Pancit, Halo Halo, Malunggay Flan: All the Food Coming to Saturday’s Filipino Fiesta

Photo: Courtesy of Filipino Community Center

The 2025 Flores de Mayo and Filipino Fiesta happens this Saturday, May 3, at the Filipino Community Center and nearby Hans L’Orange Park in Waipahu. While the event will feature food, music, activities and community spirit, last weekend’s Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver won’t be far from people’s minds. The event will open with a moment of silence. “We are deeply saddened to learn about the tragic incident at the Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver,” FilCom Center executive director Andrea Christina Caymo-Kauhanen says. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow community members during this difficult time.”

Saturday’s Fiesta, which is free and open to the public, is a celebration of Filipino culture. You’ll find an entire section of vendors selling Filipino and other street food, a Santacruzan procession down Mokuola Street, and the Bida sa Kalsada car show. AJ Rafael will headline the live entertainment, with Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winner Keilana opening for him.

There’ll be a balut eating contest, a Purple Freeze challenge involving ube ice cream, and the one-of-a-kind Malunggay Master: The Ultimate Strip-Off leaf-picking contest. Philippine-inspired cocktails and beer will be at the new 21+ Inuman Bar, a morning cafe will serve non-alcoholic drinks like pandan milk tea, and a full afternoon of cultural workshops will feature tinikling, malunggay and martial arts.

Photo: Courtesy of Filipino Junior Chamber of Commerce

Also new this year, the Tobosa School of Kali Escrima will offer a special introduction to the fundamentals of Filipino weapon-based fighting. (Full disclosure: I’m a proud member.) It’s a chance for all ages to experience this rich cultural tradition through movement, skill-building and hands-on practice.

“Last year, we hit 5,000 attendees and this year, we think it will be bigger. We have more food, more vendors, more attractions, and we’ll be in Hans L’Orange Park too,” says Caymo-Kauhanen. “This is our third year, and it’s nice to bring it back to Waipahu where many Filipinos live.”

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This year’s Fiesta theme, Celebrating Wellness and Heritage through Malunggay, highlights the plant’s enduring role in Filipino kitchens. Also known as moringa, malunggay is a staple in Filipino cooking. It is treasured for its versatility, antioxidants and vitamins,and deep cultural roots and is used in traditional soups, stews and teas.

Malunggay will take center stage in one-off dishes created specially for the day:

Photo: Courtesy of Ever Chocolate

Ever Chocolate will debut a malunggay matcha polvoron. Ever Chocolate’s version of the Filipino shortbread uses organic cane sugar, matcha powder, and malunggay powder. Other flavors reflect Hawai‘i’s diverse culinary landscape; all are made in small batches and wrapped by hand.

Photo: Courtesy of Two Sisters Kitchen

Two Sisters Kitchen will serve up Malunggay Queso Flan, a fresh twist that gives the dessert a texture between custard and panna cotta. Other dishes from Two Sisters are lechon pork belly rolls, chicken inasal, pancit bihon and ube sticky rice lumpia.

Photo: Courtesy of Sama Sama Hawai‘i

Sama Sama, which blends nostalgic Filipino flavors with modern milk tea culture, is making its first ever malunggay milk tea specially for the Fiesta. Also at this booth, you’ll find other Filipino-inspired boba, coffee and desserts.

Other food vendors:

Cools in Catering by Sinublan
Curated Filipino plates by Chef Reynaldo

Hawaiian Honey Cones
J-shaped corn cones with Hokkaido-style and ube ice cream

Panday Coffee
Banana coffee, rice milk coffee, macadamia nut latte, banana milk

Magnolia Ice Cream & Treats
Halo halo, shaved ice, siomai, siopao, ice cream

Thai Lao Restaurant
Pad Thai, Thai fried chicken, Lao sausage, mango sticky rice

LaoWaiian Style Creations
Deep-fried spring rolls, lemongrass chicken skewers, Lao spicy sausage, butter mochi rolls

Macadero’z Cocina
Poke nachos, kalua nachos, pancit, thunder chicken, ube-stuffed cookies

Chubby Fries & Wings
Chicken wings (five flavors), loaded fries, jasmine rice

Crepe Haven LLC
Dessert crepes: Nutella, cookie butter, ube haupia, Oreo

Fry Em Up Hawai‘i
Pork katsu, seafood tempura, burgers, fish and chips, strawberry smoothies

Blue Truck Teppanyaki
Teppanyaki steak, shrimp, pork chop, lemonade, pineapple iced tea

Corn Onoz Hawai‘i
Flavored corn on the cob, elote nachos

Sugah Daddeh’s Kane Juice
Fresh sugar cane juice

Mama Merce’s Kitchen
Pancit, lumpia, lechon kawali, adobo, Bicol express

Shawarma Break LLC
Beef and chicken shawarma wraps, beef shawarma rice, mango float

2025 Flores de Mayo & Filipino Fiesta

When: Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Filipino Community Center, 94-428 Mokuola St., Waipahu
Admission: Free
Info: filipinofiestahi.com, @thefilcomcenter

Eric Baranda is a longtime contributor to Frolic Hawai‘i.