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| - Boodle Fight? I've heard of Kamayan Feast. Apparently, according to Google, this is a Filipino military tradition where the food is laid out on banana leaves across the table and diners eat with their hands. It's definitely communal dining. Kamayan, Filipino for "eating with the hands", is the same thing but maybe sounds more civilized. That's my understanding. Correct?
JK came across an offer for a Boodle date (two adults for $30). Having missed a few invitations for Kamayan, I was anxious to try this so we made a reservation for lunch.
We arrived at Dbarkadz all of their tables were occupied. Hmmm. There were only four tables near the front of the place, near the door. The rest of the space was set up like a store, with a service counter and steam table towards the back. Where were we going to sit.
The proprieters realised that we were there for a reservation and invited us to sit in their basement dining room. It looks like they host larger groups down there, and karaoke parties. We had the entire space to ourselves for our "date".
The food was presented on banana leaves laid out on a full-sized (large) sheet pan. Wow! Impressive looking! Hmmm, that's a lot of food. How are we going to finish this? Anyway, first things first, pictures! The overall presentation was impressive but there were so many components that deserved some attention of their own.
Pictures out of the way, we gloved up and dug in. There was fish (tilapia and milkfish), rice, noodles, mango, cuttlefish, eggplant, bitter melon, chicken, several pork dishes, and more!
I'm not a huge fan of fish, especially tilapia, and I've never had milkfish. They were stuffed with onions and tomatoes and grilled. Not bad. The cuttlefish was battered and fried, also not bad. The noodles, curry chicken and bitter melon were good. The pork dishes were our favourite, especially the crispy skin and the BBQ skewers. Yummy!
There was no way we were going to finish this food. It was too much! JK packed a takeout box and there was still enough left on the tray for another meal. We enjoyed the food and the experience. The staff (Owners? Managers?) were very friendly. At $15/person, it's a great value! Make sure you come hungry!
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