A collaboration that was definitely not in the bingo card of netizens.
In a reel uploaded on social media by food channel FEATR, viewers witnessed the special collaboration between food content creator Erwan Heusaff and ‘Freakier Friday’ star Manny Jacinto.
Filmed during the Filipino-Canadian actor’s visit to Manila, the ‘Kitchen Convos’ episode sees them both cooking sinigang, which Manny admitted to be one of his favorite local meals.
At first, Erwan dared Manny to open up a santol (cotton fruit) using his bare hands, which the latter was unsuccessful in doing. But after that, both of them taste-tested the fruit, which was used to make the dish sour.
The internet star then asked the actor about his personal experience with Filipino food having grown up abroad.
“Did you feel that your food was different when your mom would send you to school?“, asked Erwan.
Manny then shared that he actually was not able to bring sinigang or adobo to school because he thinks that his parents were aware that it was different from the food that he would’ve eaten at school.
“But then I was always able to look forward coming home from school because… a Filipino meal was ready,” he furthered.
The ‘Freakier Friday’ star also expressed his happiness to see Filipino restaurants thrive abroad.
After which, Erwan admitted to being a fan of Manny and asked how does it feel for him with his character in the film being one of the representations of Filipino and Asians in the Hollywood scene.
“It feels unreal. I mean, obviously there is not a lot of media in Hollywood that represents us or represents us well. So it feels good to finally be able to take on a character that has positive influence,” replied the 37-year-old actor.
Anyhow, after the food was cooked, Manny took on a plate to try it out. He described it as “great” and likened Erwan’s version of the dish to a fusion between sinigang and caldereta because of the red sauce.
Jacinto recently made a homecoming visit to Manila as part of the promotions for the movie ‘Freakier Friday,’ which came out in Philippine theaters last August 6.
In the movie sequel to the 2003 film ‘Freaky Friday,’ he will portray the role of Eric Davies—the fiancé of Anna Coleman (played anew by Lindsay Lohan) who happens to be the daughter of Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis).
The actor made his acting debut in 2012 and rose to fame after being cast as Jason Mendoza in the popular sitcom ‘The Good Place’.
Eventually, he went on to star in other TV and film productions, such as ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind,’ and ‘The Acolyte’.