Saturday, December 10, 2005
only a kiss can cure
It was my first time to leave the comforts of my hometown of Davao when I decided to study in Ateneo de Manila. I came from a tight knit family so the greatest challenge for me was fighting homesickness. The first two years of college I resorted to talking to my family everyday but soon we realized how much our phone bills skyrocketed so we decided that phone calls were to be regulated. There was also that all that crying every evening but eventually my tear ducts gave up on me. I also went through the phase of clubbing until the wee hours of the morning but I knew it was not my kind of thing so it was really just that – a phase. I tried all that I can do to make the loneliness go away but there was only one thing that succeeded in making me really happy away from home – food.
I was fortunate enough to have parents who care enough to send packages of home cooked food every now and then and what made me even luckier was that my roommates’ parents also did the same so we always had a steady supply to chase the blues away. Midway through college, my feelings of homesickness slowly faded away and so did the packages from home. There were those usual special occasion packages but they no longer arrived as often as before. I did not resent this in fact I though of it as my parents’ way of telling me to start enjoying things in Manila.
So I did enjoy Manila, well some parts of it but most of the time I was satisfied with discovering what lies in the Ateneo campus and anything in the confines or very near the boundaries of Katipunan. There were always the almost weekly trips to Rockwell but other than that I was fine just staying in the dorm.
My being adjusted to the fact that I will be spending months away from my family did not stop me from looking for that ever elusive restaurant that can duplicate home cooked food and it is a big bonus if the ambiance exuded that of home too. I have tried almost every restaurant along Katipunan but they were all the same. Even the restaurants in Rockwell did not please me. It was not until a friend took me to The Chocolate Kiss Café that my quest finally ended. Everything on the menu was something I am game to try and that is something because I am not exactly adventurous when it comes to food. And I was not mistaken because the experience was like eating my mother’s sinigang or my father’s pasta but with a twist at our very own kitchen with my brother playing some musical instrument in the background. The first time I ate there I knew it was not going to be my last. True enough there were many other dinners that followed.
Some of my favorite college memories happened in this café located at the Bahay ng Alumni of the University of the Philippines. These included the times when my friends and I went there after a grueling hell week. There were also a number of celebrations over good grades and successful projects and the chats about Meteor Garden and everything else under the sun and those spontaneous escapes from the pressure of school.
The Kiss was definitely one of the things I miss when I left college. After graduation, it was difficult to find time to go back but after over two years of waiting I came back to the restaurant I once called home and this time owner Maline Flores and daughter Liza were there to welcome my friends and me.
We ate all time favorites like the Hickory Smoked Spareribs, Haianese Chicken Rice, and Gamberi like it was our first time. During the meal, we learned that Maline has always been an entrepreneur. According to Liza when her mother’s cake business became big everyone in the family had to contribute and even the space in the living room and the kitchen had to be given up to accommodate orders. Now that they have the three outlets to take care of, the latest baby is a pilot franchise located at Roces Avenue corner Scout Tobias Street in Quezon City, every family member continues to help out in whatever aspect they are needed.
If you are wondering why all their branches are located in Quezon City, Maline explains that they want branches near their home because some of the food they serve are prepared and cooked there so to assure freshness and quality they chose to keep the two branches in UP and open one more in the nearby Roces Avenue.
As we savor the Pan con Tomato and the Basilico in between the big bites of real food, we wondered how Liza was taking our enthusiastic reception of the food because at the back of our heads we were thinking that mom Maline could be whipping up the same dishes at home. “We have special recipes reserved only for our family,” says Maline with a smile after which my friend immediately quipped “Kung nagsawa na kayo, share niyo naman!”
Their specialty desserts capped off one of the best meals of my life. We thought we would have no room for the delicious cakes but once they were set on the table, we could not resist the cheesecakes and of course the popular Devil’s Food Cake. Truly we saved the best for last.
I now vow to find time to visit and to spread the word about the therapy the food and the place offers because how selfish of me not to share the cure that I discovered.
P.S.
Thanks D and A for joining me =)
(10:09 PM) ♥ tal
2 Comments
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(4:50 PM) ♥
hey tal! it's US who should be thanking you!
-D-
(9:58 AM) ♥
tal D, imagine if i was alone, it's like meeting the mother and sister of my bf for the first time!!! such weirdness...it is always best to eat with friends!=)
