When we used to live in the Philippines, a Sunday afternoon ritual was to go to Jollibee with my dad - and often, my sister too - and to enjoy a sundae. I always got the hot fudge sundae, while Sa got the strawberry.
Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain. It is the only chain in the world that outperforms McDonald's at the local market level. It does so well, that McDonald's in Philippines offers a fried chicken and rice meal - and also spaghetti - on the menu to compete with Jollibee.
Saturday afternoon, after we got the memorial plaque for my dad's granite bench where his urn is stored, my brother and sister-in-law took Andrew and I to Jollibee, because I had said I wanted to (in Beijing it was the Great Wall; in Manila, it's all about nostalgia). I tried the Chicken Joy meal - two pieces of fried chicken, rice and gravy. It was so good! Of course, we had to have the sundae too. Still as good as I remembered it.
Andrew spotted the Jollibee stuffed toy and my brother actually bought it for him! It was hilarious.
It was awkward at first trying to socialize with my brother - having only seen/talked to him maybe five times in the past 20 years. But it got easier throughout my short visit in Manila. It was also nice, because as I said, at the end of the day, we're the only family we have left on my dad's side - and that's something to value and not to take for granted.
2 comments:
Post a Comment