Street Food 101

Street Food. You can’t imagine the streets without them. They provide instant relief to the roaring stomach and hyperactive enzymes waiting for something to digest; very handy to the rushing people trying to make it on time from point A to point B. Their popularity has grown exponentially that everywhere you look, you see one. No matter what you call it, whether it be balls, or anything on stick, we cannot deny the fact that they are here to stay. They totally changed people’s diet, their perception and response to food and of course, the size of the street since they occupy the sidewalks.

Let us then go through these unsung objects floating in boiling oil, pierced with a stick, drowned in sweet or spicy sauce and devoured by a hungry earthling:

Fish Ball. This street food is the pioneer. It was the first one to appear on the streets of The Philippines; therefore, it can be regarded as the “mother of all balls”. Being the pilot one, it has some flaws: First, it can’t be considered as the “mother of all balls” because it is a ball. Although commonly, pioneers are called mothers, this does not apply to balls. So, appropriately, it is better to call it as the “father of all balls”. I think fathers are more often than not linked with balls. Second, it is not a ball! It is disc- shaped like that of a flying saucer. Although indeed it is the first one to make an appearance, it is unexcusable. Who in the world would mistake a disc- shaped object and regard it as a ball? The latter flaw is really the hardest one to accept. But against all odds, it survived the streets and still floats proudly as the oldest ball (or disc).

Kikiam. The first descendant of the father ball. With the success of the fish ball comes this street food. I cannot actually describe the shape of this food since it is very awkward looking. If you have no idea what this street food looks like, try this one: get a piece of paper, crumple it with one hand, and wallah! a kikiam shaped paper! I think this street food is an illegitimate child of the fishball. It does not look anywhere near it's ascendant. Although bearing no physical resemblance to the father ball, it proves to be as successful as the first one. This food tastes really good and that is evident in the first four letters of its name.

Chicken Ball. Now who are you calling a chicken? This ball defied all that was conceived about chickens. When you are a coward, you are referred to you as a chicken, Why? Because you have no balls! All of that was proven wrong by the chicken balls. We can now conclude that chickens have balls! Lots and lots of balls! Finally, this street food had a ball shape. It is more expensive than the other balls, maybe because it is easier to make a disc shape or to crumple a kikiam than to make a ball.

Squid Ball. This is the twin brother of the chicken ball, but it is not as controversial as the other. An untrained eye can easily mistake this ball with its twin brother the chicken ball since it is very difficult to tell them apart. The only difference between the two is that the chicken ball appears darker when cooked (on the other hand, how will you know when both are toasted?). The squid ball is made to ride with the chicken ball’s popularity. Many people cannot tell the difference. So, although they want the more popular chicken ball, they will never know which is which, they end up eating the less popular brother.

This is all I had the patience to write about for now. But this does not mean it is the end. Watch out for Street Food 102!

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