Pinoy entrepreneurs are known for coming up with attractive
names to rein in customers.
This one did not only catch my attention, it also forced me to a full
stop coming from a sprint, which rarely happens, like when a vehicle on the
opposite lane decides that my bike is not incoming traffic and veers into my
lane to overtake a slow moving one.
Another trait of the Pinoy entrepreneur is that he/she is
quick to spot opportunities, madiskarte kumbaga. And this Ale is madiskarte. She actually made a waiting shed right in the
corner where tricycles make a turn as her de facto store. As they say in business: location, location,
location is everything.
I’ve already motioned for one halo-halo even before I could
park my bike, and it was on my hand even before I could settle down. Apparently, Aleng Halo-halo had already
filled cups with measured rekados. All
she needed to do was scoop pre-shaved ice from a styro-box into the cup,
pour milk and hand it over to the customer. But the thing with pre-shaved ice is that they would clump together, which would make it more difficult to break down and mix with the rest
of the ingredients.
As I was jackhammering the ice with my plastic spoon, my
eyes were on two men seated on a bench across the road. The two seemed like celebrities for just
about everyone – men, women and kids on foot, tricycle or four-wheeled
vehicles -- either waved at them or honked their greetings. I’m envious; not of their celebrity, but of
their bench. It has always been on my
wish list to eat halo-halo like a neighborhood tambay watching the world go
by. So when the two men decided to hop
on to their tricycle, I immediately stood up and eagerly parked my butt on the
still warm bench.
I must say, the bench is nice, so is the almost road level
view that allows for maximum eye contact with passersby on foot or
machine. But I was having a problem with
the darn ice; minutes have past and I was still waging a war with crushed ice
particles that have decided to stick to one another no matter what. Mercifully, the afternoon heat got to them and
melted whatever bond they had with each other.
I welcomed them into my mouth.
They were refreshingly cold, but I was not impressed with the
halo-halo. It contained chunks of kamote
that were boiled but not with sugar, leaving it wanting in flavor. It helped that it had sweet nata de coco and
some melon strips, which just about saved the entire halo-halo from turning into
a disappointment.
As I was eating halo-halo like a tambay, I noticed I was
getting a lot of attention just like what the two men before me enjoyed. A car passed by and I made eye contact with
the driver which prompted him to honk his horn and nod his head, which I also
did. Before a tricycle made a right
turn, a boy riding behind the driver waved his hand and smiled at me. I also did the same. Another tricycle driver going the other way,
slowed down and offered me a ride. I
would have taken his offer had I wanted a joyride with a stranger but I was
only halfway through my halo-halo and I was raised by my parents to finish everything
before proceeding to doing something else.
So this is how the neighborhood tambay feels. It’s good.
Perhaps, that’s why a lot of tambays don’t want to do anything
else. I can’t do that.
I paid 15 pesos for my halo-halo. It was not good, but not bad either. It could have been worse. Thank God there was no fur in it.
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