My family loves to eat. Whenever we travel, one thing we always look forward to is the local food in the city we’re going to since there are always new dishes to try. For Filipino families, having a meal together is a way of bonding. Read on as some personalities share with us what they would have for their last meal on earth.
MARGARITA FORES, chef, Cibo and Pepato: My last meal on earth would be a buffet of my nine most favorite things to eat ever — large spoonfuls of the white glutinous fat from the male Shanghai crab doused in black Chinese vinegar thickened with brown sugar and threads of ginger; premium Pampanga taba ng talangka with white rice cooked in lots of French butter and sea salt; white Albanese truffles shaved on fried organic eggs cooked in a sterling silver “tegame” like they do at Milan’s Latteria di San Marco; roasted bone marrow seasoned with patis, scooped up with a teaspoon and chased down with hot white rice; a newly cooked thick, very rare, burger from New York’s Shake Shack; perfectly cooked De Cecco spaghettini with bottarga di muggine shavings, a hint of garlic, and gorgeous, green Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil, warm crusty Italian bread with a thick wedge of Peck’s white truffle and triple cream brie concoction; a warm scone from London’s Ritz Hotel with lots of clotted cream and my Wawa’s or Nico Lanuza’s lola’s mango jam; and finally a bowl of chilled mashed Baguio strawberries with white sugar and evaporated milk, the way I used to have as a child. My lucky number nine should help me along the way, and since this is my last meal on earth, I wouldn’t have to worry about all that cholesterol.
GIONNA CABRERA, bag designer: Considering all factors — how I’ve lived my life and how it would end with a last meal — I’d like for it to be spent with my best friend or my partner, in Paris, as if it weren’t my last. Ideally it would be at the Four Seasons or George V’s Le Cinq restaurant for breakfast. I’ll be having a traditional continental selection along with my favorite muesli mixes. It will be a grand Michelin-starred experience. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I wouldn’t want anything less.
TRIXIE CRUZ ANGELES, lawyer: Assuming I am still healthy enough — that is, I still have my teeth, tongue and aromatic sensory perception — a big, fat, three-inch juicy steak, medium rare (blood and juices running out of it) that I can drown in salt (I’m a salty eater). It would be paired with fluffy mashed potatoes (no gravy) with lots of butter, a rich creamy fruit salad and a couple of chocolate truffles. If there was still room, I’d include some pritchon and lots of rice. You only die once!
Makati Representative MAR-LEN ABIGAIL S. BINAY: There is no particular food that comes to mind. For me, any food will do for my last meal just as long as I enjoy it with my family and loved ones.
Dr. AYE NUGUID: I guess I’d have all the things I haven’t had for the longest time — because of my low-fat, no-carb diet — like Kobe beef with all the fat on it, chicharon bulaklak, foie gras and Belgian chocolate truffles for dessert.
LUIS CAMPOS, businessman: My last meal on earth will consist of the stuff I love to eat. Good or bad, it doesn’t really matter. I wouldn’t want to worry about anything in my final moments.
DJ STA. ANA, businessman: Entre Cote at Le Restaurante de l’ Entrecote! And I would ask for a second serving, even third! The best meal I have had and am looking forward to having again — if I ever get a chance to revisit Paris. But rather than the meal, I would want to spend my time with my family — Karen and my two boys, David and Lucas.
MECA PENSON PRIETO, homemaker/entrepreneur: It would be dinner consisting of arugula salad, light clear flavorful soup, a fish dish and banana split (my favorite dessert, which I always share with my husband). Dinner is when my family (my husband Butch and my three daughters Patricia, Pauline and Pamela) is usually complete and we get to talk about how our day went. Plus it’s cooler at dinnertime and everyone is calmer and we are all excited to share what happened during the day. It is also when we are no longer rushing to do anything else so we can eat and simply chill with the family. It will be a meal consisting of food that’s healthy, easy to digest and capped with a sweet and refreshing dessert and an awesome time spent with the most important people on earth — truly a meal that is worth remembering.
Tarlac Governor VIC YAP: Filipino dishes with rice. Peanut buttery kare-kare, fresh grilled seafoods and very big shrimps and hot tamarind stew; goat would be healthy.
RICK DIOKNO, Kiehl’s stylist: An obnoxiously large slab of steak, so I’d remember how great life was.