SM City Pampanga showcases Giant Suman Bulagta at Bestival Feast

The SM City Pampanga featured the biggest Suman Bulagta serving during the Bestival Feast celebration in San Fernando City, Pampanga on 29 August 2026.

According to Public Relations Manager Venus Magsino, the giant native rice cake was crafted by 3rd-year students from the Holy Cross College School of Tourism and Hospitality Management in collaboration with the Heart Society Organization.

"Around 200 students were involved in preparing the Suman Bulagta, madami kawa po ang nagamit and they did the cooking for only a day," she said.

She said that the Suman Bulagta aims to highlight local Kapampangan culinary heritage and regional pride during the mall's Celebrate Bestival event.

The ingredients used include glutinous rice, lye water (lihiya), sugar, dahon ng saging, and food coloring. These are served with grated coconut, sugar, or syrup sugar for alternatives

The whole display used 500 kilograms of glutinous rice, and is displayed in a circular container with a diameter of 16 feet. Each quarter panel is equivalent to 50 blocks of suman, with a total of 200 blocks of suman for the display.

The cooking time per big "kawa" is two hours before the suman is fully cooked, with the students preparing the delicacy at 10am, cooking it at 1pm, and finishing the process at 9pm.

Suman Bulagta is the traditional Kapampangan name for Suman sa Lihiya, a popular Filipino rice cake made from glutinous rice (malagkit) mixed with lye water (lihiya), wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled until chewy. The lye water gives the rice its distinct greenish-yellow tint, a slightly alkaline flavor, and a uniquely gooey texture.

Like other types of suman, sumang bulagta traces its roots back to pre-colonial indigenous harvest celebrations in the Philippines. Early Filipinos prepared native rice cakes (kakanin) as offerings to spirits and gods during bountiful harvests.

The term "bulagta" is a Tagalog colloquial word meaning to lie flat or sprawled out. Unlike tightly rolled or cylindrical variants, sumang bulagta is uniquely flattened or wrapped loosely in banana leaves, sometimes paired or tied together (also sharing names like suman magkayakap or suman sa lihiya).