On a warm Sunday afternoon we passed by Quiapo Quiapo to have some ice-cold Halo Halo. This greeted us as we entered the place, some grand feast on a long table. Luckily, I tagged along my camera, pulled it out and requested permission to take pictures. Sharing with you the sumptuous meal and eating experience being enjoyed by the Santiago family.

Inquired from Sunshine, the daughter of Farida and Bobby Asuncion, owners of Quiapo Quiapo, what do they call this food preparation and setup. As relayed by Sunshine, who just arrived from Manila and is now settling in Canada, this is called the Budol Fight which is a thrilling way to eat with family and friends. We usually see the laying out of food particularly for those in the provinces in the Philippines. We'll also find this practiced in the military environment and some other cultures have a similar setup.

Banana leaves are laid out on the table, rice (a lot of it!!) is spread on the leaves and an assortment of food is put on top of the rice. Whatever food combination one can think of can be served on the table. There could be grilled pork, bbq, pancit or other noodle dish, inihaw na isda, seafood such as shrimp, crab, mussels, and squid. Then you top it with eggplants, be it grilled our made into a salad. You can also add sliced tomatoes, green mangoes and red eggs.

Now that's just the beginning. The fun starts when everybody digs in, using their hands. That's when the feast or the fight truly begins!!

Sunshine

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From: judymontenegro
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 08:38:07 -0400

Nice pics....we do this too in the Phil with our org in UP...pag student pa, di lng nga madaming ulam at low budget lng (:

Thanks,
Judy

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From: frank_and_nel
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 08:49:22 -0400

Ano ba ito Rene, eating contest?, or labo-labo eating??... Ya, it's funny how pinoys creativity
comes in so many different ways, and this is one them......Hahahaha!!

Thanks, for sharing Rene.

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From: lydbautista
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 13:15:49 +0000

WOW. WOW. WOW.

RENE, I WAS SPEECHLESS WHEN I OPENED THE LINK AND READ YOUR BLOG AND VIEWED ALL THE PHOTOS YOU TOOK FROM LAST SUNDAY. IT WAS GOOD KARMA THAT YOU GUYS HAPPENED TO WALKED IN WHEN WE HAVE JUST STARTED DIGGIN IN. WE WILL TREASURE THIS ALBUM FOREVER.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

LYDIA SANTIAGO-BAUTISTA

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From: ungshang
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 07:37:05 -0400

Just wondering how much food is wasted …


Hi Dan,

I observed that they took home all the extra food from the table, just for your info.

Regards,

Rene

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From: armananquil
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 11:24:35 -0400

Nag-umpisa na ang kamayan sa Toronto. Parang messy lang pero mukhang namang masaya at magana ang lahat. Palagay ko ay magki-click ito dahil unigue, so natural at pinoy na pinoy! Salamat Rene.

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From: castanios
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 19:20:09 -0700

great terrific stuff, thanks Rene for posting 1st 'Budol Fight' pictures i've
ever seen. haven't been to one or visited a resto like 'LaMesa' which i
believe has started(?) a 'kamayan style dining' instigated by a Pinoy resto
in NewYork City. check out this vidflick:

• Filipino resto 'Jeepney' a hit in NYCity [ABS CBN News July2013]2:54mins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3iGk1YS1c

am glad to see sort of 'precursor' of this dining sensation @ Quiapo Quiapo!
OC/
Oscar Castaños

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Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2013 13:25:53 -0700
From: rowenasancho

Rene - thanks for sharing. Nakakagutom tuloy. I know there's an abundance of food during Filipino get-togethers but this set-up TOPS them all ! Grabe - all for one ...one for all. I've experienced something similar - in a Moroccan restaurant in New York. Pero good for 2 lang (oh well....dalawa lang naman kaming kumain). And what is that drink in the garapon? Is that kalamansi juice?

Again, thanks.
Rowena