Tempura, a Pinoy street food - Ruel Nugal, the vendor

Tempura. Yum, yum, yummy. I know what you're thinking guys. Sorry, I'm talking about the famous tempura - Filipino style street food.  The authentic Japanese  tempura is a bit expensive dish of shrimp, seafood or vegetable .

The ever innovative Filipino reinvented Tempura into a gastronomic, affordable, street version of this oishii (delicious) tempura with matching sweet and sour sauce or hot and spicy sauce.

The half- cooked tempura is deep-fried. Some customers want it golden brown, others just want it lightly fried (like me.) An affordable snacks for students and those who are fond of streetfoods at 10.00 pesos per stick ( 3 pieces of tempura per stick) can already fill and calm a hungry stomach.

 One can either dip on the sweet and sour sauce or the hot and spicy sauce or both of the sauces.

Re dipping of tempura is discouraged.

Hot and spicy sauce.

Sweet and sour sauce.

This is Ruel Nugal, 38 yrs. old, happily married to Elenita. Their union was blessed with three children - Kent Vincent 15 yrs. old, Ruel Nugal, Jr. 13 yrs. old and John Rule, 10 yrs. old.

Ruel has been selling tempura at the vicinity of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral since 2004 to present. He positions his tempura cart and starts cooking at 3:30 p.m. and wraps up the day at around 8:00 p.m., weekdays.

Before Cebu City imposes Clean Cebu movement and police were not yet after street vendors like him, he sells 700 - 800 pesos a day. Gone are these days as now, he earns around 300 pesos a day and 400 pesos a day during Sundays (where masses are celebrated whole day at the church) net of all expenses like cooking oil, gas, stick, etc.

With the help of his wife who is also working at the arrastre, they were able to make both ends meet. Meager income as it may seem but it is a decent one. His being a street vendor was able to send two high school sons to University of the Visayas, a private school and the youngest one is studying at Tejero Elementary school.