The Southern Food of Asia
How Filipino Cuisine is Finding Home in the South
Words by Nila Do Simon
Like all good Filipino meals, last night’s dinner ended with a karaoke session. On this evening, against Kaya restaurant’s palm frond-lined patio in a quiet section off Orlando’s Mills 50 district, there’s a special singer who’s taking the mic. Among the few dozen amateur vocalists who believe that karaoke is the peanut butter to a Filipino’s jelly, one singer is vying to replace Lea Salonga as Filipino singing royalty.
Lordfer “Lo” Lalicon may have just finished a grueling dinner service that features both a set menu and a la carte options, but he’s not too tired to sing. As Kaya’s executive chef, Lalicon’s portfolio includes opening a Michelin-starred Orlando restaurant and this current Michelin Green Star spot—not to mention smooth vocals alongside Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love To You."
Weekly karaoke nights at Kaya have been around since the Filipino restaurant known for its modern, soulful interpretations of classic Filipino recipes opened at the end of 2022. In addition to the Michelin Guide, Kaya has also caught the eye of judges at James Beard Foundation, who awarded the restaurants with a 2024 finalist recognition. But karaoke? Who thought a critically acclaimed restaurant should have karaoke?
“The ancestors,” Lalicon reveals, smiling. “You’re at a Filipino restaurant, so you have to do karaoke. Kaya represents Filipino culture, so we had to add it. And I like to sing sometimes.”
In a crowded space of Asian- and Latin-owned restaurants in the gastronomic-dense Mills 50, Kaya stands out. And not just for its weekly karaoke jams. If you ask Lalicon, it’s been a long time coming. Whereas Asian cuisines like Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Korean have seen widespread acceptance among Western diners, Filipino food has lagged behind. Until now.
In its defense, Lalicon admits that Filipino food has been hard to define, mostly because it does not fit neatly into a genre box. The archipelago was colonized by the Spanish for four centuries, bringing a distinct European taste, and then the United States (thank you for the canned meat!). Add to that its proximity to countries like China and India, both of whom included the Philippines in their trading and sailing routes, plus indigenous creations, and there’s an amalgamation of flavors and styles.
Like his Southern counterparts Nikko Cagalanan and Nokee Bucayu, Lalicon is building new Filipino cuisine, all rooted in the South. Along with business partner Jamilyn Bailey, Lalicon has created a love letter to their culture and heritage, all inside a 900-square-foot bungalow-style restaurant. Filipino for “capable,” Kaya is the personification of what Lalicon and Bailey view as the culture that their ancestors have instilled in them. “Supporting one another is what Kaya is about,” Bailey says. “We want people to feel like they belong, and feel taken care of—whether they are Filipino or not.”
Both raised in Florida, Lalicon and Bailey couldn’t have imagined a better place to set Filipino dining roots than in the South. Despite their worldwide travels that have included long stops in New York City (Lalicon, to work in the lauded kitchens of Carbone, Blue Hill and The Oak Room) and Chicago and Phoenix (Bailey, to study and work in national youth development and nonprofit), they both knew Florida was the final destination.
“I was supposed to be with my family here in Florida,” says Lalicon, who helped open the Michelin-star restaurant Kadence in Orlando prior to branching out with Kaya. “It’s very core to our Filipino culture to be with our family.”
In fact, his parents are fixtures at Kaya. Lalicon’s mom wakes up and sweeps the exterior, and his dad grows much of the plants found outside the restaurant, including calamansi trees, lemongrass, guava, bananas and figs. Bailey even lives in her childhood home in Orlando.
At Kaya, diners are welcomed into a version of home, one where a meal cooked with heart and soul will always be waiting. The nine-seat bar, 24-seat indoor space (with an additional 25-50 seats outside) is quaint and homey. Housed in a former bungalow complete with a driveway, Kaya’s owners highlighted snug, intimate touches that felt like a home, including framed black-and-white family photos of the Lalicon clan atop a brown upright piano.
“You have to have the vibes,” he says. “The house was something that was ideal, with a driveway that you can drive up to, like you’re driving up to a Filipino home. It really harbors the point that we’ve been talking about, and it’s family.”
The food itself is anything but homey. Considered simple but jam-packed with flavor, dishes are intentionally reminiscent of their traditional counterparts, but with Lalicon’s signature fine-dining background. “One of the coolest things I like to hear is when people are surprised at how lumpia and pancit can taste better than what it was or what they remember,” he says.
Despite its foundation as heritage food, Lalicon says the dishes at Kaya are Southern-esque cuisine, a nod to the region that has embraced them. Ninety percent of the produce is locally sourced and done with intention to promote local farmers and a reduced carbon footprint. Collard greens are stars in the laing dish, corn might be seasonally added to the bibingka rice cake for a Southern feel, and the kare-kare features a Southern favorite: oxtail. As Lalicon puts it, Filipino food is the Southern food of Asia. Mabuhay to that.
Filipino restaurants in the Southeast
Jeepney
Miami, Florida
The brainchild of Filipino celebrity chef Nicole Ponseca, Jeepney is a New York City transplant that has found a home in one of Miami’s food halls.
Kultura
Charleston, South Carolina
Former nurse turned “Chopped” winner Nikko Cagalanan opened his Spring Street restaurant in summer 2023, quickly gaining attention of the James Beard Foundation, which named the restaurant a finalist in the “Emerging Chef” category.
Estrellita
Atlanta, Georgia
One of the shining stars in Atlanta’s hot cultural scene, it’s no surprise that the intimate, family-run Estrellita earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand with its home-cooked dishes with Instagram-worthy presentations.