On Balikbayan's first(!) episode, we're joined by Sarahlynn Pablo, a writer and poet in Chicago who co-founded Filipino Kitchen and ran a Filipino food and arts festival in Chicago called Kultura for four years.

We talk about growing up between the Chicago suburbs and the Philippines, what it was like to start Filipino Kitchen, whether Filipino food really is unhealthy, and how a blog comment on her lugaw changed her life. Then, we go through a "Filipino Lightning Round" where we hash out critically important topics like karaoke, ube, and how good her Tagalog is.

Music by RV Mendoza and Blue Dot Sessions. Logo by Niccolo Pizarro.

Follow the show on Twitter @balikbayanshow, and send me an email at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!