Questions · Filipino food night

Questions for a Filipino food night, eaten with your hands

You laid banana leaves down the middle of the table, piled on rice, longganisa, grilled fish and ensaladang mangga, and told your friends to eat with their hands. These questions are for the night around that table: easy ones while people figure out the technique, warmer ones as the pile gets smaller.

  • 15 questions
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Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Getting to know№ 15

When was the last time a meal became a good memory?

Kailan huling naging magandang memory yung isang meal?

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A note

A good meal memory is rarely only about food. It can be the timing, the people, or the feeling around the table.

Hindi lang pagkain ang laman ng good meal memory. Pwedeng timing, kasama, o yung feeling sa paligid ng table.

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The questions

15 questions for a kamayan or Filipino potluck

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

Before anyone eats with their hands

4 questions

Light questions while guests wash up and stare at the banana leaves.

  1. What food is too messy for you to eat while chatting with friends?

    Anong pagkain ang mahirap kainin nang maayos habang nakikipagkuwentuhan sa friends?

    Back of the card

    This meal may need a pause button for the conversation.

    Baka kailangan munang i-pause ang kuwentuhan habang kinakain ito.

  2. Two choices: unlimited snacks or perfect sleep for one week. Defend your pick.

    Dalawa lang: unlimited snacks o perfect sleep for one week. I-defend ang pick mo.

    Back of the card

    Low-stakes choices still reveal priorities. Snack joy and good sleep are both valid campaign platforms.

    Kahit low-stakes, may priorities pa rin. Snack joy at good sleep, parehong valid campaign platform.

  3. Name one small, specific thing you enjoy more than people expect.

    Magbanggit ng isang maliit at specific na bagay na mas enjoy mo kaysa ina-expect ng iba.

    Back of the card

    Specific joys can be tiny clues about a person. They do not need to make sense to everyone to be real.

    Yung specific joys, maliit na clue tungkol sa tao. Hindi kailangan gets ng lahat para maging real.

  4. Share a small mistake or awkward moment that feels funny now.

    Mag-share ng small mistake o awkward moment na funny na ngayon.

    Back of the card

    A small fail gets lighter once it becomes a story. Sometimes the best part is realizing everyone survives awkward little moments.

    Gumagaan yung small fail kapag naging kuwento na. Minsan best part yung ma-realize na nakakalusot naman tayo sa awkward moments.

Food memories

5 questions

For when the eating slows down and someone says “this reminds me of…”

  1. When was the last time a meal became a good memory?

    Kailan huling naging magandang memory yung isang meal?

    Back of the card

    A good meal memory is rarely only about food. It can be the timing, the people, or the feeling around the table.

    Hindi lang pagkain ang laman ng good meal memory. Pwedeng timing, kasama, o yung feeling sa paligid ng table.

  2. What meal with a friend became memorable for something besides the food?

    Anong kainan ninyo ng friend ang tumatak dahil sa nangyari, hindi lang dahil sa pagkain?

    Back of the card

    If this meal's story had a title, what would it be?

    Kung may pamagat ang kuwento ng kainan na ito, ano iyon?

  3. When you try a place to eat, what makes it feel worth visiting again?

    Kapag may tinry kang kainan, ano yung nagpapaisip sa'yo na worth balikan ito?

    Back of the card

    It could be taste, comfort, price, people, or memory. Places become favorites for different reasons.

    Puwedeng lasa, comfort, presyo, tao, o memory. Iba-iba yung dahilan kung bakit may places tayong binabalikan.

  4. Think of someone who makes simple meals more fun. What do they do?

    Isipin yung taong nagpapasaya kahit simpleng kain lang. Ano yung ginagawa niya?

    Back of the card

    A meal does not need to be fancy to feel full of life. Sometimes one person's energy changes the whole mood.

    Hindi kailangang fancy ang kain para maging masaya. Minsan energy lang ng isang tao, nag-iiba na yung mood.

  5. Who do you enjoy eating with, even if the food is simple?

    Sino yung masarap kasamang kumain kahit simple lang ang pagkain?

    Back of the card

    The company can change the meal. Some people make even ordinary food feel warmer.

    Iba ang pagkain kapag okay ang kasama. May mga taong kahit simpleng meal, gumagaan yung moment.

The hangout after

6 questions

For the people who stay and help clean up.

