THE CHEF in my brother’s restaurant feeds me.
He knows I eat a little of everything.
Today, he cooked pinakbet and pork adobo for the family.
He asks if I would like to have some.
He knows I drink a lot of coffee, and often skips lunch in favor of banana cue and leche con hielo.
***
I have hired an all-around boy.
But there’s nothing much to do at Casa Dom Pedro at the moment.
My brother also lost a helper at his restaurant.
Having worked with my brother before, my AAB (for All-Around Boy) volunteered to help out.
I’m not opposed to lending him, but I told them that he should be getting at least a free meal for his work.
***
I have no problem paying for my meals.
Or for my AAB’s, for that matter.
AAB likes eggs and noodles so he has his own supply of rice, eggs, noodles, and sardines.
***
He also has the option to buy viands from carinderia, although he would rather spend his food allowance on cigarettes.
I have given him health education and the horrors-of-cigarettes talk, but I really don’t care how people spend the money I give them for lunch.
***
Anyway, chef gave me a small serving of pinakbet, which was really nice because it was only mostly bitter gourd, squash, and okra.
The shrimp paste sauce was very good though.
And I could easily sin and eat rice with it.
Only, I am not easily tempted.
***
Chef likes feeding me because I really show appreciation for his cooking.
Which is really my way of helping the restaurant maintain its quality.
Chef knows that he is good, but why should that stop me some giving compliments?
***
Humbly, he always deprecates himself by saying, “My cooking is untaught. I just mix stuff.”
And I always tell him, “Then, keep mixing while being untaught because this cooking is very good.”
Now, that makes him very eager to serve me a portion of every food that he cooks.
***
He serves me a small serving of adobo.
Like two pork bits, and the achuete-rich sauce.
He was having his lunch, and he ate his adobo with a pile of rice and some sautéed shrimp paste that was left over from when they served unripe mango.
I still refused the rice.
***
As I finished my adobo, a restaurant customer came (more like ‘came up’ because we were on the second floor), and ordered pancit lomi.
Would I like some lomi?
Now, I often shamelessly promote Thelma Restaurant’s lomi because I really like it.
But seldom do I order a bowl of it because I just feel it is a laborious dish.
When a customer orders it though, I also order it to go with one cooking/preparation.
***
The lomi is a quick dish, something we call “short order” in the past decades.
Before I finish this article, my lomi is served.
Chef served it with special uncooked cabbage strips, just the way I like it; and with more fried garlic bits than they offer the other customers.
***
An order of lomi is P160 at Thelma’s Restaurant.
It is a generous serving that serves four.
A bowl costs P60.
I could eat anybody’s lomi.
But if you up your game because I was going to eat it, it always makes me feel good about the quality and taste of food.
Today’s lomi was good, as it should.
And as it always is.
I give chef a thumbs up, and he smiles.
***
As I finish this, a regular restaurant patron just ordered bijon guisado.
Dang! It’s another dish I usually order “along with another customer”. Haha./PN
