Calamansi: The tiny Philippine Citrus that perks every dish

By Marivir Montebon

New York – As the Filipino Restaurant Week closes today, I’d like to applaud to all 13 participating restaurants (and hope there will be an extension). Also, I’d like to bring to fore the tiny Philippine lemon – calamansi or lemonsito as it call it in Cebu. This citrus fruit definitely perked up Filipino dishes and drinks during #FRW2021. It is a home-grown truth and tradition how the calamansi awakens our taste buds and adds natural vitamin C to our food.

The Buren’s Calamansi Cheesecake and Pork Steak in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The Buren, for instance, created the Calamansi cheesecake which is a winner. Asin Filipino Cuisine also offered an unforgettable Calamansi cheesecake and its mouthwatering Crispy Fish Fillet with Calamansi and Mango salsa. Tradisyon NYC hailed its Calamansi Tart as the ultimate dessert. The Kape’t Torta mixed Calamansi into iced Tea which championed in quenching my thirst in the sweltering heat of summer. Ah I love them all!

Crispy Fish Fillet with Calamansi and Mango salsa and Calamansi Cheesecake by Asin Filipino Cuisine in Caldwell, NJ

Tradisyon NYC’s Calamansi Tart in Manhattan

Calamansi iced tea at Kape’t Torta on Queens Blvd.

At home, as in many Filipino homes abroad, the Calamansi is a beloved staple that partners with vinegar for my sawsawan (dip) for grilled, fried or dried fish. Calamansi truly brings out the excitement of any food and the vicarious feeling of being home.

(Featured photo: Calamansi in Stockton, CA. Thanks to my brother Joel for the photo)

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