fiesta kul
What was hot, not
so hot at food stalls
A review of service at food stalls by NERIA SOLIMAN
FILIPINO culture was again at the fore on Monday, October 2018, at Fairfield
Showground to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sydney Grand Philippine
Fiesta Kultura.
The inviting scent of the barbecue in skewer in the air, native bibingka, halo
halo, fresh buco and green mango with bagoong simply bring memory of
home sweet home Philippines.
The word ‘fiesta’ connotes feasting, a celebration of the rich Pinoy kitchen
heritage, a display of food to its best.
The fiesta mentality of Filipinos had its culmination during the Spanish era.
Fiesta at that time symbolised the wealthiest and most powerful person in the
barangay, but today fiesta symbolises the rich Filipino culture and food heritage
achieved from Filipino ingeniunity, creativity and sophisticated palate through
the years.
As always, l had the task of doing a review of the various food stalls in this
year’s Fiesta Kultura. It was a wonderfully interesting experience to witness
again unigue of Pinoy cooking. It was exquisite to see the authentic bibingka
and fresh buco of Adrian food stall.
It had the Arroz Caldo at $7 selling fast in the morning before lunch time
The criteria for my review were food handling sanitation, popularity,
palatability, variety of dishes and presentation such as usage of correct serving
utensils, hot dishes served hot, and cold dishes served cold.
The most popular of all the food stalls was the Panlasang Pinoy, a very
generous stall which gave you another serve after you had consumed your
dish - without charge. It had reasonable prices on all dishes like sisig, one of
the most saleable dishes is only $7 whereas at Aunty Lo’s food stall it cost $12.
Other stalls chargeed $10 with rice.
One food stall, other than being expensive stall did not pass my sanitation
standard. Food handlers acted as cashiers holding paper notes and coins. I
bought take-away sisig which was half-full in a container at $12.
I paid by handing over a $50 note, just to see how the server would give me
change. The server acted as both cashier and food handler which is a no-no to
food handling sanitation.
SR Sisig was the most popular sisig stall but ran out of the stuff by the late
afternoon Another popular stall was The best Philippine Street Foods which
boasted of a ‘budget meal’ of $10.
Teresa’s Catering and Lutong Bahay were just as popular. Teresa’s combo
meal of two choices with rice was $10, while the rest of the stalls were selling
the meal combo at $15. The people liked the gimmick of Teresa’s Siopao and
Catering that gave vouchers of 50 per cent discount on ‘halo halo special’.
I have noted that the most loved Pinoy Barbecue was standardised this year at
$5 a stick, unlike previous years when the price would go up to $7 a stick.
As expected, almost all the stalls sold this ultra popular and most loved Pinoy
street food in their menu.
Rocky’s Barbeskew was the most popular, boasting the sweet aroma
emanating from the marinated pork chunks being grilled in live coal.
Few stalls sold lechon kawali and lechon horno.
It was Sydney Cebu Lechon’s $15 for rice and pieces of chopped lechon.
Cebu Lechon normally did not have liver sauce condiments to go with it, but
the stall had the Mang Tomas liver sauce to the delight of lechon lovers.
There was no whole roast pig display as in previous years.
The lechon is the most symbolic of Philippine feasting and festivities.
To quote from my first cookbook Bicol and Philippine Recipes, which l wrote in
1986: “The undisputed star in the Bicol Fiesta is not the guest of honor but the
lechon or roast pig. Its crisp skin is pinched off by guests until the pig is all
but denuded.”
Other Food stalls who supported the Fiesta Kultura were the Divine Dishes,
Churros, Kalayenne Thai Cuisine, Kapamilya, Green Peppercorn, Filipiniana
Food Mart, Burger Mate, Ice Cream and Pizza Stall.
All showcased clean and neat presentation of their items in the menu.
What impressed me most were the two stalls called the Volunteer’s Corner.
Thanks to Danny Garcia and Moises del Mundo for organising these stalls for
the volunteers working behind the scene.
08
OCTOBER 2018 | AK NewsMagazine, Vol 9 No 1
PICTURED FROM LEFT, Eleni Tsingas, Charity Princess 2018; Jazel Alarca, Miss
Philippines Australia and Charity Queen Australia 2018; Tiffany Kemper, Miss
Philippines Australia first runner-up.
Photo: BOB REYES
Jazel Alarca voted
pageant's queen at
a glittering finale
IN a glittering pageant final, Jazel Alarca, 18, was crowned 2018 Miss
Philippines Australia and declared the best fundraiser to earn the title Miss
Charity Queen 2018.
It was the sixth time that one finalist had taken both titles.
Miss Philippines-Australia runner-up was Tiffany Kemper; Charity Princess
was Eleni Tsingas.
The well attended coronation night was held at the Tivoli Room of Rooty Hill
RSL Club and Resort, as presented Philippine Australia Sports and Culture
Inc as part of the organisation’s 30th anniversary.
Eight finalists strutted on stage competing in four sections: Filipiniana,
swimsuit, evening gown, and interview.
Miss Philippines Australian 2017 Kymberlee Street and Charity Queen
Australia 2017 Carissa Gallacher gave their last speeches and took their
final walk as the reigning queens before crowning their successors.
Entertainment was provided by visiting tenor Miguel Castro and local
baritone Dexter Villahermosa. Headline act was Allan K and Boobay.
Hosts were Gez Perez, Melanie Balagtas, Jade Crystal Wright, and Tony
Pham.
www.kalatas.com.au
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