The Mitch Cerda Essay Series Part 2 at Isang Sagupaang Matindi

Mukhang todo na ang pagkaadik ko sa Rome: Total War. Nakakaenganyo kapag nanalo ka. Feel na feel ko ang pagiging heneral ng Roma. Nakakatuwa.

Babalik ulit bukas si Mae galing Maynila. May bitbit siyang mga kaibigan, dito magpapalipas ng ilang araw. Invade daw nila ang kuwarto ko, dun muna matutulog ang mga lalaki. Nakakainis pero ganyan lang talaga ang hospitality. 'Wag lang sana nilang guluhin ang aking libro.

Eto nga pala ang Part 2 ng serye ng mga sanaysay na sinulat ko para sa Non-Fic. Isa lang siyang paglalarawan. Yun lang.

Lakeside Eating


My family and I used to go to this restaurant beside Sampalok Lake. It was an open-air restaurant. It was just a roof, a floor, and a hurdle that stood on bamboo poles. It stood above the waters of the lake and we had to walk on a bamboo bridge to enter.

It was just a small place. There were only about eight tables for four people. But because it was open-air, it still felt spacious. The wind came in that cooled the place. It was especially comfortable during Christmas season.

The view of the lake was fantastic. Seeing the surface of the water move with the wind put me into a trance. The mountains and trees reflected at the water’s light green surface, giving a mix of different shades of green.

Only the fresh smell of beef mami took me out of my trance. The restaurant made the best mami in the city. The noodles were just right, it was smooth and tender inside the mouth. And the broth didn’t taste like soap, the bits of beef that floated in it gave a strong beef flavor. It was so good, every time I pass by the lake, memories of mami would come to me.

After eating, my sister and I used to look through the bamboo floor, between the gaps of the slivers, watched the small fishes in the water. We used to argue what kind of fish they were. In the end, we agreed that they were dilis.

I always left that restaurant, my stomach full mami and my eyes full of green, with that brief moment of my life that I felt was not wasted, a moment that I could go back to. A feeling that comes to me every time I go to the restaurant beside the lake.