"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Good day, Hivers! What a wonderful day it is to start the weekdays. But before I start making new memories, I will look back at old ones, especially with my old friends.
Old friends are like old things, they become more valuable with time. Though we never get to talk and bond every day, when we are together, it seems like nothing changed. Our physical appearances may have changed but the connection towards each other is the same or even become stronger with time. We still act and talk like in the old days. Each moment with them is so precious especially since we only get to see each other once a year during the holidays.
Every time they are home we made sure we spend time together to bond over food may it be in their homes or in food houses that are popular near town.
There was this food house that became our favorite hang-out place. It's called Chikaan sa Payag located in the town proper of Hilongos, Leyte.
The food house served home-cooked dishes and familiar snacks. They served simple dishes but what made it special for me is the place. It was an old house renovated into a food house.
Looking at it from the outside, it was evident that most of the materials of the house were changed into modern materials but the old window materials were retained.
Inside the first floor of the house, you can notice the antique porcelain plates on the wall. They look so precious and delicate, that I wouldn't dare touch them. I understand it's for my eyes only. The furniture was made of wood giving that old-century vibe though the walls and floor of the building were made of concrete and tiles.
One distinct feature of old houses is the stairs since this type of house is built in two-story. The railings were intricately chiseled. The stairs brought memories of my childhood back to my grandmother's house where we enjoyed going up and down the stairs even sliding down the railings until my mother get infuriated by our friskiness.
We decided to eat on the second floor so we instructed the server to bring our food to the second floor. There were no other people. We had the place for ourselves.
We only ordered siomai and soft drinks. Maybe we were on diet during this time? Or we just had a small appetites. 😝😝
We chatted and exchanged updates on our lives and other friends' lives. In other words, we were "Marites-ing". LOL! We laughed over our corny jokes. We tooks photos of ourselves freezing every lovely moments with them. Although we ordered less food but our hearts were full. We were full of laughters and enjoyed every second of our time together.
We made beautiful memories in this food house we will forever cherish and keep. Like the antiques in this house and this decades-old house, our memories and friendship become more valuable with time.
The food house caught fire in 2015. Everything turned to ashes. All that's left are memories kept alive in photos and in our hearts.
