A food truck dishing out Filipino street food is a family affair.
Big Bad Bob Hot Dogs was started in May 2023 by Vanessa Apuden and Yudo Widiananto, a husband-and-wife team. Their first event was a summer festival in Sidney.
“Since we attended in Sidney, we have had a lot of invitations, either from school or from communities like Oak Bay, James Bay,” Widiananto said.
Big Bad Bob Hot Dogs serves hot dogs, smokies, burgers, and Asian street food, such as pork isaw, pork tenga, chicken satay, and more.
Apuden is from the Philippines, and Widiananto is from Indonesia. They acknowledge that settling in Canada can be difficult and isolating.
“It’s really hard. We struggled a lot, so we know how hard the road is,” Widiananto said.
Apuden and Widiananto said they always try to give back to the community and will alter the menu or prices based on customer suggestions.
“This is mostly for fun. Our goal is introducing our food to the community,” Widiananto said.
The food cart offers some regular condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, but it also offers a range of more specialized sauces, such as banana pepper sauce.
“We are giving customers choices for their condiments,” Apuden said.
Apuden and Widiananto both work in health care and will enlist their children to help out with Big Bad Bob Hot Dogs.
Widiananto works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Apuden works from 4 p.m. to midnight.
Big Bad Bob Hot Dogs has customers from Happy Valley and as far away as Saanichton.
The food cart will set up shop outside Spencer Middle School, which Apuden and Widiananto’s teenage son attends. During that time, they create a special student meal deal that costs less than five dollars.
Apuden said they try to keep food costs down and prices reasonable, with most items on the menu costing less than $10.
“Food costs are crazy expensive, so we are always trying to give back to the community,” Widiananto said.
Big Bad Bob Hot Dogs is at Juan de Fuca Library at the Swap and Shop from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Sunday.
“We started with them last year. Now we are on the food cart there,” Apuden said.
The duo have also donated to the Sarah Beckett Foundation after the former RCMP officer was killed in a collision with a drunk driver.
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