.
But [00:47:00] it's just sad to me that I can't speak Filipino.

Steven (03:25):
Yeah, I used to be very fluent in Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin, and even Taiwanese. Wow. And I remember a moment in second grade, and I don't really talk about this that much. I think I've talked about it once on the podcast. But in second grade, I was sitting next to one of my friends who's Chinese and we're just speaking Mandarin and the teacher got so mad at us, singled us out and started yelling at us and then she was speaking to us in Spanish and asked us in front of the class how we felt and then told us from here on out you're only going to be speaking English and as a second grader, where we're taught to put this teacher on this pedestal, and looking back now, I'm just like, wow, she really couldn't hold space for another [00:48:00] culture.
Looking back now, like anger comes up, also a bit of sadness, but where, where I've really struggled is at that moment, I just started speaking only English at home, and I was speaking, You know, fluent Mandarin and Japanese and all these different languages at home, but I just had so much fear around it.
And I, I think I, I truly do believe with social media, at least the cultural aspect has really improved where people are celebrating being able to speak different languages much more than what it was. But you still do have a population where they're In America, you speak English, and to me, how sad is that, where we can't celebrate languages and ways of being that's different?

Right, because I think [00:49:00] knowing to speak all these languages is, A skill that most people don't even have, like, that's amazing to me, and then for someone to shame you for knowing how to communicate with the rest of the world is insane to me now, you know, as an adult, where I'm like, okay, I guess I'm, you know, I'm weird for knowing how to speak another language.
That is so bizarre.

Steven (03:30):
It's so bizarre. It's so bizarre.

But in Europe, you're taught to speak all these different languages. Everyone's so Intermingled with each other in all these different countries because they're smaller that I remember going, you know, to Lisbon and I met this woman who spoke five different languages and she's like, I'm a waitress.
Like, having the time of her life. And I'm like, wow.

Steven (03:33):
Or the asian flight attendants who can speak literally like four or five languages.

Right. And I feel, I feel so like, I wish, I wish, you know, I think America like [00:50:00] ruins a lot of multicultural people in that way where you're just like, you're not allowed to speak another language or it's, it's so weird and shameful. You're labeled as dumb, which I think is insane. Where it's like, Oh, because my mom has a thick accent, people will speak to her slower. And I'm like, no, she understands you. She knows what you're saying. She could actually speak Spanish, two dialects of Filipino and English. So you're the slow one. So I'm like, I don't know.

Steven (03:35):
Do you find that the work now that you're doing on food, on culture, all this stuff is healing in ways?

Definitely. I have been in tune more of like my culture and like, I think embracing my culture and like sharing the fact that I'm sharing it, I think is strengthening the Filipino culture in itself because more and more people are knowing about it. [00:51:00] More and more people. I'm just so surprised. I'm still educating people on a lot of, you know, foods and stuff, but it's definitely makes me happy because because I'm able to bring something new to people that I just never knew about before. And maybe it's a way for me to change the way we think as Americans where I'm like, we're a melting pot. We're a country of like so many different cultures. You need to embrace it and stop thinking that your white culture is the only one. To be honest with you, you're not even the native culture here in America, you came from Europe, bro. You came from, I don't know, Germany. Like, like your, you don't even know what your culture is because you're so, you're so like American.
Well like, okay, what does it mean to be American now? What is it? A corporation? Sure. Like. You're corporate America, you're an American, but like, [00:52:00] people don't even know what that means, you know? And I'm like, you don't even know what American means because what is your heritage, colonization? Like, what is it?
Like, I don't think most Americans can even explain to me because our history is so messed up. Where its just like, ok, our culture is what? Taking over this land of Native Americans?

Steven (03:39):
Yeah, it's, and native tribes had very distinct cultures from different tribes to another. They shared land, the concept of border really didn't exist. So at any given moment, you can be standing on three owned land and territory. And, uh, There are just different regions that they encompass and some that overlap.
And what's so fascinating is also this colonial concept of a border really has perpetuated through the world, you know, to a point where now you have these distinct borders that people feel the need to build a wall when there [00:53:00] is no wall, no border, nothing. It literally doesn't exist in nature.

Yeah.

