It is Saturday, 9:00 a.m. but the traffic to the Mandaue-Mactan bridge has halted the vehicles to a slow bumper-to-bumper crawl in both directions. To celebrate its inauguration, the Pacific Grand Villas in Lapulapu City decided to hold a motorcade. One police escort on motorcycle led some 20 vehicles decked with streamers and balloon over the bridge, adding to the congestion. The city shouldn’t give permits nor provide police escorts for this kind of activity.
Ever noticed that a lot of DJs of FM stations go overboard with their pseudo-American accent ? For example, they say pay-sos instead of pe-sos. Another oft-maligned word is "Cebu" mispronounced as Say-bu. Cut it out guys, okay? It is not cool, it is dumb. Why do Cebuanos mix their vowels? They say newspipar, Manela, popsi-kul. They also pronounce "soup" as "soap." A friend tried to register and told the clerk her name is "Amy" with an "aeyy." The clerk clarified, "is that "aeyy" as in i-gol?" Cebuanos also like to add "s" where it is not necessary, and omit it where it is not. There’s this joke about a kid who wanted to buy Kuks. "Pataka ka lang gyud, maayo’g Tru Orens na kay naa’y iss," his mother scolded him.
Be careful when you talk about foreigners in their presence. A friend and her mother were sitting across each other in a passenger jeepney when my friend asked her mom if she could sit beside her. "Baho ilok man ni’ng akong tupad nga Negro," she complained. Her mom replied, "agwantaha lang gud, basi’g manaug ra na sa unahan." At the next jeepney stop the guy did ask the driver to stop, then addressed the two women, "Excuse me, mo-agi ang baho ilok." In New York, Filipino resident doctors and nurses huddled around their patient, a Jordanian drug courier. He was rushed to the hospital because the bag of heroin he had inside his stomach leaked. In Bisaya, they noted that he smelled awful. Imagine their surprise when the half-conscious patient opened his eyes and said, "Kamo ba’y way ligo ug tulo ka adlaw, dili ba mo manimaho." Turns out they poor fellow studied at Southwestern University here.
Like everybody else in Cebu, I love to eat out. Hanging out at shopping centers makes it necessary for me to grab a quick bite here and there while shopping or after watching a movie. I have my own list of favorites but I am sometimes disappointed when the restaurant fall below their own standards and fail to maintain consistent quality in their service.
I love the mango shake of Orange Brutus, for example. I think they have one of the best anywhere, even when compared to the expensive preparations of five-star hotels and upscale restaurants. At P14.00 per tumbler, their mango shake is good value for money, too. I usually get it at their branch along Gen. Maxilom Ave. But once when I had it at Fuente Osmena and in Ayala, I got watered down (lasaw) versions that didn’t have enough powdered milk. As a result it didn’t taste as creamy delicious as I used to enjoy it.
As an option there’s an unpretentious fruit shake stand along Ramos St. right in front of Velez College. For only P10.00 the two women manning it will prepare a shake made out of real fresh mangoes right in front of you. Just be patient because they naturally have a lot of suking customers. They average 300 tumblers a day, just to give you an idea how well they are doing.
Another favorite fastfood fare of mine is the Hot Zinger at Kentucky. It is spicy, crispy and juicy. How saddening that the last time I ordered it one morning at the Coco Mall branch I got yesterday’s sandwich. The bread was obviously a day old, the oily batter was not as crispy, and the wilted lettuce salad was a third of its usual quantity. Kentucky is generally particular about customer service, so maybe this is just an oversight. I once bought my favorite chicken sandwich at SM for take out and was surprised when I later opened it to find no chicken burger, just lettuce and mayo. Fortunately I remembered the name of the counter attendant. I called them by phone and without much ado they dispatched a delivery boy with a warm Hot Zinger to my office in 30 minutes.