Saturday, 26 November 2016

A thanksgiving story

Thanksgiving feast is for America as Noah is for eating... and to some extent - cooking. So as the equation implies: Noah loves Thanksgiving.

At this point the reader should be aware that Noah is not an American citizen and therefore this annual tradition of feasting and family closeness does not ring a chord in his sentiments. But since he chanced upon this occasion in one of his visits, he thought that it would be best to get into the beat of the season and rock it out with the Americans.

Two families gave Noah the chance to experience thanksgiving. Two feasts with contrasting themes and outcomes. The first was on the night of the official thanksgiving day for the year 2016 - November 24. It was hosted by the Reyes family who migrated to the USA about a decade ago.


on the table: ham, pancit palabok, sisig, kare-kare,
lumpia, leche flan, fruits and sparkling wine.
there was none of the traditional American dishes
like turkey, pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes and
 gravy. Noah's role was to "eat-all-you-can." It 
was a decent meal with the proper table manners.

The second feast took place a day later and like all parties under the roof of Noah's present address - he was chef, and the players were the same guys in the Reyes' feast the night before. The second feast was just to give back a favor, but with a twist, coz tonight wouldn't be a feast at all, but rather a "fight." Yeah, a thanksgiving fight. The proper dining manners had no place in this event. There were no plates, silverware and napkins.


The official name in the Philippines for this 
type of dining is "boodle fight.The essential 
components of a boodle fight are grilled 
stuff including chicken, pork belly (liempo), 
fish and the tastiest garlic shrimps in coconut 
milk. Banana leaves in California is imported 
- frozen. Not in the photo are the desserts: durian
ice cream and binignit.

 The players... After a very rich dinner of the 
previous day, they were clamoring for something 
different hence the idea of a fight night.

The teams: Bibay vs Reyes

The venue: Bibay's residence

 The fight is on

 the captain of team Reyes has his heart on 
the fight. note him elbowing his own teammate.
Also check out the rice at the Reyes' court, 
which is slowing disappearing towards the 
Bibay's home goal. 

Time out called by the referee, because the second
batch of rice was still steaming. Team Reyes' captain
takes a deep breath and vows to fight to the end.

at this point the score is: Reyes 4, Bibay 2.
Reyes leads towards the end of the fight.

Another pot of rice arrives and the fight
resumes. This time Dodge kneels, not in surrender
but in dogged determination to bring home the trophy. 
The Reyes team captain manages a half-smile at the
opponents, but apparently feels the intra-abdominal 
pressure against his heart.

as the smoke on the battle field cleared
only one fighter remained - team Bibay. With
her fingers on the last remaining morsels of food
the referee announces the winner.

Bibay!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!


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