Comfort food means different things to different people. During this global pandemic, however, our commonalities as Filipinos, I’ve noticed, emerge through food posts. I haven’t received as many private messages from friends and family, especially those living abroad, than after posting photos of kamote cue, mais con hielo, tilapia in coconut milk and baked birthday spaghetti with béchamel sauce. A childhood friend, who has lived in Sydney since the 1990s, told me she went to dig up her sweet potato plant in her backyard and quickly messaged me for instructions on how to cook them.

Moral, C. V. (2020, April 23). Why we crave for our childhood snacks now: From ‘kamote’ cue to comfort food like tilapia in spicy coconut milk. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. C1.