29 March 2026 – The 5th edition of Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada (FRMC 2026) opened with a sold-out event on 29 March 2026 at The Wilde on 27 of the Dorian Hotel in Calgary – the opening note of a nationwide celebration of Filipino food.
Now in its 5th year, FRMC is a joint initiative of the Philippine Posts in Canada, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Tourism in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre in Toronto. Running throughout the month of April in celebration of Filipino Food Month, FRMC features 30 participating restaurants across Canada – 12 of them in Alberta spanning Calgary, Canmore, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer – each offering specially curated prix fixe meals that highlight the richness and diversity of Filipino cuisine.
“ORAS & Friends” brought together Chef John Leroy Borrega of The Wilde on 27 and Guest Chef Daniel Cancino of Mineral in Toronto in a Filipino omakase format structured around four courses – Merienda, Pampagana, Ulam, and Panghimagas – each drawing from the traditions of Filipino home cooking and reinterpreted through contemporary culinary technique. Chef Cancino’s BC Spot Prawn Escabeche, featured among the opening canapes, was inspired by his mother’s escabeche prepared for special family occasions, presented with burnt mango, Hokkaido uni, and sour cherry on a perfectly crisp slice of chicken skin. His HamachiStek offered a creative reinterpretation of the classic Filipino bistek, substituting hamachi for beef and finishing with ponzumansi in place of the traditional soy-calamansi sauce. Chef Borrega’s Alberta Pork Sisig Wellington and QC Duck Kaldereta Raviolo – the latter a kaldereta-inspired preparation using braised duck legs with pomme puree, atchara, and green peas – demonstrated the same commitment to grounding contemporary technique in Filipino culinary heritage. The Panghimagas course closed the evening on an equally deliberate note: a Sans Rival Pavlova reinterpreting the beloved Filipino cashew meringue cake with mango and coconut, and an Ube Miso Cheesecake pairing ube mousse and shiro miso filling with ube white chocolate – a fitting conclusion to a menu that drew consistently from the Filipino kitchen.
Complementing the menu was a curated line-up of beverages carrying the same intentionality. Guests were served drinks bearing Filipino words such as GISING, GAYUMA, DIWATA, SINAG and HIWAGA each crafted with Philippine ingredients like banana liqueur, mango puree, calamansi, and ube.
The event drew a distinguished crowd including members of the Calgary Consular Corps from the Japanese and US Consulates, Dorian Hotel CEO Patricia Phillips, and Ms. Linda Garson, Editor-in-Chief of Culinaire Magazine, who attended and shared her experience with her following.
In her welcome remarks, Consul General Emma R. Sarne noted that the Philippine Consulate General in Calgary’s role goes beyond traditional diplomacy – “it is about creating platforms where Filipino excellence is not only seen but experienced.”
Through FRMC, Post aims to further elevate Filipino food, support Filipino restaurants, and bring the flavors of the Philippines closer to Canadian communities. END
