Food

Image by Thai Food Blog via Flickr

“I want fish pa” was what Elijah said when asked what he wanted for breakfast and lunch. But, what strikes me the most was when he said, “I want the ordinary fish”. Actually, what he meant was the not-so-expensive fish – galunggong, matangbaka, andohao, talakitok, and the likes.

There was one time when I bought him an expensive fish meat – pure meat. I deliberately wanted it without bone because I was afraid it might happen to him my very unpleasant experience with fish bone. I remember when I was 12 years old when I almost choked with bangus (Milkfish) bone. Ever since that day, I promised myself not to eat bangus – except if boneless and prepared as kinilaw.

One Sunday, we had lunch at SM Megamall. I smiled when he said, “I smell something yummy pa”. And when I asked him what he wanted to eat, he immediately replied, “chicken barbecue“. Actually, what he meant was grilled chicken breast with garlic rice. I did not expect it because lately he has ordered pizza with Hawaiian flavor.

I was observing him while we were walking toward Chicken Joe to order the grilled chicken and he was so excited. He was even murmuring, yum yum. The saleslady was smiling at him when she heard Elijah said “this is my second time to eat this kind of food pa”. Guess what, after eating the grilled chicken he also consumed 1 1/2 slice of Greenwich pizza.

What also amazes me and Doris is his appetite for fruits. He really likes to eat banana, apple, orange, and pineapple. Doris would even tease him, “you’re like a piranha, Eli”. After having lunch and while watching his favorite cartoons on cartoon network, he will ask his Yaya for apples and oranges cut in bite sizes. It’s fun watching him eat.

I remember when he was just about 2 years old. He would never eat anything that is black or dark-colored food. He would always refer to it as dirty. We would even laugh when he will refuse to just taste it.

Now that he is six years old, we noticed that he eats some of the food he never liked before. However, there are still food that he will not eat as of this time, such as shrimp. Like majority of the kids, what remains constant as his favorite – Jollibee chicken joy.