A couple of weeks ago, our good friend "MG" whom I hadn't seen in a while told me that Villa Manila was doing a "Kamayan Night". For those who haven't heard that term before, kamayan literally refers to eating with your hands. In short, for the Filipino's I know, it also refers to a fairly festive occasion where family and friends get together and eat like crazy!
MG had great timing as my good friends, the twins, Pete and John's Birthday was rapidly approaching. Ange was nice enough to coordinate and since the four of us had been here together before, Ange knew everyone's preferences....in other words, pork, pork, and more pork. Since there would be 8 of us, Ange ordered the "Fiesta" and we supplemented with two (small) orders of Crispy Pata and Chicharon Bulaklak.
As you can gather, it's imperative that you make reservations in advance, unless you want to wait for a couple of hours for food. You can then supplement again if the need arises. Also, note the fine print that adds charges if you have excess people and don't supplement.
Also, those bowls don't hold soup, ok? It's water and lemon for your hands....you'll be needing them, since you'll be eating with 'em. So don't drink that!
Anyway, having made reservations, our banana leaf draped table was ready when we arrived. And they quickly got our first supplement, the bulaklak, fried pork intestines, out to the table. Love the version here and can't get enough of it.
Soon enough, our Server, whom I shall call "Iron Hands" because he didn't even flinch when placing our steaming rice on the banana leaves.
"Iron Hands" also displayed his overall strength when he brought the proteins out to be served.
Here's the progress......so in case you're keeping score, you can see the the Inihaw na Baboy and the Halabos na Hipop (steamed shrimp), along with the Adobo....
Fried Chicken (supplement), bicol express, crispy pata (supplement), etc, etc.....
On a funny note, Xiāng Jiāo couldf not get enough of the Crispy Pata and Lechon Kawale.....she even got a pork "high" feeling a bit light headed near the end of the meal.
In case you were worried about our vegetable intake, dinner came with Inihaw na Talong (grilled eggplant) and the green stuff at the end of the table....though I think it was mostly a garnish. Those preserved eggs were pretty heady, but was nice combined with the mango and the atchara.
You can kind of tell what everyone was missing here right? Crispy Pata, bulaklak, lechon kawale, bicol express, adobo, and inihaw na baboy...it sure wan;t pork.....
This stuff is obviously great pulutan....beer food. Unfortunately, Villla Manila does not serve alcohol, nor allow BYOB. I was told it was because of the church across the street.
Initially, we thought we'd get a "mega" halo-halo, but there just wasn't much room after the cake.
Happy Birthday guys! We should do this again soon!
Villa Manila
500 East 8th Street
National City, CA 91950
619-477-8512
Kamayan Night only on Thursday - I suggest calling and making reservations.
Because everyone was itching for a nightcap. Candice, who has a deep affection for old-school and dive bars, suggested La Maze. Remember, this was the group who hit up Albie's. It was a nice old-school ending to a wonderful evening.
Awesome spread you guys had! Funny how it's called chicharron bulaklak (which means "flower") which kind of hides what it really is, ha ha. Too bad they can't serve alcohol/beer at VM because that was all pretty much good pulutan.
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 04 February 2014 at 03:32 PM
Oh my goodness that meal looks amazing. For now, we can only dream of visiting a Fillipino restaurant. I love eating with my hands. Wish we all did it more often.
Posted by: Jeni Flaa | Tuesday, 04 February 2014 at 05:34 PM
looked amazing! great gathering :)
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 01:26 AM
Sounds and looks fun and yummy. Anything porky fried is to die for. Literally.
Posted by: nhbilly | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 05:59 AM
I know CC......my friends kept bringing up how they were just dying for a beer!
Thanks so much for visiting Jeni! I love this style of eating when you're together with friends.
It was Kat!
Literally Billy, literally.....
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 06:23 AM
Mm, emailing this to Mr. K now
Posted by: Kirbie | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 11:40 AM
Great looking food!
Posted by: Soo | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 12:42 PM
Hi Soo - If you can handle this much pork.....it's worth it.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 05 February 2014 at 03:31 PM
That was such a fun dinner! We need to go back and go to karaoke afterwards!
Posted by: Ange | Tuesday, 25 March 2014 at 04:26 PM
LOL Ange! It was a great time and quite an epic meal.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 25 March 2014 at 08:46 PM
The boodle feast looks amazing! Iba talaga pag kamayan :)
Posted by: Diane | Sunday, 31 May 2020 at 04:45 AM
Thanks for taking the time out to comment Diane! This was a very nice feast and we're looking to return once things get back to normal here.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 31 May 2020 at 02:05 PM