Keeping friends as we age
Story time! I've always been the friendly and approachable type of person since birth. Although I have one circle that I'm closest to, I've always been friends with everyone. Lol! I remember hopping from one group to another. 🤣 There's no point in time that I found myself having difficulty connecting with people, even strangers I met during my backpacking days. In the recent years when I joined a club which only meets virtually, I've connected with them online as if I've known them for years and when I finally met them face-to-face, one noted that "Karon paman diay ta nagkita Pat nu pero murag njud ta og dugay na kaila." (It might be our first time seeing each other but it feels like we've known you long ago). And I've always taken that as a compliment. A few weeks back while attending a wake, I told my boyfriend that when I'll die, I won't probably be able to fill in a 60 sqm room with people who'll lament my passing, but he disagreed. Maybe he's right; maybe he's wrong.
Last Wednesday during one of our regular meetings with my club, I was reminded that keeping friends as I age is hard. Is it? It is. I may be the friendliest person you'll meet but I'm not the people-pleaser type. When around people, I just act naturally and show who I really am. It doesn't bother me when people don't like me. Again, I don't live my life to please people; that's only a waste of time. I think this trait helped me keep only those who I can see growing old with me.
Our speaker last Wednesday clearly stated that one of the ways to keep friends as we age (and only if we want to keep them) is to deliberately make time for them. And I couldn't agree more! This has always been our key to lasting friendships: we schedule. We have this tradition of meeting at least once a year every 2nd week of December. With friends working and living in other Provinces, a once a year weekend get-away with my Bogo Family is everything! 😁
And the winner is...
We might not the be the kind of friends who see each other every single day or week, but we make sure that we meet every now and then. After checking if everyone's free, we decided to meet for dinner. If it's not difficult to find a common free time, we take time in deciding where to eat haha At times, it takes days before we could finally decide. 😂
And the winner is... Red House Taiwan Shabu-shabu. It wasn't my first Shabu-shabu experience but it was my first in Cebu. After recommendations from John and Philip, I called the restaurnt to reserve a table for 8 people.
We waited for everyone else to arrive before we went inside.
The Menu
Once we're in, they handed their menu which was sturdy and sleek. Of the 8 people, only 3 were ladies and that means we need to order a lot. 😂 Besides it's dinner, everyone's hungry from a long day at work. So we ordered 2 sets of their group package A. A set costs Php 1,500. If you're a smaller group, there are many options, too. Since Set A has limited meat only, we ordered additional beef and pork.
The good thing about having friends who are foodies is that you don't have to think about what to order, they just recommend and we agree! 😂
How does Shabu-shabu works?
First off, sauce. Both John and Philip told us that the secret to any Shabu-shabu (specifically the meat) is the sauce where you'll dip the cooked meat. That's why after ordering, we went to create our own sauce. It even became sort of a contest! LOL! I know we're a weird family. Haha 😂
There's a table in the center of the restaurant where you could mix and match ingredient to create the sauce you desire. There were minced onions, garlic, spring onion, vinegar, soy sauce, etc. John ended up hating the sauce he created so he created another one! 🤣
Second, it's hotpot time!
If it's your first time seeing this method of cooking, that's fine since Shabu-shabu originated from China. There might be a number of Shabu-shabu restaurants all over Philippines but it's not as famous as Milktea yet. You know what I mean. 🤣 In each table there's a heat source that keeps a huge pot full of soup stock simmering ready for cooking whatever we ordered ealier.
If you're wondering what's in the Set A food package we got, you may refer to the photos below:
After we got our order, we slowly dropped everything inside the hotpot and waited for a few minutes.
As not all items will be cooked at the same time, we took whatever looks cooked, dipped in the sauce we created earlier and devoured them with class (Lol! I doubt! We were so hungry at this point! 😋)
And the rest of the night, we were eating and talking and eating more. I just love the fact that my friends love eating, too!
Red House's Interior
Entering the restaurant's premises felt like being in a Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant as it should be. Although I know it's not as authentic as traditional Chinese/Taiwanese restaurants should look, it still didn't fail to make me feel like I'm inside one. Here's a glimpse of Red House Taiwan Shabu-shabu near Parklane Hotel in Salinas Drive.
We wanted to talk more after eating dinner so we went to my favorite cafe after we paid. But before we come to a close, how did this restaurant fare?
- This night made me realize that I love Shabu-shabu. I felt I'm eating a lot healthier food because the method of cooking doesn't require oil and I've eaten more vegetables than meat (our package has more vegetables than meat, too!)
- It might be a bit costlier than just eating in fast-food or other restaurants but when you go in groups, it's worth it. I honestly would pay for a Shabu-shabu than an unlimited Samgyupsal which I'd most likely eat a ton of meat covered in oil and cheese.
- The location's perfect. Still in the city but not as crowded as downtown.
Seriously, if you haven't tried Shabu-shabu before, you must at least once in your life. I highly recommend this place too although Philip said there's a better place for Shabu-shabu. We might visit that place soon but for now, I'm off to get my first meal after 17 hours of fasting! Happy lunch and happy weekend to all! 😁
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