Gobble D' Gulp

I can’t remember who said, “We eat to live, not live to eat.” Perhaps after today, I don’t think I’d want to know.

So what if I indulged with the calling of my palate? Who cares if I fed my inner glutton? One day of the epicurean lifestyle doesn’t make me evil, right? Although I have to admit, it can surely make me fat! But that’s the least of my worries.

I started the day with last night’s leftovers. I reheated the sautéed cabbage (pinasosyal na ginisang repolyo!) then fried the extra chicken wings I didn’t cook last night. Those plus rice were my breakfast.

I like sautéed cabbage! I’d be happy to have it, and it alone, to comprise my meal in any given day.

Next, I was off to the dentist for my scheduled dental prophylaxis. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I had my teeth cleaned before consuming more food!

The thing is, I am supposed to have lunch with my Filstar friends this noon. I just squeezed in visiting the dentist to make the dressing up, traveling and time outside the house more worthwhile.

In traversing the vast mall called Trinoma, we, Filstar friends and I, picked the restaurant that will feed our grumbling stomachs. A Venetto it was. It has the perfect menu to satisfy my nearly insatiable craving for cheese. Of course I like pizza and pasta but it is mainly because of the cheese. And even if I don’t eat any type of mollusk, I didn’t hesitate gorging tahong had it not for the generous melting cheese that hugged it.

The shrimp in the seafood pasta was most definitely a bonus for me. I like shrimps the same way I like crabs which is really bordering on love.

I must have filled myself to the brim. Yet I don’t regret stuffing my mouth with every morsel of pizza, pasta, shrimp and tahong from my plate.

You know how pizza makers never seem to master slicing a pizza into equal parts? Well, let’s just say I had been a happy beneficiary of their inability. I have to confess that I must have had the lion’s share of the pizza served on our table. For some greedy reason, I voluntarily took biggest slice that noon. I just felt like I needed to—eat like a man, that is.

To burn the full meal we just partook, we went the to the al fresco part of the mall to enjoy the wind and explore the possibilities of dessert.

The inviting rooftop view, however, was less than pleasant. From the luxurious towers of Trinoma, a horizon with three juxtaposing layers can be seen: in the nearest part is a line of parked cars for the rich and semi-rich, following it is a strip of construction site that somehow promises an improved future, then on the almost-outskirts is a cramped group of shanties (Barung-barong is a more accurate term.) which emphasizes that not all of us can have it all. And they that can’t, they’re kept away from those who can. In this scenario, the capability to construct a better future, the ability to improve one’s life is the line that divides.

The sight is really more than explicit.

As selfish as it may seem, we didn’t let the distressing picture be our dessert.

We were in Jack’s Loft and although the menu was tempting, I didn’t get myself anything. I thought I had no more room for food plus I’m on a tight budget. But Kate shared the cookie she ordered and I didn’t dare to say no to her offer. I like cookies. However the cookie Kate ordered, although humongous, was rather dry and crunchy. Usually, I want my cookie chewy and chocolate-y. But that’s just me.

Pregnant Aleth also shared her Jack’s Loft chocolate mousse cheesecake. Oh, I love chocolate mousse! Thank God for Aleth’s order. But it’s cheesecake so it was a bit sour. Even so, the Oreo crust was alarmingly thin. It did too little in complementing the first two creamy layers. It is a shame serving cheesecakes with such thin crust!

We said our goodbyes, Filstar friends and I, before we ate more food. Which was good. Otherwise staying together, chomping another set of whatnots would have been a sin. A group sin.

I was about to head home when I detoured elsewhere. It is a place I deem haven for a variety of food stalls strategically placed everywhere. People call it St. Francis Square. (Is the rhyme necessary?)

Even if I wasn’t that hungry, I fell in line to get me one large order of mojo potatoes, then, later, two orders of siomai. Hah, two of my favorites! Where siomais are concerned, the chili garlic sauce is key.

Let it be known that I didn’t eat the two takeouts right away. I brought them home and shared—the mojo potatoes before dinner and the siomai during dinner. And dinner was completed by the hot nilagang baka (beef stew?) Dad cooked. I am not really a fan of nilagang baka but the way Dad prepared it and served it hot, made me realize I’m glad I’m home.

I wrapped up the day-spent gobbling all my favorite food with another staple favorite: corn on the cob. I ate less than half the cob. That makes a big difference between binging and not. Or am I just trying to convince myself?

Just as well, I know the day satisfied each and every craving I have whether it’s for vegetables, cheese, seafood, sweets, potatoes, siomai, soup or corn--all of which I selectively love.

Although I know that, just like the people who live in the almost-outskirts as viewed from the towers of Trinoma, I too can’t have it all, I at least enjoyed a slice of life I can afford to devour. And even if my heart and mind haven’t been happy, at least my stomach was.

All photos were from ging's multiply site.