Push Admin

Erik Matti criticizes new Netflix show for 'bad research' about Pinoy street food

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/04/30/erik-matti2.jpg"/><figcaption>Director Erik Matti is not a fan of the Cebu street food episode, which is part of Netflix&#x27;s new show, &#x27;Street Food.&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div><p>When one hovers over Netflix&#x27;s &quot;Street Food&quot; on its website, a video clip plays featuring a woman who says, &quot;street food is what brings us together, it&#x27;s where we find a common place. Now it&#x27;s our time to celebrate it and share it with the rest of the world. &quot; </p><p>The docuseries, just released, takes viewers on a detailed tour of the best street food spots in nine Asian cities. </p><p>It sounds like a good, appetizing idea --and it is. But director Erik Matti just has one problem with one of its episodes featuring Cebu. </p><p>He argued that the dishes the show chose to highlight from the city --&quot;an esoteric eel dish and a goddamn Chinese fried vegetable lumpia&quot;-- are not something one would call &quot;truly Filipino.&quot; </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/04/30/erik-matti1.jpg"/><figcaption>A screenshot of the criticisms Erik Matti made about Netflix&#x27;s &quot;Street Food&quot; episode on Cebu posted on Instagram</figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;All the other Asian countries had their classic world-renowned street food while we had...bizarre. Bad research. There are hundreds of original Filipino street food,&quot; he claimed, before suggesting the Ilocos specialty, the fried empanada, as one. </p><p>This did not sit well with some of his followers on social media, whom he had arguments with. </p><p>People criticized him for dismissing the dishes, even if they are considered quintessential by Cebuanos. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">So if a dish is not, by your standards, identifiably regarded as quintessentially Filipino, even if it is prepared and eaten by Filipinos in Cebu, then it is somehow less worthy of being featured? Does it hurt our image as a country that bakasi was picked to represent Cebu?</p>— Valar Morghulis 3000 (@JosephYzrael) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosephYzrael/status/1122874511655727104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>His retort: &quot;I was really hoping that we at least have chosen something widely regarded by most Filipinos and Cebuanos too as the street food that can represent us.&quot; </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Twitter world. Pls dont put words in my mouth. I am not saying eel bakasi is not good. I am not saying Cebu food is not good. I love Cebu food. The eel bakasi is just not IDENTIFIABLY regarded as a quintessential Filipino street food that can represent our food to the world.</p>— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErikMatti/status/1122852514213187585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The question I wanted to ask was: given all street food in cebu and the entire Philippines, is the eel bakasi the best and most important street food to showcase from our country to the world? Chinese lumpia as another street food entry in the episode. Ilocano fried empanada...</p>— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErikMatti/status/1122853131610542080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ilocano fried empanada is much more truly Filipino. I was really hoping that we at least have chosen something widely regarded by most Filipinos and cebuanos too as the street food that can represent us.</p>— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErikMatti/status/1122853609257914369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Di ko pinapaglaban na Manila food ang ishowcase. Ilonggo ako. Kahit saan galing ok lang yan. Cebu lechon is one of the best in the country. But I don’t think it would hurt to choose a generally regarded Filipino street food to best represent our country to the rest of the world.</p>— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErikMatti/status/1122857809656156167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>Matti is part of an upcoming food show by HBO. He was tapped to direct an episode of &quot;Food Lore.&quot; which will feature Asian cuisine and the narratives that inspired it.</p>

<p>The show sounds like a good, appetizing idea --and it is. But director Erik Matti just has one problem with one of its episode featuring Cebu. </p>

The show sounds like a good, appetizing idea --and it is. But director Erik Matti just has one problem with one of its episode featuring Cebu.