Best Pinoy Street Food 2014: Your Best Street Food May Have its Own SM Stall
A few moments before the biggest announcement of her life, Chef Lorna of Laleny Food House, one of 47 hopefuls who entered SM Hypermarket’s Best Pinoy Streetfood elimination round at Cubao, was about to leave and abandon the lugaw and tokwa’t baboy she worked so hard to perfect because she can no longer bear the suspense. She had to move heaven and earth to join the competition because she didn’t have enough to buy ingredients and their kitchen had been closed for days. She travelled all the way to her sister’s house in order to to cook. She had to rush cooking her special dishes just a few hours before the event giving her doubts whether she’s done everything she could to win.
“Gusto ko na sanang magback out dahil wala naman akong pambili ng ingredients. Gusto lang talaga ng kapatid at ng mga customer ko na sumali ako dahil naniniwala sila sa akin.”
The judges went back and forth, tasting all 46 lugaw and tokwa’t baboy entries. She couldn’t bear to watch the poker faced judges whispering to one another after tasting her entry. Then, in a surprising turn of events her name was called as the winner and that she moves on to represent SM Hypermarket Cubao against 29 others at the semi-finals of the competition. Tears started forming at the corner of her eye because she knew that life, as she knows it, is about to change.
“Hindi ko akalain ako ang mananalo. Naisip ko sa dami ng mga sumali parang Malabo na ang niluto ko pa ang mapipili. Di ko talaga inexpect ito.”
From kitchen helper to sisig master
Lorna C. Bongayal works for a small resto bar by Farmer’s Market in Cubao. Among their specialties are kare-kare, bulalo, pork steak, and her personal favorite, the sisig-bopis. She inherited the culinary curiosity from her father, a former military cook, and her mother. At the age of 19, she entered her first professional kitchen as a helper doing anything the men in toques told her. Eventually, her dedication and eagerness to learn caught the attention of her boss and she was enrolled in a 2 month culinary course. With years of experience cooking for various food business including a stint in one of the metro’s popular dimsum joints, her specialties have managed to have its own fanbase among their resto’s regular customers. According to her, every cook has a secret and it is this secret that she will use as her main ace in the succeeding rounds.
Face to face with Kusina Master Chef Boy Logro
Chef Lorna, along with Madel Lopez of SM Hypermarket Rosales, Villa Amor Loresca of SM Hypermarket East Service Road, Wendell Jay Franco Melo of SM Hypermarket Monumento, and Merly Dulay Co of SM Hypermarket Adriatico, beat hundreds of other contestants to move on and meet the one and only Kusina Master, celebrity Chef Boy Logro, the dishwasher turned palace kitchen sous chef cooking for the sultan of Oman.
A year rent-free SM stall
The 30 qualifiers from the different SM Hypermarket branches will compete using ingredients from Knorr, Del Monte, Nestle, CDO, Bounty Fresh, and Purefoods for their very own food business at SM Hypermarket rent-free and the recognition of cooking the Best Pinoy Street Food of 2014. Eliminations are still ongoing and chances to win the competition is still open to all. Next up is the search for the best pancit/pasta/mami at SM Hypermarket Valenzuela, Alabang Zapote Road, Fairview, Batangas, and Bicutan, the best inihaw/bbq at SM Hypermarket Marilao, Las Piñas, Novaliches, Molino, and Mandaluyong, the best silog at SM Hypermarket Baliwag, Marketmall, Makati, Muntinlupa, and North Harbour, the best adobo at SM Hypermarket Pampanga, Cainta, Pasig, FTI, and Sucat, and the best pancit/pasta/bihon at SM Hypermarket Clark, Taytay, Mall of Asia, North EDSA, and Sucat Lopez. So if you think you whip up the best street food there is and if you want you to make it big with your very own food stall at SM Hypermarket then head to the nearest SM Hypermarket to find out how you can become the first ever winner of SM Hypermarket’s Best Pinoy Street Food.
Chef Lorna with (L-R) SM Hypermarket Cubao assistant store manager Wilhelmina Mayoyo, San Miguel Foods Inc. Chef Mon Victoria, MOST Institute Culinary School OIC Rodel Boi Tison, Mang Inasal SM Hypermarket Cubao Manager Michael Hacket Cuenca, and Brgy. Socorro captain Joey De Guzman after winning the elimination round with her special lugaw and tokwa’t baboy.
