Daily Food Takeout After Office & Bagoong Club, Twin Lakes Tagaytay

Working on an 8 to 5 job and an hour or more commute takes away a huge amount of time that you rather be spending with your loved ones. But don’t fret on lack of time. Why not takeout food from restaurants or order on food delivery and make that precious little time (after office) counts!

If you know me or you went with me on the way home, you know that I always bring with me paper bag or plastic full of takeout food from not just one but different restaurants.

It is a joy for me to see variety of food on a table. Food really recharges us with good mood and a happy heart. And sharing this with your parents or family is the best thing ever.

When I dine out and I get to taste yummy food, I always thought “my parents or loved ones should try this one out too!” But given the traffic, the time, and the health condition of my parents, I’d rather handle this one through takeout and delivery.

Food is a gift. I remember my parents did the same thing when I was a kid. I was waiting for them from work every night, expecting not toys, but takeout food! That time, I wonder why the food taste so good. Maybe not just because of the taste, but that feeling of happiness and excitement my parents made me feel.

The downside though, sometimes you need to reheat food or the food is not as crisp or as fresh or as hard to chew, because of the longer time of commute.

That’s when our cooking sense comes in! For instance, my mom would not just reheat the food, but would recook it so that my dad could eat it easily. Like for example, when noodles are cook al dante by one restaurant, and my dad could not chew that well (due to health condition). We need then to boil that one up again to make it a little softer. Same thing for stir-fry vegetables. Cooking it a little crunchy is best they say, but that doesn’t apply to my parent’s condition, so we need to boil that up or steam it to make it a little softer.

Health enthusiast might say, it is unhealthy to reheat this in the oven, or stir-fry vegetables should stay crunchy as to not lose its nutrients. I am aware of that but then again, what works for all may not work for one.

One dinner time, I ordered from different restaurants in Lucky China Town: Ramen Kuroda, Cafe Mary Grace, and Pancake House.

In Ramen Kuroda, I ordered their Spicy Noodle Ramen called Aka Chasumen. For dinner, my mom and dad wanted soup or noodles so I ordered that. Last time, I order their favorite, Razon’s Arroz Caldo.

I also ordered Chicken Karaage in Ramen Kuroda. The night before, they love Kenny Roger’s Chipotle Chicken with hot sauce. I was supposed to order that again but there was no Kenny Rogers in Lucky China Town. Despite that, Chicken Karaage in Ramen Kuroda did not disappoint, I asked my dad repeatedly if it is soft or tender, and he said yes. I also asked him what’s best, the chipotle or the karaage, and he said that both are yummy. That’s satisfying and calming to hear that from dad, as a lot of times, I ordered the wrong food, those food they would not eat or they find it hard to eat.

In Cafe Mary Grace, I ordered my all-time, all-day favorite, Summer Squash Soup. I always request the one without cream as dairy is not good for my digestion. This squash soup is thick to taste so eat it while it’s hot. If it is not hot anymore, I lose my appetite a bit. Still, this is my fave, I even order this for lunch! There is this feel-good effect after I eat Cafe Mary Grace’s summer squash! I tried squash soup from other restaurant, but it is not yummy as Cafe Mary Grace’s.

I also ordered Salad in Cafe Mary Grace. Ever since I got sick for almost one week and 1/2, I started to choose the food I eat. It was the first time I got fever that long and it is alarming because all I know my resistance and immune system was strong, but I was wrong. So, I decided to fix my diet and nutrition first.

I ordered Cafe Mary Grace’s Local Greens with Chili Daing Dressing. With salad though, what only matters for me is it not sweet, there’s no fruit included (as avoid sugar even in fruit for now), cheese is okay, bacon and other no-breading-meat is okay, no bread or croutons, and definitely NO soy.

I am satisfied with Caesar Salad with Bacon and Oil dressing, but when that is not an option, I ordered other salad that would match my above-mentioned options.

I ordered previously in Salad Stop, Le Petit Souffle, Cyma, Kenny Rogers, even in Shakey’s, and Pizza Hut, and many other restaurants but more than the taste I am all for the nutritional value of the greens. So, either I order two bowls of salad or large sized salad.

In Pancake House, I ordered my mom’s favorite Club House Sandwich. How I wish the bread is much thinner and what’s oozing are the bacon, the tomatoes, the cucumber and all that’s inside.

What’s good about ordering takeout food in my case is it is also a sort of physical exercise, to walk from one restaurant to another, and lift that weight of takeout food on the way home. And I am grateful to restaurants like Mary Grace who gives their customers sturdy paper bag. Other restaurant only put their food on thin brown paper bag without handle which is a hassle for me, so I hope others restaurants would also put commuters in mind.

My other request is for restaurants to avoid adding MSG to their food. You know you eat a food with MSG is when the food is so tasty and so addicting, but then after that, you feel so thirsty.

Another request is for restaurants to rinse their greens very well as there are certain chemicals (like pesticides) during the farming process that we are unaware of. So at least rinse the greens very well just to be safe.

Do not hesitate spending on food. Especially food with good nutritional value. Do not hesitate spending for the food market. Because there are a lot of people who take benefit: the waitress, the crew, the farmers, the fisherman, the butcher, the delivery guy.

If there is one market I’m investing to, definitely not the finance market, but it is the food market as there is money cycle there, with readily traded, available cash and goods, and with social responsibility value.

I’d like to share: One time when we went at Twin Lakes Tagaytay, Bagoong Club. We were about to bill out, when the waiter approached us and told us that one person we don’t know, already paid for our bill. The waiter could not mention who that person is. But we were so grateful for that generous person, for making our food trip memorable and worthwhile!