Steven (03:42):
And it's all this, this fabricated concept and Yeah, it's, I, I love the work that you're doing. I think you're bringing so much, so much joy through what you're doing and the work and I just wanna kind of touch on that, of just, what are you, like, what are you just saying, spending all your time on now, what initiatives are you focused on?

I think it's just continuing the work, like, I do, I do, I, I wanna say a lot of my events are fun and I think that's what keeps me going, is that I'm having fun at these events and parties with people and, you know, like, I'm, I'm just, All these events are just fun to do.
So one of my favorite events that I'm doing is the Rosemart. It's at the Rosemont, and it's just us friends [00:54:00] putting together a market for queer artists and local artisanal, there's so many different you get so many different types of people like there's someone who does like chocolates and like other cannabis goods and Maybe there's someone who does like a tat, like tattoos and um, selling their art, their fashion.
It's, it's amazing. It's, it's fun because we have a DJ, we have a drag queen that comes and hosts, get drunk off of margaritas and we have a good time. And at the same time, we're sharing our art, we're sharing our culture, we're enjoying ourselves as individuals. And it's, it's just a fun thing because we are getting to know each other, no matter what your background is.
And I think that's what's beautiful about the queer culture is like, we've all, maybe trauma bonded? I have

Steven (03:47):
Oh, for sure, yes.

Yeah, to where we're over here just having a good time with each other. And I think that's what brings me [00:55:00] joy is just to be at these events with my friends and having a good time and not taking anything too seriously.
And I think that's how you create magic. It's just like, you take a lot of that seriousness out or that the notion of we need to be making money, you know, like, it's like, not always about that. It's about like celebrating the moment and celebrating the people. But yeah, like, I think that's what brings joy to what I do is that I get to connect with so many different types of people, see the different art.
And I've made friends through these events. Like long time, I feel like friends that I'll have for a really long time. Like the group I'm with. Now doing the Rosemart. I met them all through partying and going out, you know, in the queer, you know, queer scene and community. Yeah. And I have met them all individually and then realized that they were all friends and I was like, okay, well, I guess we're all friends now and um in the last [00:56:00] couple of years we've been doing this event these events and it's been great because we feel like we're showcasing our friends and their talents and helping them make money. Because one of the things that we want to make sure is that everyone is still making their money back.
Like, we don't even, we were trying to get our, our, our fees lowered. So where you don't have to pay a table fee because we want you to make money doing this. Like, our cut, really, there's not even a cut. It's like anything, like the table fee would go to like our marketing or the drag queen.

Steven (03:52):
Or just set the time to organize it.

The time, yeah.
And then a lot of us are vendors ourselves. So that's where, when we are there, that's when we're making our, our money. But it's not even like, we're not like making like millions off of it. It's just for fun. And I love that. And I think that's what I want more of is to have fun doing these events.
You know, I'm at a drag [00:57:00] show watching my friends perform and I'm over there selling my cakes and my goodies. So I think what I do is fun and that's what keeps me going too. Yeah.

Steven (03:56):
Yeah. What is vision? Your vision for Bibingka?

World domination.

Steven (03:58):
Yeah. What is that?

Well, yeah, I do wanna take this internationally. You know, like I am creating these baking mixes so that you can bake bibingka in your own home. And my goal is to get them into grocery stores. And I would love to take that internationally, bring that to Asia, bring that to, you know, Europe. The fact that I, you know, that it's not common in America. I know that it's not common in a lot of places. So I would love to take that and just keep on spreading Filipino food. And I'm trying to play with the recipes that I'm with now. Like I do a lot of, um, hot food. Like I'll do chicken adobo, [00:58:00] longanisa over rice, on these small pop ups. And, you know, maybe it's going into frozen food. Like, do I bring these also into grocery stores?
Because when you go into grocery stores, you don't see Filipino food in, on the shelves at all. There's some coming, I've seen a couple of brands, um, in terms of like making sauces and stuff, but I think, you know, bringing Filipino food to the masses in that capacity is really important. Rather than just opening a restaurant, you know, like opening a restaurant to me, it seems a lot harder because it's also local, you know, you have to really focus on the like local part of it, but I'm like, maybe another thought I was like, do I franchise?
Do I become like.

