Saturday, December 06, 2008 Midnight bite By Luis A. uibranza IIII
BE rest assured that, we’re not going to talk about vampires.
One sure sign that you’re either taking work too seriously or just plain insane is when you forget to eat dinner. This recently happened to this writer a few weeks ago and he discovered that refrigerators apparently don’t magically replenish themselves with a few cans of his favorite soda or leftover chicken. Life just doesn’t work that way.
This became an opportunity for him, to drive through Cebu scouting for some of the best places to grab a bite at her midnight. Now whether he found himself in this silly predicament because he was insane or too absorbed in story deadlines, I can’t really say.
Here are some suggested late night bites one might want to take if you catch yourself starving and stuck on the road past 12.
Sinangag. There are countless stalls in various corners around the city that offer a budget meal that boasts of a simple yet also palatable combination. This would be, fried garlic rice served with your choice of meat dish ranging from tapa, tocino or corned beef, to bangus, sisig and chorizo. Completing the meal is your fried egg and depending on the place you choose to dine, this usually comes with free soup—steaming and perfect, guaranteed to satisfy one’s growling stomach.
And then there are the fastfood chains. For a time of the day when everyone’s supposed to be asleep, the people serving at the counters sure do smile a lot. Entering a fast food at this time will also tell you that franchising a fast food outlet also makes the big bucks. Why? There just isn’t an hour in a day that the place would lack customers. Burgers, fried chicken and coffee are your best choices here.
There are also the barbeque joints in the city. This for some folks would be the best option as Cebuanos have a proven taste for good barbeque. With puso (hanging rice) and a mix of vinegar and soy sauce—indulgence would be the word to describe this meal. Some barbeque places today even sell Siomai as part of their menu. But for people on the rush, they might also want to reconsider eating here since good barbeque takes some time to cook.
So there! These are just a fraction of many more places to dine here in Metro Cebu. One page wouldn’t be enough to tackle them all, and it would be best to hit the streets yourselves and go on a food trip. If there’s a lesson one should learn after this story: it’s never forget to have dinner.