  1. What small thing do you naturally take care of during a hangout?

    Anong maliit na bagay ang natural mong inaasikaso kapag may hangout?

    Back of the card

    Some small things find the same person every time. It can be funny how a group quietly learns who handles what.

    May maliliit na bagay na laging may hinahanap na tao. Funny rin kung paano tahimik na natututo ang group kung sino ang umaasikaso ng ano.

  2. When the conversation goes quiet, how do you usually react?

    Kapag tumahimik yung usapan, paano ka usually nagre-react?

    Back of the card

    Quiet moments reveal different instincts. Some people fill the space, some enjoy it, and some suddenly inspect their drink.

    May kanya-kanyang instinct kapag tumahimik. May nagfi-fill ng space, may okay lang, may biglang titingin sa drink.

  3. When doing something with friends, which small job do you enjoy helping with?

    Kapag may ginagawa kayo ng friends, anong parte ang gusto mong akuin para makatulong?

    Back of the card

    Would you still enjoy that job with a much bigger group?

    Gusto mo pa rin ba ang gawaing iyon kung mas marami ang kasama?

  4. When a hangout plan goes wrong, what do you usually do first?

    Kapag pumalpak ang plano ng gala, ano ang una mong ginagawa?

    Back of the card

    You could tell this as the opening scene of a comedy.

    Puwede mong ikuwento ito na parang unang eksena ng comedy.

  5. What makes a game with friends fun even when no one wins?

    Ano ang nagpapasaya sa laro kasama ang friends kahit walang nananalo?

    Back of the card

    What would be a funny prize just for joining?

    Anong nakakatawang premyo ang puwedeng ibigay sa lahat ng sumali?

  6. What small things make a room feel welcoming to you?

    Anong maliliit na bagay ang nagpaparamdam sa'yo na welcome ka sa isang room?

    Back of the card

    Welcome can come from tone, space, food, faces, or small signals that say you do not have to prove yourself.

    Puwedeng galing sa tono, space, pagkain, mukha ng tao, o maliliit na sign na hindi mo kailangang patunayan ang sarili mo.

How to use them

Before you ask

A Filipino food night works because the food does the icebreaking. A kamayan (eating with your hands) or a boodle fight (a long table of food on banana leaves, a tradition from the Philippine military) puts everyone shoulder to shoulder, slightly out of their comfort zone, laughing at their own technique. Questions just keep it going.

If many of your guests aren’t Filipino, start with light questions that everyone can answer about food in general, not trivia about Filipino dishes they’ve never tried. Let the Filipino guests explain what’s on the table as it comes up. Once people are full, the food-memory questions bring out the stories, and someone always mentions a grandmother.

The cards are in English with the Tagalog under each question, which gives the Filipino guests an easy way to teach a few words between bites.

Good for

  • Kamayan dinners and boodle fights
  • Filipino potlucks with friends
  • Introducing friends to Filipino food
  • Fil-Am student association food nights

Tips

  1. Put a bowl of water and calamansi slices on the table for hand washing.
  2. Ask each guest to rate their kamayan skills from 1 to 5. Then compare at the end.
  3. Don’t quiz guests on dish names. Let them ask, then tell the story behind the dish.
  4. Keep spoons nearby for anyone who isn’t comfortable. Hospitality first.

Decks for this

A simple plan for the night

  • Set up together. Have guests help lay the leaves and pile the rice. It breaks the ice before the first question.
  • Show the technique. Fingers together, thumb pushes the food in. Let the worst kamay-er answer the first card.
  • One card per round of food. When someone reaches for seconds, they draw.
  • Dessert and stories. Bring out halo-halo or turon with the food-memory questions.

Filipino food night

Frequently asked questions

What is a kamayan or boodle fight?

A kamayan is a meal eaten with your hands; a boodle fight is a kamayan feast laid out on banana leaves down a long table, a custom that comes from the Philippine military. Everyone eats together from the same spread.

What should we talk about at a Filipino food night?

Start with light food questions anyone can answer, like the messiest food to eat while talking or snacks versus sleep for a week. Then ask about meals that became good memories once people slow down.

How do you eat with your hands Filipino style?

Gather a little rice and food with your fingertips, then use your thumb to push it into your mouth. Use your right hand, and wash before and after.

Bring a better question to the table.

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