Jun Belen wins the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing second prize. “His essay, “The Ritual of Cooking Rice,” describes how his mother cooked rice, the various steps that lead to what Doreen Gamboa Fernandez describes as the “Filipinos’ deepest comfort food.”
— Micky Fenix, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 2014

Jun-blog is a three-time finalist for Best Regional Cuisine Blog in Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog Awards. Jun-blog has been selected by Saveur editors as one of the year’s best food blogs for three years in a row — 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Jun-blog is nominated for Best Culinary Blog — one of only three finalists — by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in their 2013 Food Writing Awards and Conference held in San Francisco, CA.

“An essay on all things adobo — vinegar, palm sugar, soy sauce, peppercorns — from a Filipino food blogger.”
— Julia Moskin, The New York Times Diner’s Journal,
October 2012

“The Pinoy Cuisine Champion. Filipino-American Jun Belen and his website Jun-blog gets our vote with its minimalist yet mouth-watering visuals, nostalgic narratives, and unyielding passion for his home country’s cuisine.”
— Food Magazine, Philippines, October 2012

Jun Belen’s “Anong Pang-Himagas” wins Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing honorable mention. “Jun Belen, wrote about his picnic lunches in elementary school with his mother. His favorite was her minatamis na saging.”
— Micky Fenix, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 2012

“The photographer Jun Belen is working his way through a stunning alphabet of Filipino food. He started with Achuete Oil a year ago, breezed past Calamansi Sorbet and Pork Belly Binagoongan; now he’s up to Sawsawan.”
— Julia Moskin, The New York Times Diner’s Journal, May 2012

“Jun Belen turned his homesickness into a creative endeavor with this blog about Filipino cooking. A professional food photographer, his images are a warm entry point into Filipino cuisine and culture.”
Jun-blog is named finalist for Best Regional Cuisine Blog in Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog Awards.

Jun-blog is nominated for a People’s Choice Award for Best Culinary Website or Blog by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) as part of their inaugural New Media and Broadcast Awards.
— IACP Food Writing Awards, New York, March 2012

Tara Duggan writes about Noche Buena and Misa de Gallo in a special to the Chronicle about the Filipino Christmas feast featuring stories from Jun Belen’s childhood and his recipe for bibingka and arroz caldo.
— San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, December 2011

“Filipinos are very proud of their cuisine, but Jun Belen took his love for Filipino food to a whole new level. … In every entry, he shares stories about his family, growing up away from his motherland and the native dishes he has come to love.”
— Food Magazine, Philippines, October 2011

“Philippine-born, San Francisco-based Jun Belen quells his homesickness with a blog about his homeland’s food. … Jun’s job as a photographer and stylist makes for a blog that is both interesting and beautiful.”
— Feast Magazine, Australia, December 2011

“Jun Belen, the voice behind Jun-blog, moved to California from the Philippines in 1998. His first Thanksgiving was spent in a Carrow’s on the side of a Las Vegas highway.” Jun Belen talks with Evan Kleiman about his first Thanksgiving and stuffing balls recipe.
— KCRW Good Food, Los Angeles, November 2011

Jun Belen talks about Filipino food and Hapa SF, Chef William Pilz’s popular modern Filipino food truck in San Francisco, in Food Network Canada’s and Cooking Channel’s Eat Street with James Cunningham.
— Eat Street, San Francisco, July 2011

Out of 40,000 nominations, Jun-blog is named finalist for Best Regional Cuisine Blog in Saveur Magazine’s 2011 Best Food Blog Awards. Jun-blog also makes it to Saveur’s elite roster of “the Best of the Web” with a feature on pork barbecue skewers and banana ketchup.