Nighthawks at the Carinderia
Emotional Weather Report, today in the Philippine Star.
Saturday, 2 am, somewhere in Makati. Raymond insists that we go to this 24-hour carinderia, a favorite among filmmakers.
“What’s it called?”
“It doesn’t have a name,†Raymond says. “You have to try the tokwa and lechong kawali.â€
“Where is it?â€
“I don’t know the name of the street.â€
“Then how will we get there?â€
“I know the way. Sort of.â€
“Di kaya tayo ma-Tribu nyan?” Ricky asks.
“No.â€
“What do they serve?â€
“Pares. Lechong kawali and tokwa.â€
So at 2 am, after only three minutes of confusion that Raymond blames on a tikbalang, we find the carinderia on a crowded street. I can’t be more specific because the place has gotten popular enough as it is. It’s so popular that by the time we get there the only food left is lugaw and tokwa. True, the fact that it’s past 2 am may have something to do with the lack.
The carinderia is clean and bright, with that cruel fluorescent lighting that picks out and reveals your zits from twenty years ago. We sit on the bench by the long metal table and order lugaw and tokwa. The neighborhood is pretty lively despite the hour—people keep popping up for midnight snacks. At the next table, the owner is having a serious conversation with a transvestite in a halter dress. Across the street is an electric sign offering “24-hour organic massageâ€, whatever that is. (“They massage your organ?” is Raymond’s guess.) Down the street someone is doing karaoke: it sounds like he’s being garrotted with his own vocal cords.
Two picturesque teenagers sit at our table and inhale bowls of lugaw. Raymond wants to put them in a movie, but they leave before he can deliver his spiel. However, the woman at the counter tells us their names, addresses, and hobbies without our even asking. Then it starts raining again. I feel like a character in the Edward Hopper painting, or more accurately, the Tom Waits album. “There’s a rendezvous of strangers around the coffee urn tonight, all the gypsy hacks, all the insomniacs, now the paper’s been read.” In that instant I even wish for a piano, until I remember that I don’t play.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
August 24th, 2007 at 13:49
Hi Jessica!
I’m so glad I bumped into your blog. I have always read you in Today newspaper back when I was in college and some after that. I remember getting my copies only when you or Teddy Locsin, Jr. would be on. I had belly aches for some reason back then when you wrote about Liam Neeson and Russell Crowe. Anyway, before I type in more useless information here, I just want to say that this is wonderful! I loved reading you and happy to be reading you again. All the best!
Sincerely,
Karina
August 24th, 2007 at 17:32
can you give the exact address of that carinderia…
August 24th, 2007 at 18:38
nice… i just hope there is something exciting like that place here in puerto princesa… i like tokwa… whatever… hehehe…
August 24th, 2007 at 19:37
eilow! what’s the name of the street?
August 25th, 2007 at 22:49
Cool carinderia. And the fact that the name was left anonymous made me want to go there badly…
What street was it?
August 26th, 2007 at 20:25
I think i was one of the picturesque teenagers. Can i give you my number? lol
August 27th, 2007 at 13:02
havent been to the Philippines for ages…but would love to pay that carinderia a visit when i go home this year..must be worth it!
August 28th, 2007 at 13:55
I love these vignettes! More please.
September 8th, 2007 at 11:49
i think i know this place, is this the one in Pio Del Pilar?
their tokwa’t baboy is lechon kawali with tokwa, and served with fried rice and soup. And on the table, they have condiments – chili sauce, calamansi, crispy garlic and green onions. the owner owns a snake.
October 5th, 2007 at 19:48
Hahaha. I have succeeded in locating the carinderia. My success
however
is tainted as another diner pinched my derriere when I went to sample
the
eats there.
With this incident firmly ensconced in my memory, I have come to
the
conclusion that I value my life and despite the lure of the delicious
and
substantial eats, I resolve never to darken the sidewalk that the Brgy.
Pio
Del Pilar carinderia calls home.
I have my own tantalizing gastronomic experience to share. People who
hail
from Marikina know what I speak of. If you happen to find yourself in
the
shoe capital, it would be a grave sin not to sample the pancit
there.
Specifically in a certain panciteria near Daang Pasig, the name of
which I
must withhold for fear of anyone hogging said establishment any
further.
Said panciteria, obviously sells an array of pancit. But with a
lovely
twist, you have the option to order your special pancit with a generous
mix
of lechon. The lomi con lechon is creamy and inviting. The fragrant
aroma
of the bihon con lechon is so potent that you can become fertile
just by
looking at it. Their special torta concoction can provide you not
only
with nutrition but the will, perchance, to battle the ills of this
world.
The mere sight of their ampalaya con carne can render unshielded
eyes
blind.
The cook is also the owner. He is a moustached fellow and he
sports a
semi-kalbo hairdo. I can only describe him further as a pure
gastronomic
genius.
I invite you to journey to my pancit mecca. If you can find it, that
is.