The film was supposedly scrapped due to lack of funding. However, a single celluloid strip from the storyboard was allegedly found in 2003 inside a sari-sari store in Marikina. The annotation read simply: 1987 . Literary scholars argue that the phrase is a famous line from a 1987 Balagtasan (poetic debate) held at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. The debate was between two poets, known only by their pseudonyms: Lumang Grasa (Old Grease) and Binibining Suka (Miss Vinegar).

Lumpiang ubod (heart of palm spring roll) is naturally sweet and juicy. But a stale, day-old lumpia (the "uhaw" or thirsty lumpia) is dry, chewy, and sad. The traditional dipping sauce is a sweet, garlicky sarsa . However, in the economically desperate summer of 1987 (an El Niño year), sugar was expensive.

Each refuses to give it water. Finally, a disillusioned revolutionary gives it a dipper of suka , saying: "Diligin mo ‘to. Ganito ang lasa ng rebolusyon—maasim at masakit sa tiyan."

Resourceful eaters discovered that pouring sinamak (spiced vinegar) directly onto a dry lumpia revived it. The acid broke down the hardened wrapper, and the spice gave the illusion of freshness.

Rumor has it that after completing "Turumba" (1981), Tahimik sketched a surreal short film titled "Ang Uhaw na Lumpia" . The plot, allegedly scribbled on a banana leaf and kept at the Baguio Creative Collective, involved a talking spring roll that roams the streets of post-EDSA Manila, looking for a glass of water. The spring roll, representing the middle class (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside), approaches various figures: a corrupt politician, a homeless street child, a nun.