Sari‐Sari: Filipino Grocery Stores and Transnational Migrant Food Networks in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Despite being one of Hong Kong's largest ethnic minorities, Filipino migrants have a significant albeit understated impact on its foodscape. Hong Kong has a reputation for being a culinary melting pot, yet Philippine food has only recently gained popularity and visibility among its broader population. However, since the influx of foreign domestic labor in the 1970s, Filipinos have found various ways to access homeland foods abroad. This paper explores how Filipino migrants in Hong Kong have established food networks to meet demand for Philippine products. I employ the Filipino term sari‐sari (‘varied’) to describe the multiple ways through which these products arrive and circulate within the migrant community. These transnational networks differ in scale, from large‐scale importers to individuals transporting goods in suitcases. Beyond these logistics, I emphasize the personal, social, and cultural significance of these foods, tracing how social relationships punctuate and enable their flows. In particular, I discuss how Filipino grocery stores in Hong Kong continue and transform the tradition of sari‐sari stores from the Philippines. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted from June 2024 to April 2025 among Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, I analyse migrant Filipino foodways through three cases across scales: Filipino grocery stores, food networks, and the production and consumption of cassava cake. These examples illuminate issues of food security, as well as performances of class, culture, identity, and community for migrants.