Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN
The local government of Malabon City held its first "Tambobong Cook Fest" on Friday, May 19, to celebrate the city's culinary heritage.
The city government said the cooking festival was a way of honoring the city's history and showcasing unique ways to cook labong dishes.
There were 10 pairs from barangays Catmon, Potrero, San Agustin, Maysilo, Baritan, Potrero, Panghulo, Santulan, and Hulong Duhat who joined the fest to compete for the titles "Best Labong Meal" and "Best Labong Snack" and bag the cash prize worth P20,000.
Each pair was given a P5,000 stipend to offset the cost of participating.
The participants were given an hour to cook their recipes during the live-cooking competition.
“What makes Malabon unique is how our dishes honor tradition. The cook fest today using the delectable labong showcases Malabon’s rich culinary culture”, said Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval.
Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN
The mayor said the event was in line with the month-long celebration of Malabon's 424th Founding Anniversary.
"Itong sampo na ito ay galing sa I think more than 50 or 60 na nag-join na they paired to ten hanggang sa napili. Mukhang magagaling naman 'yung naiwan talaga (The 10 pairs come from I think more than 50 or 60 who joined. They were paired into 10 until they were finally selected. It looks like the chosen pairs are really good)," she remarked.
Sandoval said she wanted to support their livelihood as most of the participants own small eateries in the city.
"We plan to do this every year and gusto din namin 'yung exposure. Hindi lang Malabon ang sisikat, pero 'yung mga tao, mga kababayan, hindi lang mga nagluluto pero pati na rin mga nag-aaral pa lang (We plan to do this every year and we also want the exposure, not only for Malabon but for the people, locals, not only to those who cook but also to our aspiring cooks)," she added.
The dishes were judged by a panel composed of expert chefs and YouTube content creators, namely Ryan Morales Reys also known as Ninong Ry, Ricky Cerdan or Chef Pacham, Mark Joseph Bartolome or Chef Marky, Restaurateur Sydan Balanova, and Eric Bernardo.
The dishes were critiqued based on their taste, uniqueness, presentation and texture.
The nutritional value and affordability of their creative recipes were considered.
Creativity was also rewarded with the "Best in Food Plating" title, with an accompanying cash prize worth P5,000.
"It’s a tough competition and the competitors have carefully planned and practiced their innovative dishes before the contest was set to begin. From a fancy Paella Labong to a humble and flavor-packed Miswa, the contest will show the rest of the country the Malabueños culinary skills and their appreciation for tradition in the art of cooking," the city government said.