Pinoy Life At Large

Nothing is better than spending the holidays with old friends. Old, as in our friendships have withstood the test of time. Old, as in we’ve known each other since our early 20s and now we are in our late 30s (some pushing 40 but I won’t tell who, hehehe). With the our eagerness to swap stories of how the past year had been exciting, inspiring, frustrating and tumultuous, we decided to go a restaurant that had less noise than the food court, but with the price that doesn’t stray too far from our stringy budgets. Yes, we are all employed but we prefer to dine sensibly. And Cocorama, at the Shangrila Mall, was the place to do it.

Sorry for the bad picture. However, their menu is as fun as the atmosphere. Festive, festive, festive!

Seen here are my college buddies Mercy (learning consultant with KOV) and Simon (English teacher at the Phil Science High School). Mercy with her usual rants and Simon always finds humor in her stories. Here she is telling us about the hassles of her latest project with the KOV (Korean Overseas Volunteers). Lagi!

Seen here is my friend Josephine (English teacher at Lagro High School), who only looks bored but is actually hungry. It’s 7pm and way past her dinner time. Lucky for us, the Cocorama staff were on their toes making sure food was served promptly.

Vegetable chowder came first, Simon’s fave.

Followed by Grilled Salmon on a bed of rice. The pineapple was a good complement to the fish.

Mercy had Pan-seared Dory with rice. I liked the nori strips on top.

Josephine had Teriyaki Spareribs. I love pork and this dish is my new favorite at Cocorama. The meat almost falls off the bone. Truly delightful.

And because I hardly paid attention to the what I ordered, I just asked for Pork Chops with Crazy Rice. The rice was very good. The chops weren’t as tender as I had hoped but it made up for it in flavor and size. It was mostly lean and had very little fat. The total bill for our culinary experience was P1,400.00 (US$34.00) only! Happiness and memories at half the price!

The whole conversation was continued at the nearest Starbucks (Simon got his planner, yahoo!) where we all gave Simon the double stickers, ha ha ha.

I’d like to give special mention to Mercy for the gifts that she gave us (so thoughtful of you!) and from the bottom of my heart, I would like to mention that you look good with your braces. All the best to you and Raul! To Simon and Jeh, it was really great to see you again. Balik tayo sa Cocorama ulit ha!