Must-try Filipino Comfort Food to Warm You up this Winter – Boodle Fight, Go!

Whether you love Filipino cuisine or you’ve yet to try it, you can’t pass up an opportunity to visit this unique Filipino restaurant close to Mississauga.

Brampton restaurant Fan D Flame, located at 30 Gillingham Drive (near the intersection of Main Street and Bovaird) is one of the best Filipino restaurants in the GTA, offering a wide variety of delicious and traditional menu items.

According to restaurant owner Victoria De Guzman, Fan D Flame prepares its authentic Filipino cuisine from scratch, and there’s something for everyone.

Fan D Flame Platter

“We serve à la carte which is not common for a lot of Filipino restaurants in the GTA — especially here in Brampton where we can accommodate 100 guests at once,” she says. “We also have affordable prices and a venue that can host a variety of events.”

With that all said, you may be wondering which menu items are a must-try.

In that case, look no further than their famous Boodle Feast (also known as Boodle Fight), a dish as culturally exciting as it is filling.

The Boodle Feast does away with dishes, and instead, the food — a roasted Cebu-style pig accompanied by a variety of meat, veggies, and seafood — is piled on top of banana leaves, which are laid out on long tables. For those who love to Instagram their food, it’s a beautiful sight that makes for great photos!

Lechon Boodle Fight offered by Fan D Flame

Additionally, you don’t use cutlery to eat it. Customers are encouraged to eat with their bare (clean) hands, a traditional Filipino style of eating called kamayan – dining communally without plates or utensils.

“But here at Fan D Flame, considering Brampton is a diverse community, we offer plastic gloves as an option,” De Guzman says.

The Boodle Fight is a military style of eating practiced by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, making it an interesting part of Filipino history and culture.

Nowadays, Boodle Fights have made a come-back as a communal feast and dining experience.

This traditional form of dining at Fan D Flame is prepared fresh and in big portions, whether it is for two people or a large group of diners – they can accommodate. The communal dining experience is a “fun and memorable way of eating”.

Two other highly recommended menu items on Fan D Flame’s menu are the Cebu Style Lechon – a pork dish originating from the province of Cebu in the Philippines, known as the best lechon for its welcoming aroma, moist meat and crunchy skin – and silogs, Filipino breakfast dishes containing egg, fried rice, and various meats.

While they’re described as breakfast dishes, they can be enjoyed as a meal anytime of the day. “Silog” is a combination of two words which refers to the fried rice (sinangag) and egg (itlog) that is served with a type of protein such as chicken, beef, or fish. There are many variations of silogs, which use the name of the protein plus the suffix -silog. 

Fan D Flame sells a variety of silogs including bangsilog (bangus fish), garlic fried rice, and fried eggs; bisteksilog (marinated beef steak); longsilog (filipino sweet sausage); sisilog (seasoned pork or other meat); and tocilog (sweetened thick bacon). Their bestseller is the tapsilog, with its very tender and tasty beef slices marinated in vinegar and soy sauce.

Tapsilog: cooked beef, garlic fried rice, and fried eggs

If you’re not a meat eater, don’t fret – the restaurant also provides a good selection of vegetarian options.

For dessert, Fan D Flame features their Halo-halo Lovers Deluxe, a traditional favorite made with shaved ice, sweetened tropical fruits including coconut gel, coconut strings, yam, ube, banana, and jackfruit, topped with leche flan, rice pinipig and ube ice cream.

Halo-halo translates to mix-mix, which refers to the colourful assortment of ingredients used to create this refreshing Filipino treat. 

Halo-halo Lovers Deluxe

Fan D Flame caters, making them a great option for any event that needs to be spiced up with some Filipino food catering. It can also serve as a prime location for traditional Filipino parties – the restaurant provides private bookings with affordable buffet package options.

For more information and a closer look at the menu, visit the restaurant’s website at fandflame.com.

You can also keep up with Fan D Flame on social media by following their Facebook and Instagram pages.