7 ways to honor your foodie dad on Father’s Day

1. Set up a small Sunday brunch buffet for dad and the rest of the family. Have a brunch buffet right at home by setting up a spread of homemade pancakes with bananas and cream, cereals with milk, bacon, hotdogs, corned beef and eggs with choices of breads and some fried rice. Lay it out as they do in a restaurant serving a buffet breakfast. This should give your whole house a little excitement on a lazy or even rainy Sunday morning. Have some brewed coffee, orange and pineapple juice and a colorful fruit platter for everyone to share. Set up dad’s seat nicely so he can partake of the various selections and gather the whole brood so you start off the day in perfect harmony. 2. Plan an inihaw fiesta for lunch. Why not try going all-Filipino for a change? Most of our dads are big fans of inihaw meals and it could be a welcome change from going to their favorite steakhouse. You can simply marinate tuna steaks or tuna belly, liempo, squid, and chicken in either a store-bought or homemade barbecue marinade on Saturday, in time for indoor or outdoor grilling over live charcoal on Sunday. Have a light fresh clam soup or a hearty stew to go with your inihaw meals, with a vegetable stir-fry, and achara or green mango salad with tomatoes on the side. For a native touch, try serving your meals on bilaos lined with banana leaves. For drinks, junk the soda and serve fresh dalandan or buko juice, sago’t gulaman or tanglad (lemongrass) tea. 3. For the wine-loving dad, nothing satisfies than a good bottle of vino. Give your dad his favorite bottle of wine along with a nice little gadget such as glass markers, a screwpull corkscrew, bottle stoppers, an iceless wine chiller, a set of wide-mouthed red wine glasses or all-purpose goblets. If you have a bit of money left for a wine connoisseur dad, throw in a book on wine appreciation to go with a choice bottle of wine. 4. Surprise dad with your very own food tour. Follow the leads of Carlos Celdran and Ivan Dy whose popular food tours of Binondo and Old Manila are hits. On the Internet, you’ll find some of the stops they have on their tours. Why not do your own with your dad and the whole family? Without telling dad your destination, go to specific stops for lunch and merienda while visiting some of the historical sites in old Manila. Hear mass at one of the old churches here to thank the Lord for your greatest gifts, your parents. If you’re outside Manila, go to a place in town that you seldom visit or one that serves the best of a certain type of food, whether it’s an heirloom dish, a bakery popular for their ensaimada, or your hometown’s street food strip. 5. Cap dad’s day with a special homemade treat. Still, nothing says it better than a sweet treat you made yourself especially for your dear old dad. Be it a simple ice cream sundae, a chocolate or strawberry milkshake, a cupcake that says how much you mean to him, doing it yourself will go a long way in telling your dad just how much you love him. If you can’t bake the goods yourself, buy a few cupcakes and top with your own personalized message for dad. 6. Brew some fresh coffee with your dad every day. Most dads love coffee and not just the 3-in-1 kind. If you don’t have a coffee maker at home, pool some money to buy an inexpensive coffee press at a home store. Have a pack of a good brand of coffee for brewing for dad and the rest of your coffee-loving family to enjoy every day. Make it even more special by having your dad’s cute little “mugshot” on his very own mug. 7. Get dad munching from his own loot box. Get a nice little basket or a simple box and fill it with your dad’s favorite brands of snacks from the grocery—chips, nuts, dried fruits, chocolate bars and other treats. If you can choose the healthier variety, sugar-free candy bars and low-sodium chips, that would even make it better because he’ll know that you’re watching out for his health, too.