If you are young enough to remember, there used to be a TV commercial which shows a husband who, when accosted by his wife on whether he’d like to have breakfast before he goes to work, replied guiltily- ‘Coffee na lang, Dear’.

While it may have been a marketing success, truth is, that commercial is a true picture of thousands, if not millions, of Filipino employees(we now number around 88Million++ so this is entirely plausible) all over the land. Working stiffs, those who must bear the crime, grime, & traffic jam of a daytime Metro Manila, can easily relate to that husband’s predicament.

In one hand, the husband wants to share some meaningful morning moments with the wife, while on the other, the unpleasant prospect of reporting to work late. In the end he had to settle with a compromise, ergo, ‘Coffee na lang, Dear.’ This is a classic solution that gives the impression of giving in to all parties concerned, albeit totally unsatisfactory. As my shrewd Significant Other time and again says to me – ‘Dearie, love is love, but business is business.’

ooOoo

I am having breakfast at KopiRoti (hence the title) as I’m writing this– churning out sentences in between sips of a robust Tehtarik and nibbles of Kaya toast. The poached eggs that go with the set is also just right. I have tried this meal before when a friend introduced it to me in a KopiRoti place KL. It’s a very light meal that is surprisingly very satisfying. That’s why when I saw this cafe open near my office, I couldn’t be more happier.

As I continued to nibble on my toast, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude in watching the scurrying workers trying to beat their designated time-ins. I could imagine that some of them would already be pretty stressed by the time they reach their cubicles even at this early hour, which is a crying shame.

Oh well, c’est la vie.  Char.

What I can tell you today though is that I have found another piece of heaven, hmm– terribly sounds like a Belinda Carlisle rip-off. Foremost of course is Quiapo, that ever familiar place with its two-hour-escape-from-reality offerings. This one however is located in the rather nose-up-in-the air part of town. I’m talking about Salcedo Village Park. On any other day this park is just ordinary– benches, a little space, some vegetation. But on Saturday mornings, the park turns into a different kind of animal.

On Saturday mornings, the park morphs into a market. The kind of market that you see in some movies where folks buy organic food and other stuff. This market however showcases more than that. They have created makeshift stalls offering the widest variety of food I have ever seen in the Philippines. And if you’re a nocturnal employee like me, who’s only choice for lunch (2am) is either McDo, KFC, or Tropical Hut, seeing a food market like this on a Saturday morning is like being given a sexy lingerie by your dad on your birthday. The lingerie being worn by a scorching hot supermodel offering you handcuffs and a feather boa.

I wanted to cry after browsing through all those food. And the food they have on display! Pinoy, French, Italian, Indian… Gah, why hasn’t anybody told me about this all these years? I wanted to taste everything, I was even thinking of buying that frozen Tbone steak that comes in a box. And can you believe it, they have “lechong baka” right within the market! It’s not chopped up lechong baka, it’s an honest to goodness calf being roasted in a spit!

Man, and the folks manning the stalls? I think they’re the owners themselves. There was a french-looking guy cooking in the french stall, an italian in the italian stall, I mean heck the only time I see these chefs at work is in glossy magazines! There were celebrities there too. Julie Yap Daza was there sort of overseeing everything. And then I saw that yummy Studio 23 VJ, the one with the really beautiful eyes. Forgot her name.

In the end, I had to settle for Risotto and some fish with almond and parsley and then washed them all up with Soya milk. Oh lord, I swear I’ll be in that place every frigging Saturday morning– if only to erase the bad memories of my daily midnight lunches.