Street Nomnoms

Tuesday afternoon, the weather's a little warm for a December day. I just had my lunch and was thinking of what I could have for dessert. I was thinking of something sweet, maybe something cold. Just, you know, to balance things out since I just ate something salty for lunch.

I know I should've just went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. That would easily have got rid of the aftertaste of food. But that's corny. Besides, I still wanted to eat. (drool) I'll worry about sweating out the extra calories later in the afternoon.

So I went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and started rummaging for something sweet and cold. Freezer, nope. Chiller, nope. rummage rummage rummage. Vegetable rack. nope! Dammit! We're out!

And so, as I cried my way back to the library (running and weeping like a distressed little princess girl), I heard a magical sound. I looked out my window and there it is! The shiny magical, heat-resistant cart. The huge umbrella of several colors. The sound of rubber wheels rolling on the pavement. The merry tinkling of a bell. Yay, it's the mamang sorbetero!

Yeah, yeah I'm a kid at heart. And if in the States they have those ice cream men rolling with their huge white ice cream trucks. Here in the Philippines, we have the mamang sorbeteros, who also bring joy to kids and kids at heart like myself. And boy, do their ice cream taste good! And perhaps cheaper, too. lol (Yes, I'm also cheap.)

So I bought two large ones, both with two big scoops of cheese flavored ice cream each. One for myself. And the other for myself. I bet the mamang sorbetero must have been wondering what a guy who is just as old as himself has to be so excited about ice cream. But whatever. He got a nice tip though, I paid him 50 pesos and told him to keep the change. It'll be the holidays soon anyway and I was feeling generous. (It's not easy pushing that ice cream cart under the heat of the sun for sure).

So I went back inside the house, shut myself in the library where the AC is at full blast (bloody hypocrite I am), and indulged myself over my ice cream. Then I started thinking and wondering about street food.

What sort of love affair do I have with street food? A sordid, torrid kind no less. Oh man, I've been in love with street food since I was a little kid. And why do I love them? First, they're really tasty. Second, they're cheap. And I could have as much as I want without spending so much. I fell in love with so many kinds of street food over the years, from the yummy to what a foreigner might deem yucky.

But here's my top 3 favorite street nomnoms:

Dirty Ice Cream

Or sorbetes in the vernacular. Everyone loves them, especially when the weather is hot. I could go on and on about dirty ice cream but I'm afraid my ice cream will melt if I don't finish them soon. =P

Fishball

Another fave. Afternoons back when I was a kid, I used to make a beeline to the nearest fishball vendor as soon as the afternoon bell rings. I like mine round, big, a little toasted and brown on the outside. I'll often make the vendor skewer up to 10 of them in one stick then dip them into either of these: hot and spicy sauce or the one with vinegar spiced with onion and garlic. Mmmmm...

Nowadays, we usually have a supply of these at home and ready to be cooked whenever we feel like it. We've also gone into trying out squidballs, kikiams, squid rolls.. but nothing still beats the good ol' fishballs.

And then, there's...

...Taho

Made from soy beans, and supposedly good for one's health. This real and cheap energy booster has always been a morning favorite. I don't really know what I liked about it, it's just... amazing. Maybe it's the rolling sensation one gets when eating/drinking it, but I don't know. It's just one of those food that makes you feel warm and happy inside even on a bleak boring monday morning. Easily consumed, taho is best for people on the go and in a hurry.

My list could go on and on but I would have to say that these three take the top spots. Cheap but delicious, I could barely care if some of my friends call them... "dirty". Hmp! You guys don't know what you're missing. So what if they're not as "sanitary" as you elitist bastards want them to be. You gotta ingest bacteria into your system sometimes too, you know. Else how can you build up your immune systems? =P

Haha just kidding! But yeah, I really enjoyed those two cones of dirty ice cream and I'm really hoping that the vendor guy would pass by the house another time. To him and to other street food vendors out there, I salute you. You make life more interesting for me and for everyone else.




...What was that?

Yeah, yeah, I'll be working out later. =(

Photos from traveleronfoot.wordpress.com, pinoyfood.nimrodel.net, thecruciblegallery.com