Food With Mae required NO cutlery? As this was a Kamayan Boodle fight

Food with Mae put on a special night of food which was a Kamayan Boodle supperclub.

Kamayan means to eat with your hands.

A boodle fight is a military style of eating and means food which is piled on top of banana leaves laid out on long tables, and is to be taken with bare hands.

I was invited down along with a friend on a complimentary basis by Mae to her latest supperclub to experience what a Kamayan Boodle fight is like as I have never heard or attended one before.

Food with Mae

Mae is an author, cook and photographer who owns Food with Mae in which she puts on a number of Filipino supperclubs throughout the year.

She was born in Manila, lived in the province in the Visayas region (Makinhas, Leyte, Philippines, where her mother is from) until her teens and spent the rest in the UK first in Sevenoaks, Kent before moving to London with her family.

Mae’s Food with Mae is a small catering business; a monthly Supperclub and a platform to find many Filipino recipes from comforting, easy and vibrant. Filipino food is versatile, the ingredients are easy to find or can be substituted and it doesn’t cost as much as other cuisines to make.

She serves both private and corporate clients including the Philippine Embassy, Don Papa Rum events in London and Popup Residencies at ‘Sun and 13 Cantons’ in Soho and ‘Trailer Happiness’ in Portobello Road.

Subscribe to her mailing list to receive recipes straight into your inbox and you’ll also get a FREE eCookbook with her top 10 favourite dishes to make.

It’s Kamayan time

Mae’s latest supperclub was held within Drink Shop Do upstairs set in a private room at the back. There were two large doors and I wondered what food of delight was I going to get to enjoy and how will it be laid out?

Food glorious food

Once the doors opened I was blown away by the array of food presented on the tables. It was like a Kings banquet with so much food from corn to chicken drumsticks.

Upon sitting down tucking in to this amazing Filipino feast by Mae she taught us how to eat Kamayan style and even presented us with instructions.

This is the menu of the food which was served on the night.

I loved how the food was piled on banana leaves and displayed so colourful and so much choice.

Me and my friend Steve we felt like we was in food heaven.

I did not get the hang of the technique and with a food fight happening with people grabbing food here and there left right and centre I forgone the technique of how to eat properly the Kamayan way and I just grabbed and ate.

All the food was delicious but my top three were:

• Tortang Talong ‘aubergine omelette’ is an aubergine which has been grilled then soaked in an egg mixture and then fried. It is best eaten with banana ketchup. The aubergine was juicy, smokey and sweet in taste.
• Lechon ‘slow roasted pork belly’ which is cooked for hours to giving the meat a sweet taste and the meat literally melts in the mouth followed by a lovely crunchy salty crackling.
• Ginisang Hipon ‘prawns’ which had been stir fried with butter, garlic and annato oil. These prawns were large, juicy and meaty making this a prawn lovers delight.  

Food soon went quickly though and my favourites were the first to go so you really have to be quick with your hands to grab what you desire as this is a Boodle affair after all.

After the might feast Mae cleared the table by wrapping the big banana leaves together clearing the table easily and efficiently.

We were then served dessert which was a Halu Halo which consists of mix jellies, candied fruits, milk flan and purple yam ice cream. I was not that keen on this as I did not particularly like the different textures going on from frozen ice through to soft jelly. However everyone else seemed to love it.

The Halu Halo did look pretty though.

It was then time to leave with bellies stuffed and smiles on our faces.

Thank you Mae.

Verdict

As i mentioned earlier this was my first Kamayan Boodle experience and I was not disappointed. I loved the way all the food was presented on the tables and the amount of choice.

I loved eating with my hands grabbing a chicken drumstick here, a corn there but the only part I think I was not that keen on was sharing with others around me. I think I would prefer to eat just just with people I know and have a Kamayan Boodle fight with them. However saying that even though I was not super keen grabbing food with my hands amongst sharing with strangers this would not put me off in doing it again.

I highly recommend to anyone as this is a super fun night and certainly different to any other supperclub I have ever attended.

Food with Mae supperclubs

Book your Filipino supperclub experience via going to http://www.foodwithmae.com/filipinosupperclub/.

Thank you to Food with Mae we eating with our hands and fighting over food. This experience was complimentary from them but all views are my own honest opinion.

Click link below to read our write ups and past experiences I and others have had at Mae’s supperclubs.

Food with Mae