Steven (04:02):
Yeah! What's your vision? Yes.

Yeah, so one of the things I've been thinking about is like, I hate the word for this, but it's called like an ugly kitchen where you have the food already [00:59:00] prepared for you and you can go and just buy it by like this, you know, the size or make a plate. Um, but I think if I were to go into a restaurant, I would probably want to go that route because it's like Panda Express, but you know, Filipino.
Um, and I think that's a better way of bringing it to the masses and to enjoy Filipino food because you can. I think that's a, you know, Filipino food is already served like that. But that's one of the things that I've been thinking about is bringing it in that capacity where it's like, okay, I do want to take this not only throughout America, because there's also a lot of places in middle America that don't have Filipino food.
During the pandemic, I was actually selling Asian snacks in, um, on Amazon. Yeah, I was sending pallets to my house.
I mean, I found [01:00:00] this like, you know, Asian distributor, had pallets sent to my house, and I was making these care packages. So there's, these boxes are huge freight boxes called Balikbayan boxes.
It's what families in the, in America, they'll send, they'll fill these huge boxes up. They sent it to the Philippines and it's filled with like canned goods, clothing, anything like you can think of.

Steven (04:08):
Everything. Lotion.

Yeah, everything. So, during the pandemic, I was creating these Balikbayan boxes. But, you know, just like a small care package where you have snacks.
So I would make the care packages and then I would then sell the rest of the snacks on Amazon.

Steven (04:11):
Wow. Wow, wow.

Yeah, I saw that a lot of places who are willing to pay premium for these snacks were middle America, like middle of nowhere, don't have Asian food for them. So it's, you know, definitely a need.
There's Filipinos [01:01:00] everywhere. And I don't think we realize that, that there's a lot of Filipinos in military too, or even asians. So it's like, you know, you move here, into middle of nowhere where there's no Asian representation, but you can buy an Asian snack on Amazon.

Steven (04:14):
Wow. Yeah, that's yeah, that's impressive. Yeah.

If I was still in California, I probably would continue doing it because I have the space. But in New York, there's just no space for me to be sending pallets to unless I have like a, a true, true workspace.
Yeah, a lot of what I do is like home base. There's some places that I do work out of, like I have a friend who has a cafe in New Jersey that I work out of sometimes, um, you know, for like the food, like prepping purposes.
Yeah. But it's all building, you know, you know, I couldn't, she's been great. She's been helping me with like, okay, if you want to bring bibingkas to grocery stores, let's visit [01:02:00] these grocery stores and see what they have.

Steven (04:18):
That's a good friend.

Yeah. Like she really, it was a great moment for me to learn. Kind of cold calling, you just go into this store and you're like, where's your manager?
Can I talk to your manager? It's like nothing serious. I just want to, you know, I have these products. I wanted to see if this fits in.
And I did that with her and I'm like, okay, I can do this. I can, you know, let me get myself into a position where I'm ready because I'm also going through some rebranding just to like, make everything look a little, you know, more professional, graduate myself into from this baby Bibingka to like, you know, sexy adult Bibingka.
But yeah, so the mixes are gonna, you know, I'm gonna be going through that rebranding and it's gonna be out soon and I'm hoping that you'll start seeing these mixes in grocery stores.

Steven (04:23):
Ooh, yes. And As we're nearing the end of the podcast, a few quick [01:03:00] questions for you. Um, one, before we get into the quick questions, I think your vision for the world is so beautiful.
A little piece of Filipino culture through delicious eats. I think people will love to see so many of these mixes on their shelves. and be a part of making it at home, you know? Um, but quick questions for you. What is something that's bringing you joy lately?

Something's bringing me joy lately. Drugs, I'm just kidding.
Um, honestly, just being with my friends and family, like, I think I get recharged a lot to you when I'm with, you know, my, my friends. When you can just joke around and be yourself and not have to act a certain way. 'cause even when you're in a workplace, you just have to act a certain way. Or even [01:04:00] at an event you have, you're on.
When you're on, you know, like you're just like, you're on high anxiety, you're on and you're like, oh, I gotta perform. I gotta put on this performance. And I find sometimes that when I'm like, at an event, I can become robotic, and say the same thing's over and over. So I think what brings me joy is just being around the people you love, who know you the best. So you can act with flow and say dumb stuff and not feel like you're being judged for it. And I'm fortunate to have a good set of friends to be like that with. You know, and like, you know, animal friends. I feel like when I, when I come back home and my animal friends are there.

