ALEX EALA’S Filipino fans in Canada have spoken, and the National Bank Open listened.
After chicken adobo made its surprise debut at Sobeys Stadium last week, organizers rolled out another heritage favorite: pork lumpia.
‘This thing is going to be legendary,’ Ashtad Dadachanji, executive chef of the NBO, who helped curate the new offering, said in NBO’s social media post.
This isn’t your everyday spring roll. Chef Ddadachanji offered it with sinamak-Iloilo’s famed spiced vinegar-then topped it with crunchy chicharron, garlic chips, peanuts, cilantro and drizzle of banana ketchup.
The inventive layering reflects a fusion of nostalgia and innovation-a courtside flavor meant to resonate as strongly as the cheers echoing from the stands.
Pork lumpia was offered Sunday (Canada time), during Eala’s match against 12th seeded Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic.
NBO food concessionaire The Changeover Kitchen prepared only 200 servings for the limited time run, priced at CAD $12 (about P522). It continued to serve chicken adobo for special price of CAD$ 17 (about P740).
With more than 200,000 kababayan in the city, their voices-and appetites-are shaping the tournament experience in real time.
Just as Eala’s matches have drawn sellout crowds, the menu is evolving to reflect the culture of those filling the seats.
Tournament director Karl Hale had earlier called the Filipino wave ‘an absolute blessing.’
With adobo and now lumpia joining courtside, the NBO is becoming a showcase not only of world-class tennis but also of Filipino flavor.