Blogger Entry #3

Friday, May 27, 2005

Food Tripping...

If
there's something I haven't really been able to enjoy in Manila, it's
the food. As in, there are so many restaurants... diverse flavors to
fit any palate's preference, from the bland to the mild to the really
spicy. Previous visits have prevented me (because I make the lifestyle
choice to live like a nun while I'm working... and most of my Manila
visits have been for work) from truly experiencing the gustatory
delights that Manila has to offer... and I can eat. Yeah, it's this
love for food that necessitates my swimming for a half hour or Tae-Bo
for at least 20 minutes.

So
far, I've been to just a few restaurants here... I haven't taken in all
that Alabang has, and I know that Makati contains so many good places
for food tripping. I'm looking forward to next week, when a few friends
and I are going to take in some really fantastic seafood. This might be
a tradition in the making: a Wednesday night food trip! Yum! God gave
us the sense of taste alongside sight, hearing, smell and touch, and a
good food trip makes full use of all five: oil and garlic as it drips
off your hands... the sight of color in a beautiful plate of
vegetables... the smell of onions wafting from the kitchen... perhaps
reading "Like Water For Chocolate" this morning stimulated something
primal in me... I read the whole book today, and it's something I would
definitely recommend to anyone who loves food... love... sex... the
kitchen... the smells and sights of wonderfully prepared dishes, dishes
containing love and passion... oh, but to have tasted the quail in rose
sauce... or the chilies in walnut sauce, with those lovingly shelled
cashews... and that wedding cake! The layers of cake with apricot
preserves... oh, so yummy! I'm tempted to give the recipes in that book
a try at least once. My husband will be impressed for sure.

It's
a stay-at-home Friday for me... I guess as I get older, the less
inclined I am to want to head out for "gimmicks" and late nights out.
My brother said it best: "I know I'm getting old when all I want to do
is water the lawn and talk to the plants in my garden, the way Lola
(Grandma) used to." It made his wife and me laugh when we heard that.