Chicken Jambalaya, Fruit Smoothie with Spirulina, Hummus with Pita, Om Ali, and Cafe Latte with Muscovado Sugar.
Those were the food and drinks we ordered at Happy Hippos, a healthy (also expensive) restaurant in Cebu City, Philippines. There was a time in my life when my friends and I would frequent coffee shops and restaurants to hang out, write for Hive, and get new content.
We rationalized that our expenses would at least break even since Hive was above one dollar. This was a time of splurging and, up to a point, an extravagant lifestyle. We were always on the lookout for something new. The usual places we went to had lost their appeal. The Hedonic Adaptation kicked in, telling us to try other things because our old favorites were now bland.
The idea of trying something new almost always gives us a greater sense of satisfaction and excitement as compared to the actual experience itself. This is one of the things I know deep inside that has been reinforced by the online course I'm taking on The Science of Well-being.
This was certainly the case when we went to Happy Hippos. I checked out their menu online before we went there. It was well-rounded. It had European, American, and Asian foods. From the pictures, the place looked small but it was located at a prime spot in Cebu City, near a famous village where rich people live.
So we went there, pulled out our laptops, and started working. To make up for the space we occupied, we ordered a lot of their food. The Chicken Jambalaya was okay, and as most fruit smoothies go, you reach the point of not being able to finish it all. We don't really eat a lot of hummus in the Philippines, so there wasn't much I could use as a reference when I had their hummus. Their Pita was good though. The Muscovado sugar for their coffee was a brilliant idea. I've always liked the taste of Muscovado. Finally, we got a taste of Om Ali. The dish looked as foreign as it sounded. The description on their menu told us that it was an Egyptian dessert, some version of bread pudding.
After spending hours inside the restaurant, we realized that the place wouldn't replace our favorites. The food was good but too expensive, and the place was small and can get crowded. It was nice to experience Happy Hippos though, I could imagine myself returning there to chill out with some friends or loved ones.
Eventually, we packed up and left the place. We didn't say it out loud but it was obvious that we wouldn't be returning to the place anytime soon. We were still on the lookout for the next new restaurant to try.