Mirsbin’s Kitchen

The waiter couldn’t believe his eyes as he got the empty bottle from the table. We were just two ladies and we managed to finish one bottle of wine. Elaine and I were giggling as he removed the bottle. “Ma’am parang tubig lang ah” was the waiter’s remark. He must have been at ease with us since he knew we we’re having a good time. I last saw Elaine when Mark and Petite arrived in Manila. After that we were all too busy to meet up – Mark being in the US, Micky and I were also busy with the Food Showdown and Chef TV. The four of us used to dine at Micky’s house and talk about books, life, love, movies. Seldom did we talk about the things happening in the office and rant about it. I miss those days when we were still complete. During those times too we could finish several bottles of wine. Mamu would pour and pour more wine as the wine glass was emptied. The early stages of wine appreciations

It was a relief to finally have a set date with Elaine. We talked about her lost love. I felt guilty for not being with her last August. If I knew what happened to her I would have scheduled an emergency dinner. That night we went to Cafe Ysabel, Mamu would not have approved of the venue, but it was dim lighted, and the food passed Elaine’s and my standards. We had Lamb Shanks and Lengua plus one bottle of wine.

It was a relaxing dinner. We hoped to find true love, we reminisced of past dinners with Micky and Mark, and how we ended drunk after Micky poured brandy on the fruit cake. I vowed to myself to make time for dinners with Elaine and Micky at least once a month.

I was craving for a choco slice from Goldilocks, so I went to their branch in National Bookstore Quezon Avenue. We haven’t eaten lunch so we decided to eat there. The service was really awful, plus being inside the area it seemed dirty with a number of flies. This happened too when I dined in the same establishment a year ago. I was quite surprised that they have not improved on the cleanliness of the place. A customer was complaining when we were waiting for their orders. Plus as I was eating, I saw one of the staff with kitchen gloves cleaning the table. Was this the same person who was assigned to assemble the food that we were eating? I hope not. Did he forget to remove the kitchen gloves while bussing out the empty styro boxes. I don’t know if it’s a franchise, but it’s rather sad that this establishment did not take notice on the other details such as cleanliness aside from creating much hype thru their celebrity endorsers.

This is the first time I’ve openly talked about an establishment. I had good memories from Goldilocks way back when I was a kid. I used to love their mocha slices and their beehive. My mom would bring me to one of their branches in Cubao after school. I would eat the beehive and some pancit then she would order dinuguan with puto or the lumpiang sariwa.

Hoping that the management takes notice on the cleanliness of the place. It’s not enough that they produce quality cakes or that they have nice marketing strategies and materials with known celebrity endorsers. I have yet to see the other branches though or dapat ba talagang i take home na lang – bit bit?

I recently spoke to Guia, long time friend who used to work for Star Cinema. She’s one of the producers of a new film entitledPloning that will be shot in Cuyo Palawan.

I gladly accepted her invitation to be the cook for the crew. One month away from home in a beautiful place called Cuyo. This project meant being exposed to the kitchen preparing 3 to 5 meals a day for the staff. I haven’t met the whole team but from their blogs I’m excited to meet all of them.

Here’s to the producers and I hope to add more updates about the movie before they start shooting