MILLIE: My siblings and I all grew up with rules. My mom was a disciplinarian. Dad was more game. But when we did wrong, he spoke out and with finality. Even at the table we had to observe proper dining etiquette and, most of all, what we could and could not eat.
As kids, we were not allowed to touch the belly of the bangus unless our parents had already taken a portion of the most delicious part of the milkfish. Luckily for me, I was the eldest and the first to strike at a morsel of the belly before my other siblings could attack it. But in fairness, I allowed the younger ones to have some and developed a fondness for the dark meat of the milkfish myself. My poor sister-in-law Teeter was in a worse situation, she grew up never even tasting it so now, she doesn’t eat bangus belly at all. Lucky for us, haha!
Another no-no was the chicken drumstick. The rule was that the best part should first be offered to our elders. It’s a good thing chicken suppliers started packaging chicken parts and since I was in charge of doing the weekly grocery, I bought more drumsticks than whole chickens. Smart, huh? Same thing applied to crab fat roe when eating crabs. I think that is how my two sisters developed a penchant for buying taba ng talangka in bottles.
But the one rule that we can’t seem to triumph over is Dad’s rule of “When eating out, don’t order steak.” Why? “Because it’s expensive to eat steak in a restaurant, especially when you know how much the real cost is.”
Well, that’s a restaurateur’s point of view. So I learned to ask permission and, in later years when I could afford to buy myself a piece of steak, I’d share it with Karla.
KARLA: The perk of being an only child is that I never had to fight with anyone for a drumstick or the bangus belly. But I never really ate the belly. Maybe because I grew up with the belly part being wiped out immediately so that by the time it was my turn, I’d have to get the sides. But I don’t really care for the belly; I like the nice, crunchy sides.
Being an only child, people would think I’d always get my way. Which is not true. Just like any other kid, I’d have to write dozens of letters to Santa and the Tooth Fairy to get whatever gift I wanted. And just like anyone else, I’d have to abide by the rules living with lola Meldy and lolo Joe. Mom would always share her portion with me if needed, and as for the steak rule, I learned to not salivate in restaurants once I saw the price, all the more now since I am getting more involved in the business and know the real costs. And this is why we look forward to special occasions when steak or roast beef would be served.
Occasionally, though, we would crave it. So one night, mom and I sneaked out after work while one of my uncles was lolo-sitting. We both wanted to eat a good piece of steak. We decided to try out this newly opened restaurant. As soon as we settled down, we ordered a piece of entrecote … to share. The waiter immediately said that was not possible and redirected our order to the lady who seemed like the supervisor. This waitress frowned at us and started giving us attitude, so we left. We walked around a bit, looking for a place to eat. We transferred to another area and started reading the menu, as we were both very hungry since it was almost 9 p.m. I found it pretty expensive as we were going through the items, but good thing mom remembered it was a Wednesday. There is a special promo at I’m Angus on Yakal on Wednesdays, but you must call to reserve. So I called to see if we could get a table. We called at just the right time because they already had tables available. The first batch of diners probably had finished their meals and so the crew was getting ready for a turnover.
We were bugging the driver in the car to drive faster as we were really, really hungry. And even in the car, we had already decided to share the promo. The promo consists of Caesar salad for the starter, a 280-gram Angus steak, a huge baked potato with all the condiments, and a glass of red Argentinean wine, cabernet sauvignon for only P980 net. That’s a really good deal! (Also because mom and I split it.) We also ordered additional creamed spinach on the side, which came with a huge, homemade ruffle chip. The Angus steak was so deliciously juicy and flavorful. Every bite was awesome goodness. The split portion was just right for each of us, not overwhelming. I considered it a real treat after a hard day’s work — my reward!
All in all, it was a most scrumptious and enjoyable dinner and it gave us a chance to have our mother-daughter chat, mostly about work but also about everything else under the sun. I think mom does this on purpose — invite me to sudden late lunches or dinners — to catch my attention and touch base with what’s going on in my life. Sweet, isn’t it?
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I’m Angus Steak House is located at 7431 Yakal Street, San Antonio Village, Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, contact at 892-6206 or e-mail dining_at_yakal@werdenberg.com.
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We’d like to thank all our readers who have been sending us fan mail by email and want to express our gratitude for encouraging us to tell our mother-daughter stories. We hope that our stories will continue to inspire other families to love and to bond.
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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.