Eating out with Baby | Lamesa’s Kamayan Dinner

Lamesa toronto restaurant We’ve been to Lamesa before and loved the spot so much that we were eager to head back there for their Kamayan dinner series. Les and the team have been working away to bring us traditional Filipino cuisine with a twist and Toronto folks are loving it! Kamayan (pronounced Kah-my-ahn) style dining does not require cutlery or utensils so it’s most definitely kid approved. Baby Boy and Little Monkey both enjoyed our visit and I didn’t have to keep an eye on plates that could go flying across the table.

 

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll say it again, there’s a lot of similarities between Sri Lankan and Filipino ways of living life and our cuisines, so when I heard that the food was going to be served on banana leaves and that we were to eat with our fingers, I was completely at home. The hubs is used to the Sri Lankan customs so he was comfortable with the setup as well. There’s no queasiness or unease because it was our family dining together and there were no strangers to share the table with. This is a very personalized experience and the set menu is curated by owner Les and chefs Rudy Boquila and Joash Dy so we don’t have to do anything but turn up and order our drinks. It’s almost like an all you can eat because there was so much food on our table that we were beyond stuffed by the time we left.

 

What truly surprised me with the Kamayan meal at Lamesa was how they’ve put a twist on the traditional practice and made it art. Just watch the video to see what I’m talking about! The chefs do a stellar job in designing our table with the variety of sauces which is a base for our meal. I am a huge fan of Bagoong and the Soy Garlic puree. The meats, salads, fish, corn, rice and all the other lovely dishes are set on top of the sauces and pastes. There’s layer after layer of dishes and the final result is a truly flavourful and multidimensional sensory experience. Our server recommended that we pair our Kamayan style dinner with the Lolo Cool J, a Bourbon, ginger and pineapple syrup cocktail – so that’s just what we did. Les mentioned that in the Philipines families would head to a picnic or the beach and that’s where the Kamayan style dining would take place. It’s a very casual and fun experience surrounded by good food, family and friends. One thing to note is that it does take some time to have the food layered out so you may want to have a few snacks or a toy to entertain the little ones with if you visit during a busy day.

 

We had many dishes on our banana leafed table including (highlighted are my favourites) :

kamayan style dining., kamayan eating

  • Bagoong caramel – fermented shrimp paste
  • Soy garlic puree
  • Housemade hot sauce
  • Sawsawan gel – soy, vinegar, garlic
  • Green mango salad – sour mango, heirloom carrots, arugula, radish, sweet mango chutney, garlic corn nuts
  • Sisig lettuce cups – chicken, pork, beef with chilli, garlic, and onions, with pico de gallo
  • Garlic rice with crispy garlic bits
  • Sarsi sticky ribs
  • Smoked boneless bangus
  • Crispy chicken adobo
  • Clams and mussels ginataan (in coconut milk)
  • Grilled corn
  • Ube cornbread
  • Chicken tinola broth
  • Kale chips
  • Fresh calamansi
  • Sweet pea shoots

 

 

LamesaBaby Boy dug into pretty much everything, especially the milk fish (bangus). Little Monkey on the other hand was not in the mood to eat but devoured the garlic rice and the corn. mmmmm…. that corn is cooked to perfection! Baby Boy of course made a right old mess of the place but I was able to easily scoop everything off the floor and pile it on top of the banana leaves for them to clean out at the end of the meal. No fuss kid friendly atmosphere is what I love about this place. High chairs and change table are both available and while the plastic cups were missing this time, they had small glassware for the little ones, which was just as perfect. At the end of the meal the table was quite  a mess but you could tell a good time was had. When a warm bowl of water was brought out for us to rinse our hands, memories of dining out in Dubai and Pakistan flooded back. There was no dessert (unless you count the ube corn bread) which was okay by me because I was so full after our meal. I will be back for Halo-Halo one day soon!

 

Due to the success of these Kamayan evenings the hands-on eating extravaganza is available every Sunday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. We got there for 6 p.m. and it wasn’t busy but by the time we left at 8 p.m. it was a packed house with many couples and large groups eager to get their Kamayan on! The dinner costs $40 per person and they do offer a vegetarian version as well. This is definitely a fun experience and the food is absolutely delicious at Lamesa (click here to read our breakfast review) and we highly recommend Lamesa’s Kamayan dinner for a unique experience with friends and family.

Food really does taste better when you eat with your hands! Do you agree?

  • Victoria Ess
    November 12, 2014 at 1:23 am

    This looks like such a unique dining experience! I can see why it’s popular!

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