Remember Ma Mon Luk? Those delicious asado-filled white siopao the size of our clenched fist that we were told to peel before eating? Paired with the restaurant's steaming mami, they were perfect for keeping stomach and soul satiated because they were cheap and flavored just right.

Ma Mon Luk, the restaurant (first in Quiapo and later a branch in Quezon Blvd. near Banawe, QC), was itself a draw. Humid and steamy because there was no air-conditioning, greasy and somewhat grubby, it nonetheless attracted not just budget eaters but bougie types as well. Quite a number of Filipino octogenarians associate Ma Mon Luk with their first dates or their marriage proposals. During martial law when many were hunted, the always bustling restaurant was a good place to meet in plain sight (thus unnoticed by the hunters) and to satisfy one's craving as well.

Behind the restaurant and the siopao, there was Ma Mon Luk, the man, whose origin story is now the focus of a children's book. Read all about it in this issue and get a recipe for mami.

Here's another nostalgia trip: remember the pop songs that filled the Philippine airwaves decades ago, like "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin" by Martin Nievera, and "Lift Up Your Hands" by Basil Valdez?" The songs have proven staying power but the composer herself has kept a relatively low profile. Until this month that is. This weekend in Manila she celebrates her 45th year as a hotshot composer of many hits. This issue has her covered.

And two doses of inspiration: first, from a veteran Fil-Am broadcast journalist who has a lot of say about pursuing a path that matters. And second, the continuing and never-ending list of Fil-Am achievers who are stamping their marks on the US melting pot.

Finally, a front-and-center look at Lake Sebu in South Cotabato where the T'boli tribe of crafts people and tradition bearers live, work and fight for their right to their ancestral lands.

For our Video of the Week, a new documentary on acclaimed soprano Evelyn Mandac by an appreciative student.

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