Everyone eats with their hands and no utensils allowed at a boodle fight meal. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Herald reporter and foodie Lincoln Tan takes you to some of Auckland's eating places that make you feel like you're in another country.
Marjorie Bennett often gets involved in a lot of fights back in the Philippines.
No, not of the physical kind, but of the food kind. Boodle fights to be more precise.
Bennett brought boodle fight to Boracay Gardens, a Filipino restaurant at the Auckland's Viaduct which she co-founded with her former partner Stuart and it has really taken off.
Never heard of a boodle fight?
Bennett explains that it is a meal that dispenses with cutlery, where food is laid on a long banana leaf-lined trestle table and diners practice kamayan - or eating with their bare hands.
"It's called a fight because everyone grabs what they want as fast as they can with their hands and fingers, no utensils are allowed," she said.
"For first timers, often this is a very unforgettable experience. It brings people together and turns dinner into a fun dinner experience."
This Filipino style of eating is said to have originated from its military where piles of food are served in the middle of a long table in a mess hall.
Hungry soldiers eat with their bare hands as a sign of brotherhood, camaraderie, and also as a mark of equality.
"You can imagine when food is served to hungry soldiers, they 'fight' to grab what they want because if you're slow you miss out," Bennett said.
That, she says is how the dish got its name.
Boracay Garden Restaurant was opened on April 1, 2016, as part of Bennett's plan to spread the Filipino food culture around the world.
She opened her first restaurant in Bahrain two decades ago, called the Pinoy Turo Garden, which continues to operate today.
A massive photo of Boracay's pristine white sand beach lies across the back wall of Boracay Garden Restaurant.
Shortly after the restaurant opened, Bennett was engaged to cater meals for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his delegates during their visit to Auckland.
"Every restaurant owner will say they want to offer authentic traditional dishes of their culture, but I have always aimed to go a step further," Bennett said.
"Not only dishes, I want my restaurant to offer a Filipino ambience, traditional dining experience too, that make people feel like 'yes, I am in the Philippines' when they dine at Boracay Garden."
At a boodle fight feast, chairs are lined on each side of the table so diners would be seated across from each other.
The table will be lined with banana leaves, and food ranging from crispy pork, grilled whole fish, steamed prawns, vegetables - more than 20 varieties, according to Bennett - are then piled on rice and noodles.
The next step is, in these times when health and hygiene is a priority, to put on a pair of gloves and dig in.
For those who are not into using their hands to eat, forks and utensils are provided.
"It is really a dinner with that wow factor. I enjoy seeing the faces of customers when they see the presentation and the amount of food to eat," Bennett said.
Bennett said back in the Philippines, people would have boodle fights two to three times a week - mostly in their own homes.
"Families would come with dishes, put them on the banana leaves at the centre of the table and eat together. I did it all the time when I was growing up," she said.
"Great food tastes even better when it is shared with friends and loved ones in this way."
For those even more adventurous, Boracay has on its menu a Filipino dish called Soup Number Five.
It looks like a regular meat soup, but it has chopped up bull penis and testicles as its main ingredient. It is believed to have aphrodisiac properties.
* Boracay Garden is at 124 Customs Street West