By: Ishka Villacisneros-Tusjakova
President, FACC Greater Pasadena
Los Angeles, September 11, 2022 – Kusina Filipina’s Soft Relaunch and Lumpia Eating Competition 2022
Fil- Am Community members flocked to Eagle Rock’s Kusina Filipina to witness the ribbon cutting ceremonies for its soft relaunch post Covid. The event was organized and sponsored by the Fil Am Chamber of Commerce Greater Pasadena headed by its President, Ishka Villacisneros-Tusjakova. The guests were delighted to witness the highlight of the celebration which was the Lumpia Eating Competition. The competition is a brainchild of FACC Greater Pasadena Vice President Paul Mirador who takes pride in generating unique entertaining activities for anyone who joins their chamber. “I have always had a creative mind and it brings me total fulfillment to have our business partners at the chamber enjoy the benefit of becoming our member affiliate,” adds Paul.
His co Vice-President Tony Chi-Su Gutierrez graciously moderated the ribbon cutting ceremonies with Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo as one of its VIP guests. Ms Carillo spoke about the importance of supporting the small businesses of the community. “The family owned and operated small businesses are the pillar of the community. Without these businesses , the community failed to thrive,” says Wendy Carillo of the 51st district of which Kusina Filipina is a part of. The restaurant’s co-partners Jun Miranda and Vener P. Ramos have served their neighboring areas for over 11 years now and have kept the quality of the food they serve to that consistent and delicious
standard. “When our chef prepares the dish for our clients , he is motivated to provide them with the closest to a home cooked meal they can ever have,” says Jun. “And that’s why they keep coming back for more”, states Vener Ramos.
Winners of the competition are Elizabeth Hernandez for the women’s division. Crowned as the Lumpia Queen, She happily consumed 50 PCs of lumpia in 10 minutes. Kevin Montenegro bagged the honor for the men’s division, crowned as the Lumpia King, with 61 lumpias eaten and finally the Grand Champion of the day Raina Huang who flew all the way from Las Vegas who chowed down 141 lumpias and had the kitchen run out of the tiny rolls way before the time was up.
Fun was had by all and the standing room only situation at the Kusina Filipina was a testament to the event’s success. Movie producer AJ Calomay of the film Lumpia 2 with the Vengeance was there to share a glimpse of the sequel’s movie trailer. The film will be released starting September 23, 2022 and will make its way on the city of Long Beach to as far out as Northern California.
The event would not have been possible without the support of media partner Asian Journal, Camarillo Skilled Home Health, Philippine National Bank Remittance Center in Eagle Rock, OfficeZilla, Ishkaster Media, Filipino Shopping Network and of course Kusina Filipina Los Angeles.
Others present were Gerry Palon – President of the Coalition of Filipino Americans Chambers of Commerce (COFACC), Merwynn Montenegro – COFACC Co-Founder and President Emeritus of Filipino American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) Tri-County, Femie Villaflores Cupit – President of FACC North San Diego, Joseph Joseph – President of FACC Orange County, Katherine Bercasio – FACC Hollywood, Kathy Current – FACC Greater Los Angeles board member, and last but not least Dr. Fatima Bustos Choy also with FACC Greater Los Angeles
For more information on upcoming events like this, please visit www.FACCGP.org.
