Being the daughter of a woman who has taken homemaking to a new level, street food has never gotten the chance to be present in my diet. My mom is a wonderful cook, and she frowns upon ill-cooked food, especially those that are sold in the streets, left open to dust, insects, pollution and what-have-you. I remember when I first went to school, my mom will be up early, preparing packed lunches for us, and sandwiches for mid-morning breaks. My siblings and I all get pocket money so that we can buy candies or ice cream for dessert, but she will never forget to remind us not to buy cooked food from the vendors dotting the streets on the way to school. So, I never had a chance to sample the gastronomic delight that I see displayed so temptingly in any street where there is no policeman to object.
Until I became a mother, myself. I can cook okay. If you have a mother like mine, it is a given that you will learn how. But it isn’t in me to make it my be-all and end-all. There are more important things in this life than slaving in front of the stove. I let my daughter eat at a hamburger joint during lunch breaks. It’s just around the corner from the Christian School she goes to, so I can't see any problem why she shouldn’t. The grandmother disapproves, of course. The cholesterol, salmonella from undercooked meat, the lack of fiber in the diet, was a daily mantra that is geared towards discouraging fast food lunches. But fast food has a very strong attraction for my daughter, and no one can stop her from her daily fix of hamburger and French fries. And adventurous girl that she is, she has also discovered the delights of street food, as I knew she would. She has discovered fish ball, squid ball, cheese stick, isaw, kwek-kwek, and a lot more. With great cunning, she will bring home this forbidden food for me behind her grandmother’s back. And that was when my impeccable taste for good food took a turn for the worst. I started to have cravings for kwek-kwek which is boiled quail eggs dipped in batter and then deep-fried, siomai, and kikiam. Mang Pete’s food stall became a favorite, and I usually gave my daughter extra money so that she can take home some of whatever I fancy at that given time.
What has made street food so popular? Possibly the fast-paced style of living today. If you didn’t have time to eat breakfast, you can just grab something to eat for a few pesos from a food stall on the way to the bus stop. Or maybe the sagging economy- street food is cheap. Or maybe the creativity of these small-time entrepreneurs- they can whip up dishes that are totally scrumptious despite their doubtful choice of ingredients. Like for example barbecued adidas (chicken feet marinated in a special blend of barbecue sauce), chicken intestine or “isaw”, pig’s blood, and internal organs of either pig or cow. Filipinos love to eat and are not averse to trying something new that will challenge the palate. Actually, the less innocuous ones have found their way to first-class restaurants and mall fast-food outlets like balut or boiled fertilized duck eggs, squid balls, fishballs and kikiam.
Whatever factors contributed to the popularity of street food, it is now serving a purpose. I can’t honestly say I like or even tasted some of them. But the way I see it, street food is here to stay.
