Filipino food truck brings beloved lumpia, Pinoy dishes to Florida

Filipino mother and daughter Cecilia Arevalo Bridges and Sydney Cez Palad have brought some of the beloved Filipino dishes to Jacksonville, Florida, USA through their food truck business, "Rolling Lumpia."

According to GMA Pinoy TV's "EntrePinoy Abroad", it was Sydney who asked her mom to go into business. They decided to focus on food as Sydney's background was in hospitality, while an opportunity to own a food truck presented itself.

"Filipino food talaga 'yung ibebenta talaga namin. Hindi lang namin alam kung ano 'yung pinaka-main namin na ibebenta kasi 'di ba puwedeng maging turo-turo or carinderia style," Cecilia said as she shared that she bought the food truck after seeing it posted for sale online.

(We really planned to sell Filipino food, but we weren't sure what our main offering would be. At first, we thought it could be a turo-turo or eatery style business.)

For Sydney, their goal is to highlight Filipino food and make it mainstream in Jacksonville, with lumpia, or egg roll, as their main dish since it is a staple at Filipino celebrations.

"Yun 'yung talagang perfect na itinda namin sa food truck kasi doon siya nanggaling sa idea na ito 'yung laging hinahanap ng mga tao. Kahit non-Filipinos," Sydney said.

(That was the perfect item to sell at a food truck because the idea was to serve what people—even non-Filipinos—are always looking for.)

Selling food is not new to their family. Cecila shared that her grandparents and mother owned an eatery in the Philippines.

Cecilia then worked in a telecommunications company in Japan before migrating to the US and marrying her husband, who is now a retired military soldier.

Kindness goes a long way

Cecilia is proud of the kindness and hard work that her children show every day.

"Pagka minsan may bumibiling bata or matanda, sinasabi nila sa akin na, 'Mama, huwag mo na silang i-charge.' Or 'pag may nagre-request sa amin na, 'Can we add extra lumpia or extra sauce or extra meat?' Hindi kami nag-extra charge. So, I think 'yun, 'yung pagiging generous. At tsaka 'yung pagiging masipag, siyempre," Cecilia said.

(When children or the elderly buy from us, my daughters would tell me not to charge them anymore. We also do not charge extra when a customer requests extra lumpia or sauce. So, I'm proud of their kindness and hard work.)

After setting up the food truck, the mother-daughter business grew as they received invitations to sell at events, making it difficult for them to manage their time.

"After that, naisip namin, okay, before kami na mag-confirm ng mga event, we have to ask muna, what's the event? Is this public? Gaano karami 'yung attendees?" Sydney said.

(After that, we thought that before confirming to serve at events, we have to ask questions like, what is the event? Is this public? How many attendees are expected?)

For a two-hour lunch service, Bridges said they spend six hours on preparation and post-operations, or a total of eight hours of honest work.

More food variety

Their menu started with five items: pork belly adobo, lumpia, loaded lumpia, dynamite lumpia, and pancit. It later expanded to include beef tapa, sisig, crispy pork belly, and a bento bowl, which has a little bit of everything from their dishes.

"'Yung loaded lumpia, 'yan 'yung talagang nag-trend sa social media. Ang dami naming nakikita 'yung nagre-repost, nagko-comment, and then ang dami naming nagre-create," Sydney said.

(The loaded lumpia became trending on social media. I saw many reposts and commented on it, and even created their own versions.)

"Mayroon silang sariling parang toppings, and then tinatawag din 'yung loaded lumpia. So, nakakatawa na talagang nakilala din siya sa iba't ibang lugar," she added.

(They have their own toppings and call it loaded lumpia, so it's fun to see that it has become popular in different places.)

The perfect lumpia

However, the current version of their lumpia has gone through changes, from perfecting the recipe to refining the look.

"Before, when we started, hindi gan'un talaga 'yung lumpia namin. So, hindi siya gan'un kapulido. So, over time, in-adjust talaga namin siya. Kasi talaga, yeah, gusto namin talaga siya na parang 'yung lumpia namin maging talagang parang flawless," Palad said.

(When we started, our lumpia wasn't very refined. Over time, we really adjusted and improved it because we wanted it to be as close to flawless as possible.)

Social media hit

Not only did their menu expand, but so did the reach of their videos online. Cecilia said this was unexpected, as they created the videos simply to document their daily routine.

"I think that's one of the most kind of inspiring, rewarding feeling for us is 'yung na-extend namin 'yung Rolling Lumpia sa ibang tao," Palad.

(I think one of the most inspiring and rewarding feelings for us is being able to bring Rolling Lupia to other people.)

More Filipino dishes

As their business continues to grow, the mother and daughter team said they plan to create more Filipino dishes and open more branches for their customers and possibly expand to the Philippines.

"Lakasan niyo 'yung loob niyo. Kailangan, pagka mag-business kayo, malakas 'yung loob niyo. And last but not least, be kind to people," Cecila said.

(Be brave. If you're going into business, you need to be strong and confident. And last but not least, be kind to people.)

"And be happy. Kailangan happy. Kailangan happy din kayo dun sa business na gagawin niyo," Palad said.

(And be happy. You should be happy with the business you'll be doing.)

— VDV, GMA News