Why Pinoys are always smiling
We went on an expedition to QC the other week to see the Amorsolo exhibition at Vargas Museum in UP. Along the way we stopped for lunch at Adarna House on Kalayaan Street. Kermit had read a rave review somewhere, and we were all in the mood for a hearty Pinoy lunch.
The interiors are charming, reminiscent of all the lazy summer afternoons of your childhood, lounging around the ancestral house in the probinsya while your lola in her patadyong made ensaymada and tsokolate in the kitchen.
Actually the summers of my childhood were nothing like that, but for some reason that’s how I remember them. Like the memory implants in Blade Runner.
Alternative memory: Taking your siesta while your mom and titas played mahjong and the maids peeled the butong pakwan for them. That’s from Oro, Plata, Mata.
Adarna House would be an excellent venue for a merienda cena book launch (Adarna is in fact a book publisher).
Kermit ordered the gulaman at sago, which was too sweet. Big Bird said it was flavored with panocha. So Kermit added a whole glass of water to his gulaman at sago. It was still too sweet.
For starters we ordered the Pancit Caviteña, which is a noodle soup. I forgot to take a picture.
For the vegetable course we ordered Bicol Express, but it wasn’t available that day. We had the Gising-Gising instead. It was spicy, but also too sweet for our tastes.
Humba is supposed to be sweetish. This one was like a meaty banana cake.
I have this theory as to why Filipinos are always smiling. The economy could be in shambles, the politicians could be. . .exactly what they are now, but Pinoys are always cheerful and merry. It’s not dementia, it’s the sugar. All our food is sweet. Our main courses taste like dessert. We don’t have to wait till the end of the meal to get our sweets, our entire meal is dessert.
For dessert I had the Turon, which had peanut butter with the banana. My systems are used to processing vast amounts of sugar, but I had to surrender after the first turon.
By now Big Bird and Kermit were reeling from sugar shock, and each ordered a Guava Sorbet to clear his palate. It cleared their palates, alright–it was so sour, one teaspoon was enough.
My tongue felt like it had been caramelized, but a strong cup of barako took care of that. Hey on US Election Day, let’s temporarily rename our local coffee BARAKOBAMA.
Despite the extreme sweetness, it was a delightful lunch and we’d go back there to try the rest of the menu.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
October 23rd, 2008 at 13:09
Indeed, Pinoys have this seemingly embarassing propensity to display teeth, tongue and tonsils at the drop of a hat, storm or no storm, sweets or no sweets…
However, on a much somber (read:scientific) note, did you know that Positive Psychology is the most popular course at Harvard?
And that based on the huge turn-out of attendees alone, Psychology 1504, “Positive Psychology,†the study of “happiness, self-esteem, empathy, friendship, goalsetting, love, achievement, creativity, mindfulness, spirituality, and humor,†is now officially a phenomenon.
“The proof is in the pudding, it seems—the mental health crisis is taking care of itself.Mental health crisis is taking care of itself. Is happiness is the new sad?…”
More from The Harvard Crimson Magazine The University Daily Since 1873 (Online Edition)
October 24th, 2008 at 10:52
This country is like one of those awful eat-places with horrible service but delicious food. Sort of like that Soup Nazi place. I may hate it here but the food rocks.
October 25th, 2008 at 03:20
Fresh off the boat in the US years ago, I had to check myself because I noticed that my smile was getting a look from people, an uneasy what-the-f**k’s-the-matter-with-this-guy look evincing anxious puzzlement which asks a) do you know me from somewhere b) are you coming on to me or c) are you about to stab me. And I’m not even that cheerful or friendly. What’s worse is that it was winter which makes people in the Northeast even less disposed to smile. I’ve since learned to keep a tight-lipped near-scowl on my mug.
And my own pet theory on this penchant for over-effusive (borderline inappropriate) smiling is a long history of colonial subjugation (we learned to smile profusely to feign obsequiousness towards the overlord) and undernourishment (it takes energy to control one’s emotion). ;->