40s

By Netnet Camomot

IT’S too hot. Hot hot hot. The wrong kind of hot as usual for the senior-moment citizen. And it’s now advisable to stay indoors, preferably in an airconditioned room where it’s cool and you won’t remember you’re still living in this tropical country. But don’t go in and out of that airconditioned room like as if your health has all the defense mechanisms against sudden weather changes because you could get sick by merely exposing yourself to the extremes in this weather-weather lang phenomenon.

Weather forecasters say the temperature is in the 30s degrees Celsius but they warn that it feels like the 40s. That could be the same as being 30 years old but feeling like 40 with all the duties and responsibilities heaped on your shoulders. Hehe.

But it’s no joke to tour Puerto Princesa in this heat. Good thing my, ahem, 30, er, 40-year-old health didn’t behave like it now believes life begins at 50 otherwise I would have chosen to stay in the airconditioned van instead of going through the tour. And there was the walk from the airport terminal to the plane. I always wore my teeny weeny hat to lessen the heat’s effects. Using an umbrella is the better way if only the plane still allows its passengers to have that in their bags and hand-carry luggage, and if the airline’s personnel remember to have umbrellas ready for those who need them.

That’s why malling is the Pinoy’s most favorite sport. But if he has had enough of shopping for windows a.k.a. window-shopping, he can always go to a hotel where he can chill in a room, at the resto and the pool.

Seda Centrio, for one, has “A Taste of BGC” on May 25 to 30 at its Misto restaurant, with Chef Pepe Castillo who’s the executive chef of Seda BGC (Bonifacio Global City). This is Seda’s “Chefs Exchange” with its other hotels’ chefs which is a rare treat so have a feast while it’s there.

Last Monday night, a few hours after I arrived from Cebu, I was too tired but I went to Misto anyway, and now, I could still remember the taste of the roasted Hokkaido pumpkin with cilantro flavor soup, the Caesar salad with condiments, mini Vietnamese spring roll with sweet chili sauce, spinach artichoke dip, beef salpicao, rosemary chicken, grilled salmon, ebi tempura, baked lasagna, Paella Valenciana, and the desserts. Yum!

The three-course set lunch is P400 and offered up to today, May 29. The buffet dinner is P650 and it started last Wednesday and will end tomorrow, May 30.

For the set lunch for day 5–that’s today?–the three-course lunch menu has two choices for the soup: almond and garlic soup with fresh grapes and truffle oil, or tartare of lobster, scallop, avocado and Japanese cucumber in vanilla lemon olive oil. Two choices also for the main course: crispy Angus beef ribs with wasabi flavored mashed potato, or five spiced king prawn with prunes and potato dauphinoise. And there’s pistachio walnut chocolate fudge brownies for dessert.

If you’re a clueless non-chef like me–the joke in the family is I could overcook water–you probably also stopped at “dauphinoise.” No, that’s not a kind of noise, although the renovation next door is now making me wonder if it can be classified as deafening noise. Dauphinoise is an adjective and it means potatoes or vegetables cooked in milk and topped with cheese. Well, my Google search could be wrong since I didn’t ask Chef Pepe about its real meaning. The only way to find out is to have your lunch at Misto today, that is, if day 5 refers to Friday.

For tonight, it’s seafood night at Misto. There’s seafood chowder, gambas al ajillo, mixed tempura, calamari with onion dip, baked salmon, pasta negra with seafoods, seafood paella, shrimp in wanton, seafood Thermidor, crunchy fish finger, baked mussels, baked salmon, and desserts like mocha choco bars, banana with choco chips, and walnut brownies.

It’s good to avoid alcohol, smoking, late nights and the night life for the rest of the year so you can reserve your energy for hectic tour schedules. Even robots malfunction when they’re not maintained well. Instead of abusing the body’s seemingly bottomless energy, it’s better to have a yummy and healthy dinner with friends, go home early so you can watch “Pangako Sa ‘Yo,” and then sleep right after.

There’s this pediatrician who asks parents to wait until their cute babies have turned a year old before exposing them to public places so that the babies could reserve their energy for growing up instead of recovering from the many diseases they could catch outside. The same could be true for the 40 year old who believes he’s still in his teens. If his body keeps on recovering from late nights and drunken hangovers, he now has to recover from the rigors of a vacation on top of all that jazz.

The body could take only that much stress. Even the fierce-looking crocodiles could not withstand stress. So, the 40s, whether referring to age or the heat, simply mean be careful.