@thefridayfive 251128

[halfcactus]

1. What were some of the smells and tastes of your childhood?

This question unlocked something inside me

General scents: Mosquito coils; the colorful chemical paste that you'd smear on a little stick and blow up into a plastic balloon; the smoke from the (now discontinued) toy revolvers that you "reloaded" with red plastic bullet rings; White Flower oil

Star margarine

Hometown dimsum, my beloved for life.

Hometown "street" food: grilled scallops, grilled pork, lemongrass-stuffed native chicken, puso (rice boiled in pouch of woven leaves). And ngohiong, a five-spice-based ('ngohiong' is just 五香) spring roll that never grew on me but is everywhereeeee in my hometown.

Mango tarts, which I just realized that I haven't seen in a decade, at least not in the exact way I remember. It's the kind that has a round shape, a crimped crust, a custard base, a layer of mango slices and a layer of colorless gelatin (I forget in what order), and they'd be sold in solo sizes.

Eucalyptus leaves, dampened to release a minty scent and cooling sensation (we had a tree).

Santol (cotton fruit) - I haven't had one since we moved to the capital. I only liked the pulp around the seeds anyway lol, I haaaated having to eat the sour outer rind to get to the sweet cottony center.

Kamunggay (moringa). My mom hasn't cooked with these since we moved to the capital. I guess because they're not leaves that are worth spending money on (we used to have a tree).

The whole sensory experience of inasal (roasted suckling pig, more commonly known as lechon outside my hometown) we'd have at Christmas/New Year parties. The meat was soft, succulent, and salty, the way only my hometown can do it. The skin was a glossy, deep red shell. It made a satisfying crackle when you broke off pieces with your fingers and shattered them with your teeth, a full ASMR experience. I am not a lechon enjoyer (I prefer them in leftover form), but adults were always putting cuts of it on my plate and telling me to tryyyy the skinnnnn because it was apparently just That Important to them. Is it any wonder that those relatives developed cholesterol and blood sugar issues over years.....

2. What did you have as a child that you do not think children today have?
Winamp skins and piracy skills!

3. What elementary grade was your favorite?
None, elementary and high school are a blur to me.

4. What summer do you remember the best as a child?
The summer my parents shipped my brother and me to different households in my hometown. During that period, I watched Prince of Tennis, got bundled into an overnight ferry for a beach trip (snorkeling) with my cousins' cousins (my relatives had plans and couldn't just leave me behind), and got yelled at and insulted a lot by my aunt who hated girls bc of generational trauma.

5. What one piece of advice would you give to your younger self, and at what age?
IDK, I guess do more extracurriculars, learn to network, and hang out/do things with other people more? But probably more extracurriculars, I didn't really have any.

Comments

[nnozomi]

What were some of the smells and tastes of your childhood?
All your answers are so lovely and evocative (even though they're mostly things I've never smelled/tasted myself) and also make me hungry!

[halfcactus]

Awww happy to hear that! It's always hard to explain food because what I like the most is apparently the vibe haha