Batchoy on papa's day!

Today is the birthday of papa. My niece sent me text message that mama will be cooking Pancit (noodles) for the family’s celebration and I won’t be there to celebrate with them. However, I had my own celebration aside from special prayers. It would not have been possible if I were still staying in Cebu City.

Everytime I travel to and from the plant I would pass by Gaisano Grand Minglanilla branch and see that they have Ted’s La Paz Batchoy there. I went around somebit in downtown Cebu and have not seen a single batchoyan in the area, understandable since Batchoy is for Ilonggo not Cebuano. Anyway, yesterday we transferred to a pension house near the plant and since there was no eating place near the area we went to the mall in Minglanilla and I was able to have my batchoy… I wonder if papa had some hand in it but it sure felt great to be eating batchoy on his birthday.

I remember how we would eat batchoy in Deco’s in front of UST. He went back to school that time to finish his college and I was also studying in the same university. We both enjoyed it so much! My memory went farther and remembered when one time the family ate in Scorpio’s restaurant in Quezon Arcade in front of New Frontier’s theatre (which are long gone) I was probably 6 years old then. Papa ordered a couple of regular batchoy and one special batchoy and of course the waiter served the special (bigger) to him but papa told him that it was for me!

Ahhh memories while savoring the batchoy served to me dashed with a good portion of ground black pepper. I even requested for extra soup as they are not stingy in giving extra soup in all the batchoyan I’ve eaten. And I learned that the people there are all Ilonggo as they are all from Iloilo.

So it was a good day to have batchoy in Cebu… a special day… and I enjoyed it so much and if papa is watching I’m sure he too would enjoy watching me celebrate his birthday with Batchoy.