What is your comfort food?

Ours is pancit, the guisado type. From our childhood this has been the food we have cherished – as pasalubong of our parents, after they came back from a night out. Like a bribe, perhaps, we would be awakened from our sleep and truly regale in this delicious food wrapped in banana leaf, cooked by the Chinese gentleman in the little restaurant in the main town square. Through the years, this has always given us a special “high.”

There are many kinds and versions of pancit – bihon, mike, a combination of both, canton, sotanghon, guisado, puti, etc. We have a writer friend who wanted to establish a pancit stall. She could have been successful as there are many types of pancit she could sell – other than guisado, there are the lomi, bam-i, Malabon, luglog. But somehow she got diverted to writing an international cookbook instead.

It may be the Chinese who brought the pancit culture to our shores. Be that as it may, pancit is an all-occasion food for most Filipinos. It is both an ordinary and extra-ordinary dish – gracing regular meals,    highlighted in fiesta menus or special occasions.

We take pride in how we have developed a delicious pancit recipe for which we use either bihon or canton noodles. Our ingredients are readily available in food stores. We used to order the Macao chorizo from Cebu which is branded Kwong Bee. They add extra flavor to our pancit. Today they are available in some Metro Manila supermarkets, even in the  S&R chain. We are saddened that we could no longer find the fresh kikiam rolls. Maybe we should look for them in Chinatown. The pork face mask (ulo ng baboy) happily is sold in South Supermarket. Shrimps, of course, are important. The fish and squid balls are easy to get. But we also include in our list of ingredients others like lobster balls, chicken balls, etc., depending on what we find in the course of our grocery day. The veggies we include are normally cabbage, Baguio beans, carrots, chicharo (snow peas), kinchay. With that, we are able to happily produce a delectable pancit that always gains the approval of everyone we serve it to. Anybody can duplicate that.

Anyway, the restaurants who serve good pancit include Conti’s and Max’s in Alabang. It is a perfect pair for their consistently well prepared fried chicken.

Now here comes something seniors should be aware of. Examine and look closely at your meal tab in every  eatery you dine in. It is not always that management gives the mandated 20 percent discount. From our experience, discounts we got varied from 10 to 15 percent, until we called their attention. Be concerned then about your benefits.

Mea culpa, forgive a mistake. In our last column we mistakenly mentioned our apo Matthew who bought the sous vide machine. It is actually our US-based nephew Gerald who acquired it. Sorry, Gerald.

May your Sunday be pleasant!

E-mail me at [email protected]