Places where I eat

My friend Keth, fresh from fellowship training and who's about to start a nephrology practice in the city, gave me an idea: write about good food places. 

Where to eat in town is a perpetual dilemma. I understand this issue comes with a lot of privilege because not everyone can afford to eat out, or even eat at all. But this problem resurfaces many times a week, and much more frequently during seasons when friends and family come over, or when people need to be met and fed, for work or pleasure or both. "Diin kita mag-meet man? Ano namit nga karan-an diri?" leave me dumbfounded.

My personal default reply is to have lunch and dinner at home. Auntie Nanic's cooking is marvelous. She is a gift to our home. But she makes a truly good job in the kitchen that I now suspect that her main purpose in doing so is to ruin my diet. Although homecooked Ilonggo food is regenerative to the body and soul, I also enjoy variety. Recently there has been an explosion of new restaurants in Marbel and Gensan, some of them worth coming back to. I also realize that I'm able to maintain my weight more if I eat out. The portions are controlled, since there's a price to pay for each cup of extra rice ordered.

So I eat out, perhaps twice or thrice a week, mostly out of necessity. Hunger finds me in random places, usually on the road when my glycemic levels are low. And I avoid doing take outs—I think that's depressing. I'm reminded of long hours of hospital duty during training when I'm locked inside ward, anticipating strokes and heart attacks. Or the mandatory 14-day lockdown in the hotel after I'd flow in from Manila during the pandemic. All I had was Foodpanda delivery.

I have lunch at Alfonso's Café after clinic hours, highly recommended by Dr. Noel Pingoy, who eats there regularly. I have post-lunch coffee at Brewpub in Tupi town when I get sleepy and hungry on the road. The waiters are used to seeing me at 2 or 3 PM, napping, my head on the table, as I wait for my americano. I have snacks at Organikian, where healthy meals and juices are served. Manong Ralph supplies the sourdough there. Recently my cousin Hannah praised the chai latte at Café Abuela along Balmores Street.

So I look forward to posting some more food places. I still enjoy reading the old entries in Walk and Eat blog, but, as with most blogs, it has gone silent, too. I'll pattern my posts after it.

I'll label my food posts under "eating."