EACH time I see a non-working escalator, the first thought that comes to mind is always, Kainot ba ani nga mall.

Since I go to that mall almost daily, I’m always pleasantly surprised when the escalator is working which may happen only when it’s almost time for the mall to open at 10 am. But arriving earlier than that requires climbing the escalator. Which I dread.

I could use the climbing as warmup before gym. Still, even with that thought, I don’t like climbing non-working escalators.

Anyway, as if challenging my resolve to stick to the low-carb diet, new restos have been sprouting at the mall where the gym is located, with one of my favorites, Roadhouse, undergoing a renovation. And it has become a tradition among gym classmates to be at a resto or cafe on its grand opening. After all, all we have to do is walk a few steps and—voila!—we’re there.

My search for the yummiest halo-halo has ended, though, not because I’ve not found any but because I’m finally convinced I have to stop eating sugar.

Yup, just when I thought my relationship with sugar was so over, there I was again, taste-testing all versions of halo-halo in Cagayan de Oro. There’s one that a friend highly recommended, claiming it’s the yummiest, but I couldn’t dare try that anymore.

I’ve become more allergic to carbs. I was allergic to carbs since birth I guess, but it was only when I started adopting the low-carb lifestyle in February 2022 that I realized I’m allergic to them.

Much like the way I’m allergic to toxic people. But that’s another story. Or is it? Hmmm.

Sugar is so addictive, and its legal status makes it more difficult to avoid. Thus, I had a huge supply of sugar-free drinks in the chiller to hopefully sate my sugar cravings. But they were also encouraging more sugar cravings so I had to let them go.

My drinks have been reduced to the most simple: water. Ho-hum. Boring.

I’ve been following my low-carb doctor’s advice: to treat food outside of the safe list as poison.

Rice as poison. Unthinkable, eh?

But a rib eye is definitely in the safe list. Yum!

So, I can’t have halo-halo anymore, but I can have steaks.

Other favorites that I’m avoiding now: ebi tempura, California maki, Royce Nama Chocolate, Mamou’s Lorenzo truffle cream pasta (Manila), Cucina Higala’s Mango Mambo, Mandarin Tea Garden’s chopsuey rice, Oriental Garden’s pancit, Eng Bee Tin’s golden pork floss hopia, Majestic Restaurant’s Portuguese egg tarts (Cebu), ube ice cream, Spanish latte. If these goodies are not awakening your cravings yet, I don’t know what will.

Yes, I’m a foodie. Or used to be. That’s why there was that quest to find the yummiest halo-halo in CDO.

I don’t know if I’ll reach the point again of saying, It’s worth the carbs. But I gotta feeling already that there are carbs I’ll always indulge in if given the chance. Hehe. The one and only item in that list: MiMo Cafe’s croissants.

Japanese restos, cafes, and Italy are now the most challenging places for me to be in. How to ignore sushi at a Japanese resto. How to ignore coffee and baked goodies at a cafe. How to ignore pasta and pizza in Italy. Good luck na lang to me.