Several classics appear in this cookbook, such as a detailed recipe for trice cooked lechon kawali and bibingka, as well as some harder to find staples such as pancit malabon. Be aware that some liberties exist. The adobo recipe includes coconut milk. By the authors admission, the puto recipe is omitted entirely for being too difficult. While there are a lot of "stories" and glossy pictures, there are some familiar dishes missing such as the more ubiquitous pancit palabok. With such heft, this book falls short of being a bible and is organized somewhat erratically in terms of recipes. Perhaps there's a more authentic or comprehensive, in the lax terms of Philippine cuisine, book out there, but I have yet to come across it. Until such a tome appears, this one will do more than fine.

Update: The New York Times published this article in which one of the authors admits that given a choice she wouldn't add coconut milk or soy sauce to her adobo. Why they include both ingredients in a published recipe is beyond me. Perhaps they are catering to a Western clientele? My marinated adobo, with coconut milk, is on the stove later today, so I will have to see how I feel about it.