Foreigners

I used to find it really amusing to watch the tourists jumping up and down when they see a rat scurrying around the drains when I was living in  M’sia.. or their  paranoia to eat the street food..

I used to eat pani puri from the street vendors in Bangalore when I was studying Medicine (knowing all the potential risk and regularly falling sick) I never thought twice about eating hawker food in M’sia.

I came to Manila thinking it would be like M’sia. Somehow food was the least of my worries as I really am not a fuzzy eater. Yet, it is food that I struggle the most with. My work is very hectic and I really have no time to cook. I don’t even have salt at the apartment where I stay.

First of all, I don’t understand the Tagalog names for food. Nothing makes any sense to me. Until now, even in Australia/Canada I can order my food in Chinese in a Chinese restaurant.. even that is not an option here because the food I am used to is different here.. And all vegetable dishes have shrimp in it, being vegetarian with a severed seafood allergy, my options are very limited..

I made an arrangement with  chef at the cafeteria to  cook dinner for me. Yesterday, he cooked two spring rolls and served it with rice. No gravy.. nothing.. I was so hungry, but I just couldn’t eat plain rice.. so I went out to look for something to eat… there were plenty of road side stalls.. and rats were scurrying around and I morphed in to a typical tourist.. the type I laughed at..

I ate plain rice in the end.. and thought of all the times I tossed food out if it was more than two days old at home and wished if I had some of that..

4 thoughts on “Foreigners

  1. Hope you will see this. If you are in Makati or Quezon cities then lot of Indian restaurants are there. Please let me know your location in Manila and I will direct you to the nearest restaurant. You have my email and send a mail then i will reply to you. 🙂

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