Why are there so few Filipino restaurants?  On Sunday I ate at a
Filipino restaurant. This was a first; prior experiences of
Filipino food had been solely at friends’ houses. Restaurants
were simply just not around. In fact, some googling seems to
indicate there may be less than 10 in the entire state of NSW.
Which is strange considering the population of Australians of
Filipino ancestry. The 2006 census gives 92300 people who speak
Tagalog at home. This compares to 53900 speakers of Turkish. And
Turkish eateries are ubiquitous.  Ethnic restaurants are one of
the standard features of  the experience of immigration. Why has
it not occured with the Filipinos?  I asked the proprietor.  He
said that there were “a few out west” (this was in Dee Why) that
served lower quality cut of meat with “more bone and gristle” to
Filipino diners that “mainstream” customers wouldn’t like. He
had chosen Dee Why, and was using modified ingredients to appeal
to mainstream diners.[fn1]  I didn’t press the point (the place
was qui