"Where are we gonna eat?"
This, and "What are we going to eat?" are the hardest questions that you have to answer when you're in college, and when the university you are in is a thousand miles away from home. Oh wait, I mean a thousand kilometers away. (Who am I kidding. In RP, its SI.) Jomar suggested that we go for burgers. Expensive according to me. I suggested we go for ramen at the Japanese restaurant. Expensive according to him. We ended up at a local carinderia that is probably the only one left which sells 1 cup of rice for just 5 pesos. If this is not the most delightful thing ever, I don't know what is.
We have previously met the owner of the food stall last week because we ordered a bilao of pancit bihon for our semstarter. (For the record, I do know the English term for bilao. I learned that from my father when I was a kid. I just don't think using the term a "winnow of stir-fried white noodles extracted from mungbean" is appropriate. It makes me uncomfortable.) She overheard us talking in Bisaya and she asked us if we really are from down south.
"Bisaya mo Dong? Bisaya pud ko!", she said.
I can feel her excitement and her joy upon this discovery. After closing our transaction for that bilao of pancit (yup! that's more comforting), a few chats, and after devouring our very delicious dinner of pork sisig and radish-smothered pork tidbits (I didn't ask for the name of the dish. It just looked so appetizing.) and 2 cups of rice for me (grins), we already said our goodbyes.
So last night we decided to eat there again and Ate still recognized us.
(Oh, the Bihon People! <--- her probable recollection of us)
We ate a serving of pork sisig, munggo, pork barbecue, and 3 cups of rice (One serving is just 5 pesos. It would be such a shame to be rude to food by not devouring it. Never be rude to inexpensive food!) After we finished our feast, Ate talked about how much she misses her home in Mindanao. She said she missed cooking most of the mouth-watering dishes that are only popular there at the South. She can't cook it here because people are not used to them. So there, we night-dreamed about the food that have already grown on out hearts.
1. Paklay
Basically it is just stir-fried cattle rudiments and liver with lots of ginger, onions, garlic and bell pepper. This dish is sooo good I can eat it alone even without rice. And yeah, I can live with eating just this.. plus water... and a medication for high blood pressure, just in case. :)
2. Champorado Ug Bulad
Being blessed with a Type IV climate where occasional typhoons are no match to Mindanao's majestic mountain barriers, we fancy cooking the classic Filipino chocolate porridge during rainy days (just plain rainy days without the scary wooooo-ing wind). To compliment the sweet and thick delight, we eat it along with a little twist- Bulad (dried fish)!!!! Oh just thinking about it makes me drool! These two are soulmates, and they are nothing less but looove to the palette.
3. Ginataang Munggo with Kamunggay and Bulad na Lapu-Lapu
The urge to drool is getting so much stronger. This is our take to the classic Mungbean Soup but again, our version features some more delectable twists. The coconut milk makes the soup creamier and the inherent saltiness of the dried Lapu-Lapu compliments all the flavors. Malunggay or Moringa as it now fancily called makes the dish more nutritious and more appealing by giving touches of green to this culinary masterpiece.
4. Ginamos
This is our own version of bagoong. Of course, nothing beats the bagoong of our brothers and sisters in Pangasinan and Ilocandia when it comes to taste, but ginamos already has a special place in our southern hearts. In contrast to the traditional bagoong, it is somewhat grayish to black in color, and the dilis (long-jawed anchovies) are still visibly whole. After squirting the juice of some calamansi, and after adding a few slices of not-so-ripe-and-still-crunchy tomatoes, breakfast/lunch/dinner is ready. Just that simple.
To say I miss home is absolutely an understatement. I miss the laid-back lifestyle, the compassionate people and the yummiest inexpensive food. They say a banana a day keeps the doctor away. But I refuse to follow that here in Luzon when a single banana is priced eight pesos. EIGHT PESOS! Sometimes it's even ten. It may not be inexpensive but I just get that at home almost for free. The classic adobo here has potatoes and hard boiled eggs, and it's consistency is almost soupy. Back home adobo is made purely with meat and it is thick, and almost all the liquid have been absorbed. The meat is soft and the taste is impeccable.
I can go on and on with this forever. But I guess I have to stop now as this just makes me miss home more and more. I'll be going home soon, that's a relief. But for now when I'm still here, I'll keep on eating there at that little food stall along F.O. Santos Street. Eating there gives me a sense of comfort that Home is not a thousand kilometers away. It only takes a few steps to get there, some great food and some great friends that I could share every meal with to make me feel as one with the Land of Promise again. <3
*P.S. This post is not date sensitive. I started composing the earlier parts about a week ago. :) 'Til my next word dumping. Ciao.