Steven (04:28):
Yeah, they're the best.

Kinda sad. I feel safe at night.

Steven (04:30):
Yes. Take over. Favorite Filipino snack?

Um, bibingka. Beside bibingka.

Steven (04:32):
Bibingka and?

And, you know, actually, so I, I don't really think about this. There's just so many [01:05:00] that I've discovered recently that I'm like, So I think it depends on like what the snack is. So it's like a savory snack.
Um, what I've been really liking are these, it's called Mang Juan, but it's like these vegetarian chicharron. And I don't know if that's really healthy for you, but it is, it's like made out of vegetables and it gives like

Steven (04:35):
How do they make it vegetarian? Yeah.

It's like a, kind of like a veggie chip, but it has that texture. I think it's, yeah. Mang Juan, I think that's what it's called. Maybe I'll send it to you after this. Or maybe next time I see you, I'll save you a bag.

Steven (04:37):
Let's do it. Yes.

Then there's, uh, the dried mangoes. Those are like, they're like candied. They're so good. I feel, I want to say I feel healthy when I'm eating it because I'm like, oh, it's a mango.

Steven (04:39):
It was a mango.

It's like [01:06:00] covered in sugar. But yeah, but bibingka was my all time favorite dessert. And that's literally why I named myself it. Cause I'm like, there's, there's nothing like it. My mom used to make it for my birthday, like our birthdays and stuff, like special occasion.

Steven (04:41):
That's beautiful.

So that was like why I named myself after it.

Steven (04:43):
That's really cute. And what is one lesson you would like our listeners to take away with?

Don't be afraid to be yourself or to celebrate your, your culture. I think that's something that. I think most people do struggle with is like honing in their own identity. I know I have. I'm like crying about it. But it's just, don't be afraid to afraid to because don't let that moment pass. Like look at me, I'm a drag queen.

Steven (04:45):
It's now or never. It's never too late. It's never too late.

It's never too late. I'm in my 30s. I became a drag queen in my 30s, and actually, [01:07:00] it was after I got a divorce, too. So it's like, I was, I also felt trapped in this, in this marriage where I wasn't really truly myself.
And so, it wasn't after I got out of that marriage and honed in on what I really wanted from me where I learned that. So, don't be afraid to be you.

Steven (04:48):
That's beautiful. And then, one more question for you. How can people find you?

You can find me, um, on my website. I do have a website, bibingkamama. com or on Instagram, bibingkamama, and that's b i b i n g k a mama.
Um, but yeah, Instagram's probably the easiest way to find me. Maybe TikTok, but we'll see, because TikTok is not active right now. We'll have to figure that out. Um, but yeah, my website too, or email, just find me on my email. Like, if you need anything, you can email me. I'm there for you. [01:08:00]

Steven (04:51):
Nice. And for anyone else listening, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a rating and review.
That's how, friends discover episodes and we would love to hear your thoughts. Uh, feel free to drop some stars or ratings on your favorite podcast platforms to follow us and to view our full transcript and additional show notes. You can visit our website at yellowglitterpodcast. com or at yellowglitterpd on socials to give us your thoughts on how this episode went or if you have any other ideas.
And I just want to say thank you so much, Bibingka, Bibingka Mama, for showing up. You've been vulnerable, you've shared your heart, your food, your soul with us, and I'm just so grateful for you being here and sharing that with us.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having [01:09:00] me, honestly, and letting me cry.

Steven (04:55):
You know what?
They are tears of joy. They are tears of joy and release.

They really are. I'm just always crying.

Steven (04:58):
That, that's what we, that's what we do. Yes, I'm here for it.

Thank you so much for allowing me to express myself here. So I enjoyed this.

Steven (05:00):
Yeah, and for everyone else listening, we hope you took a bunch of nuggets from our episode and we hope your day can be a little bit more cheerful, more sweet and a little bit more mindful. We'll see you later. Bye [01:10:00] now.

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