By Roy Mabasa The Philippine Consulate in New York has just concluded the Filipino Restaurant Week 2019, a week-long gastronomic festival that brought together 23 restaurants and pop-ups from seven states in the United States’ East Coast to propel the best of Philippine cuisine into the limelight. "Now in its fifth year, the FRW continues to offer foodies a unique gastronomic treat that will give them a taste of Filipino culinary identity and food culture, and a unique experience of Filipino hospitality," the Philippine Consulate said in a statement Inspired by the New York Restaurant Week, this year's participating restaurants served "prix fixe" meals (limited menu with fixed prices) composed of three courses: appetizer, entrée, and dessert. For this year's presentation, the Philippine coconut was the featured main ingredient incorporated by the participating restaurants. FRW was started by the Philippine Consulate General in New York in 2015 and has since then generated buzz not only within the Filipino-American community but also in the mainstream U.S. gastronomic sector, especially on social media. Consul General Claro Cristobal is optimistic that the FRW will continue to carry on the growing trend of offering food lovers in the U.S. East Coast a fantastic gastronomic treat of Philippine cuisine. The FRW 2019's official launch was held on May 8 at the High Bar Rooftop of the DoubleTree Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the participating restaurants, chefs, and restaurateurs were introduced to the media, food enthusiasts, and guests. The Consulate said this was the first time that the FRW launch was held outside of the Philippine Center. This was aimed to provide a bigger, more relaxed space and generate a food-tasting ambiance where people could network, enjoy, and talk about Filipino food. The 10 new participants included The Buren in Brooklyn; Maganda, a pop-up restaurant; Karenderya in Nyack, New York; ASIN in New Jersey; Tanám in Massachusetts; Sarvida and Lalo in Philadelphia; Bistro 1521 in Virginia; Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly in Maryland; and Purple Patch in Washington, DC. Seven restaurants from New York and New Jersey have been with the FRW since its inception, namely, the Ugly Kitchen, Purple Yam, Phil-am Kusina, Max’s Restaurant, Maharlika, Jeeney and Grill 21. They were joined by Tito Rad’s, Swell Dive, Mighty Bowl, Perla in Philadelphia, Kuma Inn and KabiseraKape in the succeeding years.