Our Story
- From a childhood kitchen to your Charleston table
Lowcountry Lumpia
I started this business in 2025 out of a simple sentiment. Cooking Filipino food makes me feel close to my parents who are no longer with us.
A Mother's Love
My mother loved rice cakes and we used to bond over eating those when she was still with us. I stopped looking for rice cakes anywhere else, I learned making them.
Lowcountry Lumpia
Prior to owning a food business,
I was a writer and editor for
several years.
My Journey
As a young girl there’s this wishful thinking of owning a restaurant or a coffee shop, but that wasn’t at the front of all my aspirations. I was a breadwinner so following a lucrative career in corporate was the initial option.
Yet there was one moment in my life that was witnessed only by me and God that probably led to this day. I was 8 and alone in the house. It was around 2 in the afternoon and none of us have had a meal for the day. I went to our backyard which was more like a dingy narrow alley where we were raising a couple of ducks. That day, I got lucky, the duck laid a single egg.
I picked it up, washed it, and fried it. I’ve never cooked prior to that. I was only my Dad’s helper in doing preps such as chopping vegetables or separating lumpia wrappers. But that day I learned how to cook to feed myself. I ate the egg with leftover rice from the night before, a small portion of toasted rice clinging on the side of the pot. Since then I made a goal of never letting myself and my parents hungry again.
A Family Affair
I’ve helped businesses grow and scale but I wouldn’t have had the courage to start a business of my own without my husband, Doug. His role extends beyond my business partner and husband — he’s my mentor, biggest motivator, and number one fan. He has some favorite Filipino dishes such as pork belly adobo, lumpia, arroz caldo, and pandesal. I love most Filipino food because I grew up eating them at home. It’s comfort, home, love, and tradition. I wish to share the same sentiments to our Charleston folks in a way that’s accessible, convenient, and savory all at the same time.