Filipina Sued for Cooking Tuyo in NY City
In Manhattan Nuns’ Lawsuit, the Smoking Gun is Filipinos’ Iconic ‘Tuyo’
CRISTINA DC PASTOR, Philippine News
01/11/2009 | 06:45 PM
NEW YORK. It may be a cultural thing, but when you’re up against a congregation of nuns and your neighbors in an apartment building in Manhattan, a lawsuit would make an interesting anthropological study in ethnic tension.
The Missionary Sisters of Sacred Heart (MSSH) in Manhattan has filed a complaint against Filipino American couple, Michael and Gloria Lim, over a Filipino delicacy called ‘tuyo’ (dried fish), and its funky cousin, the ‘tinapa’ (smoked fish). The case is now with the Manhattan Supreme Court.
Reports say Gloria was smoking fish outside her apartment window when the smell noxious stench to the nuns, divine aroma to the Lims of the salted fish wafted throughout the Gramercy apartment building. The ‘foul smell’ was too strong the nuns suspected it was coming from a decomposing body and called in the Fire Department.
According to reports, the firemen searched every unit of the building and were able to trace the source of the smell to the Lims’ unit. They knocked, and when no one came to the door, the NYFD came barreling in. Gloria, a nurse, found her door knocked down and was obviously peeved. It appears the MSSH leases the unit to the Lims and may have authorized the assault.
‘I cook dried fish,’ Gloria defiantly declared to the NY Post.
The average American may find it puzzling how one can derive pleasure of the palate from dried fish. Foodie Andrew Zimmern, who has been to the Philippines and braved the ‘balut’ (fertilized duck egg in an embryo) and Soup No. 5 (bull’s rectum and testicles soup, believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac) might be able to share the gustatory experience.
Gloria was referring to the ‘tuyo,’ a Philippine staple usually eaten with steaming hot rice and fresh tomatoes. Some eat theirs dipped in vinegar and crushed garlic paired with fried rice and sunny side up egg. Dried fish is not a Philippine exclusive. It is an essential in the traditional Chinese and Malaysian fried rice along with chopped spring onions, garlic and chili. Sometimes, it is pulled and sprinkled on chocolate porridge or ‘champorado.’
Food with a strong salty taste like ‘tuyo’ or ‘tinapa’ might be too intense for the morning stomach, but many Filipinos would never leave for work in the morning without having it for breakfast. In the lawsuit filed by the nuns, Gloria was even more adamant. She was quoted as saying that ‘she is causing the smell by cooking and/or smoking fish, and she is going to continue to do it.’
The complaint appears to divide the apartment tenants, some finding themselves squarely on the side of the sisters who find the smell ‘potentially dangerous to life and health,’ and some defending the FilAm family’s right to eat their own ethnic food in the privacy of their home.
‘This is plain racist,’ comes a shout-out from a supportive blogger.
The complaint says some tenants closer to the Lims’ unit have moved out, and that the Lims have been warned repeatedly about the smell emanating from their 16th floor apartment unit. Gloria, a 30-year resident of the U.S. denies this.
Which side to take, undecided tenants turn to what’s stated in the housing rules: Cooking smelly food is not allowed.
The nuns are seeking $75,000 in damages. They made it clear that they have nothing against Filipinos as a people.
i thought the lawsuit was pretty harsh and merciless. they should have exhausted all diplomatic options like smaller fines, written warnings and then eventual eviction for failing to comply with house rules. it is not uncommon in the US to have specific rules about smelly food specially in high end residences or condominiums where people pay a premium in order to stay in a peaceful, orderly, chic and nice smelling neighborhood. let’s all hope that the nuns find it in their hearts to forgive the Lims. My advice to the Lims? go to the Filipino stores – they sell tuyo in a bottle. which reminds me, i think we’ll have tuyo, bagoong, chicharong bituka, talong and kamatis for our lunch this weekend. and we’re not cooking them in the house because I, as the homeowner, don’t allow cooking of tuyo or bagoong! we’ll just buy the bottled ones!
my neighbor used to cook fish in his apartment and the smell got to be so horrendous that i had to confront him about it. it was at the point where friends visiting from california couldn’t even stay over because the stench was unbearable. they spent 300 dollars on a hotel room because the smell seemed to linger.
when i confronted him, he was annoyed at first, but then started cooking with his window open and a fan near the oven blowing the fumes out the window. it actually worked. they should have tried other things before suing. that’s a little drastic. however, i don’t think that not liking the smell of fish has anything to do with race. if my neighbor were white, i would still hate that smell. i think it’s really ignorant for people to assume that everything is about race. that’s ridiculous.
Absolutely nothing to do with race!
i don’t know,hope so hope its not racial or about race. im filipino and i do want to have tuyo from time to time but yes i buy in jars or eat at filipino restaurant if i want filipino food. i think for the nuns to sue the LIM’s is too much. will the smell really kill or affect their health> if it was that bad we wouldn’t eat some.
nothing can’t be resolve if they can only talk in nice adult manner and forgive me but nuns supposed to understand things like this if they ever travelled to other countries and try different kinds of food and see other people/race/nationality,correct?
i have my own house i cooked once it does smell for hours my husband is white but i guess he has deep love for me cuz it didnt make him mad, he just said hum strong smell,nad i didnt do it again. so i understand them but to sue and ask $75,000.00 dmages? for what? one can only wonder if they only did this for money sorry to say this. it was th eLIM’s door that was damage right?
and they called fire department? they could have just knock harder/louder and talk to them. oh well maybe next time they won’t do this again cuz they have been sued already. i would also advice always have scented candle and incense or lysol so after cooking it will eliminate the smell.
peace all!