Pinoy stars share their fave Noche Buena dishes

THE Noche Buena (literally, “good night”) is the meal all Filipinos look forward to as a way to honor the God and tradition, as well as share our bountiful blessings with friends and family after a year of challenges in our careers and personal lives.

The traditionalists among us will usually have a Chinese leg of ham topped with pineapples and caramel glaze, a tray of rich and buttery ensaymada topped with grated quezo de bola with a steaming cup of hot tsokolate on the side, and a creamy fruit or buco salad for dessert.

Like many of us, our kapatid in the entertainment profession also partake of classic yuletide fare that epitomize our Spanish-Chinese-American influences, even as a few dream up of delightful (or zany!) dishes to enliven their midnight supper.

• LORNA TOLENTINO – Every Christmas, I always look forward to the food made by dear friends. Sandy [Andolong] makes the best sardines, Bibeth [Orteza] gives tuyo, Tita Pilar’s [Pilapil] ham is very good. I also look forward to the roast turkey my best friend will make. Basically, my Noche Buena feast is food made by friends. I can feel their love for me through these gifts. (Click Celebrity Noche Buena Feasts for the rest of my piece.)