Our taste for different things varies from one person to another.  The way we react on something and our preferences are unique. There are things that we do voluntarily. There are things that we just can’t manage to do or accept. This blog will try to give you a glimpse of a few topics that I haven’t discussed in my former posts. I hope that this post would be informative and fun to read. This blog will be dealing with a spectrum of things that would probably play in your mind the moment you read the title.

Let me start with food. “Maselan” is one of the words that my friends and family members usually tell me whenever they discover the variety of food that I do eat and don’t. I grew up eating Filipino food cooked at home. Both my parents cook superbly! Sinigang, Nilaga, Menudo,Kare-kare, Pinakbet, Tocho, Mechado, Caldereta, Torta, Paksiw, Pancit, Dinuguan,  and Adobo are just a few of the best dishes they can cook which rivals the best Filipino restaurants in the metro. This is one of the reasons why I don’t usually eat these dishes in other household. My sisters and I tend to compare the distinct flavor of our home cooked meal and those of restaurants.

Growing up in Malabon gives us an almost unlimited access to taste an array of different sea foods delicacies. My dad was a former fisherman and my mom was a former “taong-gilid/naghahayuma”. My sisters and I developed different preferences on the food that we eat. Ging who is the second child after me only eats fish and noodles (fish that we know), no vegetables, chicken beef or pork. Our youngest, Caryl eats most everything but meals with red sauces (Mechado, Kaldereta…). She prefers soups and pork (Bulalo, Nilaga, Sinigang…). My mom and I are the only member of the family that eats pastas, sausages and pizzas. Now I will give you a glimpse of my food preferences; what I eat and what I don’t:

a.       I love eating pizza and pasta (spaghetti, lasagna, baked macaroni, parmigiana, baked ziti, carbonara, tuna casserole, macaroni salad…) except those in marinara sauce and seafoods.

b.      I like “Kakanin” (rice cakes, puto, bibingka, sapin-sapin, maja, biko, pudding, cuchinta…)

c.       I can’t resist the delectable smell and taste of tuyo (the only food that I dip in vinegar), sardines and tinapang bangus/smoked boneless milkfish. These are food that I didn’t use to eat before. My titas introduced me to different food when I was still a kiddo and I tend to like most of it.

d.      I like eating warm Taho with sugar syrup and sago, Yakult, banana-que, sweetened camote fries, fish balls(squid balls, chicken balls, kikiam dipped in a sweet and sour sauce), tokneneng/kwek-kwek (hard boiled chicken/quail eggs coated with orange batter)

e.      I don’t eat bagoong, achara, balot, penoy, okoy, shell fish (tahong, talaba, paros…),

f.        I eat only a few kinds of vegetables like upo, sayote, raddish, turnip, tomatoes, legumes, carrots, onions, potatoes, squash

g.       I like eating Nissin cup noodles sea foods (the Japanese variety), Lucky me supreme (La Paz batchoy)

h.      I like cheese flavored dirty ice cream, cold fruit yogurt, halu-halo, maíz con hielo, fruit salad and double dutch ice cream

i.         I like Tortang giniling (Omelet with grounded pork and potatoes), shanghai, sweet and sour pork

j.        I like fish but I only eat fish that I know (dilis, bangus, hasa-hasa, talakitok, matang-baka, tuna, tanigue, bisugo…). I love squid and I also eat prawns and shrimps.

k.       I don’t drink alcoholic beverages but if there is such thing as a waterholic/iced-teaholic, I am guilty.

l.         I like burgers and clubhouse sandwiches.

m.    I like fruits (tangerines, duhat, santol, chicco, atis, grapes, apples, watermelon, melon, peaches, prunes, green and ripe mangoes, bananas, oranges…)

n.      I like nuts (peanuts, cashew, pili, almonds, macadamia, pistachio…)

o.      I like cakes (chocolate, chocolate mousse, mango bravo, fudge cake, black forest, rocky road…)

p.      I like leche flan, halayang ube and gelatin

q.      I love milk and fruit juices

I might have forgotten a few more but the list goes on. I still try to eat new things and try new stuff. Maybe I’m not just as daring when it comes to the food I eat. Now let me move to the second half of this blog.

To Spit or To Swallow

Just recently the media has made an effort to inform people of the danger of spitting in public. My stand on the issue is similar to my stand in urinating in public spaces, it’s a big no! It is annoying to see people spit unimaginable things out of their mouths into thin air. I just hope people would understand the danger of spitting. Aside from hitting an unknown target it also spreads diseases that are usually airborne. I just hope the public will refrain from doing these things for health and sanitary reasons.

About the other issue you might have been thinkin… I just can’t imagine swallowing… I’d probably just spit… always. Chao!