Papaland: Weekend daytrip to the joys of good food & family
MANILA, Philippines - Parents and their kids found a fun — and quite unexpected — destination for a family weekend daytrip recently at the SM San Lazaro: where else but Papaland, a place for play, learning and wholesome family bonding.
I happened to be passing by the SM San Lazaro activity area and heard children singing to (as I later found out) the Papa Ketchup jingle. My first thought upon seeing the kids inside Papaland was, “Why are these kids so happy?!”
Papa Pals
It was a pleasant surprise to find out that the public was welcome to enter the activity area for free. Even though there were bottles and sachets of Papa Ketchup in the area, it wasn’t required for people to purchase the products for admission. Papaland, of course, is the fantasy setting where children let their imagination and creativity take flight — they played games, did some drawing and coloring — while trying out some delicious food and meeting some new puppet-friends.
Obviously, the highlight for the kids in Papaland was the puppet show featuring the mascots of Papa Ketchup, collectively known as the Papa Pals: Papa Noks (a fried chicken puppet); Papa Dawg (hotdog); Papa Torts (tortang talong); and Papa Loomps (lumpiang shanghai or spring rolls). It’s a credit to the puppeteers that the kids became so engaged during the puppet show — after all, the Papa Pals as they are called, are not exactly hugely popular animated characters on the same level as Tom and Jerry or Jimmy Neutron or whatever else kids watch these days on TV.
Perhaps it was the way that the puppets themselves were designed: they embodied cuteness itself and looked like they stepped out of a storybook. Come to think of it, the entire design of the Papaland backdrop at the staging area had this fairy-tale, storybook quality. Again, it looked like a great design decision since it resulted in suspension of disbelief that helped kids — and even their parents — get used to the idea of being in a fantastic, magical world populated by cute, talking (singing and dancing, too) food.
Interactive stations
Papaland was not just about puppet shows. Three interactive “stations” provided kids and parents with opportunities for learning and play — The Meet Station, The Greet Station and The Eat Station — and these all tied up with the “meet, greet and eat” with the Papa Pals concept for the event.
The Meet Station had two sets of photo walls where kids and parents could pose in front of to get their souvenir photos. One photo wall had a forest theme that showed Papa Loomps and the other Papa Pals smiling and coming out from behind some trees. The other photo wall showed the Papa Pals aboard a pirate ship commanded by Papa Tilaps. Mommies and daddies all had a great time with their kids, posing and laughing while wearing funny hats — quite a way to remember a family weekend get-together.
The Greet Station included the staging area where the kids interacted with the Papa Pals puppets. The kids all sat up front nearest the stage, on alphabet kiddie floor mats. They all had their crayons, sheets of paper and pencils and were busy drawing and coloring, stopping only whenever the Papa Pals appeared for the puppet show — they all gamely sang along with the puppets when the Papa jingle played through the speakers.
The Greet Station also had a “Papaoke” machine. Essentially, the Papaoke machine is similar to the familiar KTV machine used in parties only it was used in a sing-along contest during the event. The rules were simple: sing the Papa jingle and follow the lyrics on-screen — but wait, some words are blanked out. The contestant, in order to win prizes, had to fill in the blanks by singing the correct lyrics.
Delicious, easy treats
Throughout the program, kids and parents were served treats with Papa Ketchup on the side. Kids and their parents were munching on fried lumpia. Their appetites were surely whetted even further when TV chef Mitchie Sison appeared at The Eat Station and started sautéing. It turned out that she was there to teach a few simple recipes to the mommies in Papaland.
Sison taught the mommies how to cook tortang giniling (ground pork omelet); shrimp pasta; and boneless chicken barbecue — all recipies using Papa Ketchup as ingredient. She explained how Papa Banana Ketchup as part of the flavoring or part of pasta sauce and even as a meat marinade can make dishes more enjoyable and appealing to kids.
The event was so interesting, I came back for the afternoon program, where TV host Lyn Ching showed up along with family life and child development expert Lillian Juadiong who taught parents how to help their kids eat delicious, healthy, yet unfamiliar food.
“Kids can be very picky eaters. Some of them would also prefer to play instead of having their meals on schedule. Understandably, moms would feel frustrated whenever they have to convince their kids to eat their food,” said Juadiong.
Juadiong pointed out, however, that it’s also not good for parents to use threats and punishment to compel their kids to eat. “It’s not a good way to teach proper and healthy eating habits to kids. Kids may start to associate mealtime with a painful experience — and this would discourage them even more. Di maganda yung may pilitan tuwing kakain,” she explained.
Juadion said it’s better to use a more positive approach to encourage kids to eat their food. “Kids aren’t fully to blame if they’re picky eaters. At their age, their taste buds are still developing. Usually, the first taste they develop is the taste for sweets,” she said.
Juadiong explained that adding a sweet, delicious dip like Papa Ketchup to kids’ food may encourage them to eat more. “To a young child, there are foods that taste unfamiliar or look intimidating. Fortunately, ketchup is easily a kiddie favorite. Kids will accept unfamiliar foods — even fish or vegetables — more easily if they are served with ketchup,” she said.
Wholesome as ketchup
Still, the morning and afternoon programs at Papaland were enough to answer my question at the beginning of this story: the children were so happy at Papaland because it allowed them to enjoy being a kid — what with games, puppet shows, funny hats and photo walls, as well as drawing and coloring activities; have fun with their parents; and savor delicious treats with ketchup.
I made this realization: Kids don’t need a lot of fancy and high-tech stuff to enjoy themselves. There weren’t any big stars or popular animated characters at the event but all the children in Papaland were genuinely happy. The games and activities were very kid-friendly and easy for children to enjoy — no pressure on them to perform complicated and competitive tasks. Best of all, their moms and dads spent a day with them and focused only on them and the Papaland program — which was mostly interactive and facilitated learning through play.
I believe the best gift that Papaland had for parents and kids who attended was the chance to be together and have fun. The delicious food that was served with Papa Ketchup was the “icing on the cake” or more appropriately, the ketchup on the fried chicken, lumpia, torta, etc.
For Pinoys who grew up with fond memories of family dinners and get-togethers, ketchup is a fixture in these recollections. Quite simply, the sweet, delicious, slightly tangy taste of ketchup is also a taste of home.
One may even dare say that Papaland was not simply an event in a mall — on a deeper level, the entire Papaland experience can be likened to a weekend getaway where Pinoy families re-experienced good food and the love of family. In this case, the metaphor of Papaland — as a storybook place for friends and loved ones — really applies.
I bet that families who brought home Papa Ketchup after the event will know — in their hearts, if not their minds — that the joy at Papaland is simply a good reminder of the treasures that all loving, united Filipino families already possess. And they will remember it every time they dip into their sweet, delicious ketchup.
