In Search of Lumpia

I was hanging out with some friends recently and found out that one of them went to high school in the Philippines.  Although I have never lived in the Philippines, a women by the name of Rosie worked with my dad at Ft. Baker in Sausalito, CA.  Each year, she invited us to what I still consider to be the biggest gathering of people in a home and the largest buffet I have ever seen.  I believe it was the Asian New Year celebration.  I have to admit that I was young so everything probably seemed big.  However, I always remember stuffing myself with lumpia.  With that enormous buffet, I am not sure why lumpia stands out.

So what is lumpia?  When I moved to Alabama, I found it difficult to describe it.  I usually compared it to an egg roll, but I still find it to be a loose comparison.  They seem to be made from similar ingredients from an outsiders point of view, but they seemed much lighter and meatier.

I found a description on Wikipedia.  Let me know if anyone prepares lumpia in the Birmingham area.