In his 2005 Badass Madapaka special, beloved Filipino comic Rex Navarette dresses a pointed PSA in comedic garb as he matter-of-factly declares, "Filipino food is the shit." He then offers some insight as to why it hasn't gone mainstream and draws laughter after twice imploring the ascension of this cuisine from circus-act appearances on Fear Factor into legitimate illumination on Food Network (see the uncut clip here). And before slaying a Fear Factor host-contestant skit, he grumbles five words that resonate loudly with the pathos of Harana: That shit ain't funny anymore. The sentence is slipped in and promptly eclipsed by the skit. But I can't help but hit pause and receive it as a quiet rally cry. I was and am a little proud that the food I grew up with was introduced to the world as food that takes balls to eat. But balls aside, there is just too much awesome flavor and history behind this cuisine to be withheld or worse, underrepresented.