Sala ♥

 

JEWEL COLORS.

SOLID jewel colors.

That is the theme for our high school barkada Christmas dinner.

Ruby red, sapphire blue, emerald green, amethyst purple, topaz yellow, tiffany blue, and a million other options.

 

Compliments of the chef. Shrimp with beans on toast.

 

I send a group email to all so we can coordinate our colors. No two people are to come in the same shade. I want our photos to be bright and colorful so they attract attention when it appears in News Feed on Facebook.

But no. Apart from Jen, no one seems to know how to follow rules. Haaaayyyy. Can someone please remind me why I am good friends with these people?

 

1. Oliver, Me, 2. Sherylou, 3. Sheryl, 4. Jen, 5. Irwin

Because these people KNOW me.

They know that whoever sits closest to me has to split everything with me. Because I need variety in my life. And I am the only one who can decide which varieties.

 

1. Because Oliver revives my faith in the existence of honest men. He is a womanizer and is not afraid to admit it. Ambitious, strong-willed and driven, this guy will go places, and he will bring me with him. I will insist.

 

Oliver and I share a soufflé, foie gras, seabass and veal chop.

 

The twice baked soufflé with prawns, feta and dill smells very delicious. Sadly, it doesn’t taste as. After three spoonfuls, it begins to feel like eating wet bread. You know that game women love to play, give only a little and leave men wanting more? Serious woman counseling. That is what this soufflé needs.

 

What a pretty sight. The pan fried foie gras with a chestnut flan, sautéed apples and crisp leeks is a looker. But just because something is tall, dark and handsome doesn’t mean it’s gonna feel good and delicious inside you. Same for food, same for men.

 

The roast seabass fillet with celeriac and saffron mash and smoked piperade sauce is  tasteless. And overcooked.

 

The pan roasted Australian veal chop with cream truffled leeks, asparagus, and parmesan potato beignets is huge! Oliver thinks the meat lacks taste and showers it with salt. I like the potato beignets better.

 

2. Because Sherylou is no frills. She is easygoing, kind and generous, and shares my passion for eating and traveling. Also, after never-ending discussions and plans for a barkada trip, she is the only one who ever visited me in Taipei and Hong Kong.

 

Sherylou thinks there is nothing special about her roast lamb short loin and lamb short ribs confit with root vegetable pave and rosemary jus.

3. Because Sheryl will be my housemate when we are old and gray… and spinsters. She is my solace in this crazy world full of bridal showers, baby showers, marriages and childbirths. Very single, but not too happy to be. So guys, make her day and PM me if interested.

 

The menu says duck breast but they ran out so Sheryl agrees on pepper and thyme roasted duck leg, spiced red cabbage, duck fat roasted potatoes, and cranberry-mandarin jus at the waiter’s insistence that duck leg is juicier. It is not. It is dry and tough. Obviously, the waiter is a leg man who has never in his life had the pleasure of enjoying soft and tender breasts.

 

4 & 5. Because Jen and Irwin are perfect for each other.

4. Because Jen has been my best friend since pigtails and training bras. She is strong, steady, grounded, and fierce. Jen is an inspiration. She is everything I am not. Plus, she wears amethyst purple tonight.

 

For appetizer, Jen orders the smoked salmon and crab remoulade with a potato galette, horseradish crème fraîche and pickled cucumber salad. And she has seabass for mains, the same tasteless and overcooked seabass seen above.

 

5. Because Irwin is in love with the Nazi in Jen. And he is going to find someone who will be as deeply in love with the Nazis in Sheryl and me. No matter what. You hear that, Irwin? Or we send you back to concentration camp!

Irwin has to have soup every meal. Tonight it’s Moorish festive soup of chestnut, chorizo and saffron.

 

For mains, he has the grilled Angus tenderloin with a spinach and wild mushroom vol au vent and marsala and roast shallot jus, which he says is just alright.

 

And there’s Elisa, who is not in the photo because she is in Vancouver at this time, having a white Christmas. Elisa, bring back some handsome snowmen! 

The food in Sala used to be better. How I miss its Malate days. Not impressed, a bit disappointed even, we decide to move somewhere else for dessert. Cannot risk the most important part of the meal.

 

So why am I good friends with these people?

Because they know me.

My quirks, my capriciousness, my fickleness, my brainsickness. And they tolerate me.

My mistakes, my insecurities, my shortcomings, my imperfections. And they accept me.

They have always been there for me.

Still are. And will be.

As I for them.

Always.

 

 

So what if they are not in solid jewel colors?

To me, these ladies are already the shiniest, the rarest, the most precious gems.

 

Sala: Podium Level, Locsin Building, 6752 Ayala Avenue corner Makati Avenue, Makati City, Metro Manila. +632- 750-1555