Iloilo's biggest batchoy bowl to feed 3K street kids

MANILA, Philippines - Aside from trying to set a world record with their biggest "batchoy" bowl, residents of La Paz in Iloilo aim to feed some 3,000 street children on Jan. 22. Online news site The News Today reported that makers of the savory noodle dish expect to cook up 3,500 liters of the delicacy. Iloilo City tourism officer Ben Jimena said the dish, first prepared nearly 80 years ago in La Paz Market, will be served to the children. Jimena said the dish will be prepared around 10 a.m at the plaza on a stainless steel bowl about two meters wide and one meter tall. He also said they are planning to make the giant bowl, which was custom-made for P170,000, as a marker in the district plaza. Deco's Batchoy owner and ICVB president Edgar Sia II said they expect to set a record in the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest bowl of La Paz Batchoy. Sia said they have invited representatives from the Guinness World Records to witness the event, adding they are seeking official recognition from the world record body for the activity. Deco's Batchoy and the Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau are organizing the activity as part of this year's Dinagyang Festival. Sia said the volume of the dish to be prepared would be enough for at least 400 servings, including 300 for street children and the rest for guests. He said the preparation will take from three to four hours and will involve seven cooks from Deco's. Contents of the giant bowl will then be transferred to regular bowls. The week long Dinagyang festival ends January 24 and 25 with the Ati-Ati tribe contest. - GMANews.TV