Letters to Chika-an Part 2

Dear Chika-an in SM Center Ormoc,

It is a week after our first meal with you and now we are back again. As whenever I go home to Cebu, I now also call you my comfort place. The clouds are looming outside promising the inevitable rain. And though the restaurant and all of the mall is cold with the airconditioning in full blast or so it seems, your atmosphere is warm with "Good Morning Ma'am-Sir's and smiles as bright as the service crews' yellow outfits. Miss Gayle, your manager, greets us and proceeds to seat us. She offers her apologies for last week's Chorizo absence. She tells us Chorizo de Cebu is definitely available as clearly as it is written on the menu. We thank her profusely and tell her we are ready to order.

As with the first time, our food is served within the reliable 15  to 20 minutes. The husband and I as usual take in each bite with conversation. We are deep into our stories and even deeper into the tasty Chili Garlic Tuna Belly, the naturally sweet with a hint of sour, deliciously basked in Tuno or coconut milk Puso sa Saging, and in the light yet filling Pancit Guisado and of course into the succulent fat of the undoing-of-my-heart, "tabla sa usa ka libong himaya" Chorizo de Cebu when suddenly a song of joy broke into our reverie. "Happy birthday to you!" the crew sang to a lovely lady in her senior years. Complete with the charming swish-swish sound of the maracas and delightful energy of the service crew they end with the line, "From your Chika-an family!" A chocolate cake with colorful frosting topped with a candle is brought to the celebrant. She blows on the candle and applause breaks from her family and companions. I chime in too with my quiet clap from our far end table. I half expect the rest of the diners to join in as well. But while all this is happening the rest of the diners look more  startled than happy. Apparently the Ormocanon crowd is still new to this practice--this outright, unexpected expression of celebration from people you barely know. And not too long after, another birthday song is sung this time to a little girl around 4 or 5 years of age. She too looks like she does not know what to make of it but happily blows out her candle. Thank yous are said, the service crew makes their way back into their posts and the hustle and bustle of the place resume.

There is a quiet and perhaps lonely pleasure that suddenly fills my heart seeing all that just happened. I suddenly miss the home I had for 23 years. The beautiful energy of your service crew as they sang birthday songs to the two celebrants tugs at my gut. Not coincidentally the lola reminds me of my mother. And the little girl obviously brings me back to my childhood. I don't know what the Universe had in store for me today and perhaps I am merely looking too much into things. Or maybe because Christmas is just around the corner and this always reminds everyone or at least me of family, homemade meals, birthdays celebrated in song, cake and candles blown. Oh who really knows? 

What makes a place comforting? What does it take for me to call you my comfort place?

Oh Chika-an, you outdid yourself this time. You might tell me that maybe I just miss my own home. This is why I am emotional and biased to you. So what if I am? But from my rose-colored glasses I see your genuine attention to detail. I see that you took the time to listen. I see that  you cared enough to know what the people who come to your place need. Be it a grandmother or a little girl celebrating her birthday who may not have asked to be sung a birthday song to, (Give them time, they may not know they needed it until you gave it to them earlier.) or a nostalgic diner who misses home very much and in dire need of Chorizo de Cebu, you listened. You sang, brought out the cake and you delivered 2 plates filled with 8 sticks overflowing with a big fat serving of love and home. Tell me, aren't these enough to be called comforting?

The rain is pouring hard now, Chika-an. And just so you know, very much like the gratitude in my heart.

Daghang salamat.

Sincerely,

An Margaret

P. s. The discount by the way is such a thoughtful gesture.The heart is full as much as the belly.