Barangay means "neighborhood" in Tagalog, and in the Philippines, a nation of more than 7,000 islands, barangay festivals are block parties of a sort.

"Every neighborhood, every barangay, has its own," says Jamilyn Salonga Bailey, co-owner of Kaya. "And we have ours at the end of January. This weekend, Jan. 25 and 26, will be our third."

Oftentimes, in the majority-Catholic Philippines, the barangay festival will be based on the patron saint of the neighborhood, she explains. "All the people who live there come together to party, to eat and drink. Usually, there's a procession of the saint. They get dressed up. They dance."

But at this award-winning, James Beard Award-nominated Orlando restaurant, the Barangay Fest focus is on what most of Kaya's events seek to highlight: community.

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"We host Filipino and other local food vendors, retail vendors, and take this opportunity to show off all that's growing here in town. This year, we're extra excited because we're adding a couple of new elements."

Not the least of which will be an Adobo Cook-Off on Saturday.

Seven local restaurants and culinarians will try to impress the palates of a team of pro judges, as well as compete for crowd favorite, creating adobo-inspired dishes that speak to both tradition and creative evolution.

The dish doesn't have to be your grandmother's adobo, says Bailey, who's quick to point out that no two grandmothers, even in the Philippines, make it quite the same. Dishes need only include some form of Filipino adobo, which means the inclusion of vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorn and salt.

"When we talk about adobo in the restaurant, we tell people that there are many regional and family varieties -- so many islands, so many people -- everyone's lola or auntie or uncle or dad 'makes it better!'" she laughs. "It's all different. And we think it's a great way to showcase the diversity of Filipino cuisine across the world. Filipino food is not one thing. And neither is adobo."

Admission to the festival is free, and lots of local vendors will be on hand selling food. Guests interested in sampling the adobo offerings and having a say in who walks away with the People's Choice Award can purchase the $50 Judge's Pass (exploretock.com/kaya/event/527799/adobo-cookoff-judges-pass), which gets you a taste of all seven competitors' creations, plus an adobo-inspired dessert by Sampaguita and a drink from Kaya's Bayani Bar.

Competing this year: Black Magic Pizza, Burrito Boys, Chef in the Streets, Hapa Halo Street Food, Palm Beach Meats, Red Panda Noodle and Smokemade Meats.

"They're being a little secretive about [what they're making], which is kind of cute," says Bailey, who'll be participating on the judge's panel along with cookbook author Pam Brandon, Kaya chef/owner Lordfer Lalicon and, perhaps most daunting of all, Bailey's mom.

"We had to have an auntie in there!"

Day two of the festival (also from 1-5 p.m.) will feature a collaboration with Lucky Cat Mini Mart, bringing together 40+ food and retail vendors and featuring kids' activities, live music on a festival stage, Filipino cultural dances from UCF's Filipino Student Association and a DJ. For local foodie nerds looking for an excuse to go both days -- or a reason for those who can't make it Saturday to shoot for Sunday -- there will be a "Kayabee" collaboration with local favorites Kaya, Sampaguita, Palm Beach Meats and Redlight Redlight.

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"The four of us will present Jollibee-inspired dishes," says Bailey, name-dropping the world's most famous Filipino fast-food joint, which enjoys cult-level love from many of its fans. "Kaya will be doing our spaghetti."

Also in the can (literally) a new Redlight Redlight-Kaya collab you can drink: Peach Mango Kaibigan, which invokes both Kayabee's famous peach mango pie while employing the Tagalog word for "friend."

The festival, says Bailey, has grown each year to include many friends, which makes the Kaya team happy.

"We're doing more collaborations, bringing more folks into the mix and it's fun because, really -- that's the whole point."

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Adobo Cookoff: 1-5 p.m. Jan. 25 in Kaya's courtyard; free to attend. However, a ticket that allows voting and sampling is $50.