This amazing couple from Hungry Jada offers homecooked dishes for family gatherings

One of the many things this pandemic has taught us all is that cooking is a valuable skill. Of course, there are a lot of fast-food chains and restaurants that are willing to deliver meals. But we know by heart that they’re not on par with your Lola’s lengua or your mom’s kare-kare. Most likely, we always long for the warmth of Pinoy dishes without the fatigue and hassle from cooking. Thankfully, we stumbled upon a food business called Hungry Jada.

Filipinos are united with their love for food and family

There’s no doubt, this pandemic crisis had caused a lot of changes in people’s lives in general. The authorities required us to stay at home with limited resources or almost none. Not all were lucky with a stable income, many had lost their jobs and businesses had to shut down.

Ms. Arra Regina is one of those Filipinos whose business took a hit by the COVID-19 lockdown. She admits that her talent agency is still suffering from its effects. From having a busy schedule from bookings, she suddenly almost have no gigs.

Even though she has her savings for unforeseen situations like this, she worries that this may run out in the near future. So she decided to find another means of earning. At first, she tried selling vitamins by bulk where she made a decent profit. But she wanted to do more, something that her family and friends can also benefit from. That’s when they began with Hungry Jada. The name came from her daughter’s name Jada who according to Arra, is always hungry.

The first dish that Arra and her partner came up with is kare-kare. She noticed that no one is posting about selling this dish online as she was browsing on a buy-and-sell Facebook group. Meanwhile, her partner Ja is the cook in their family. He loves being in charge of the kitchen and has great cooking skills.

It all started with the love for kare-kare

Arra added, “His kare-kare especially is always a hit. He cooks it with such passion that even Romeo and Juliet would shy away from it. The time and effort he puts into making it is nothing less than exceptional. From waking up in the wee hours of the morning to buy fresh ingredients at the market to the preparation, to the slow cooking that takes about four hours, and to the final touches– all of these for a sumptuous meal that is meant to be enjoyed by every member of the family.”

On its first week from its launch, Hungry Jada already had 16 orders then the number gradually increased. They even started delivering outside the metro on a weekly basis. That’s when they decided to expand their menu by adding chicken pesto pasta. This dish also becomes an instant favorite by their customers.

Arra said that they will continue to experiment in the kitchen so they can reinvent dishes that they can introduce in the future. The couple even added a lot of Pinoy “ulam” and cakes on their menu. She explains, “It looks like this health crisis is not going away anytime soon and when it does, things won’t immediately be back to normal. We Filipinos are known to being resourceful and resilient in challenging times like today and good food is our common language. I am proud and happy to be one of those who were able to combine these two not just to make a living but more importantly to offer something people can enjoy despite the hardships that we are all facing right now.”

Hungry Jada accepts orders through its Facebook and Instagram accounts. Customers should shoulder the delivery charge and it varies according to location. Payment mode is via BDO, GCash, or Cash-on-delivery.

So if you cannot scramble anything special in your kitchen, let Hungry Jada feed your family and friends with good food that is served with love.