The ringing tone from my pangmayaman na phone (joke) disrupted my super gandang panaginip (awesome dream). It was a phone call from my not so pretty /handsome friend. (Just kidding…hahaha). He called me up because he wanted to treat me somewhere. The theme song of Maalala Mo Kaya began to play as my tears rolled into my soft, flawless cheeks. (Bagong derma kasi…hahah). It may sound O.A. but that’s how I felt the time that I heard his monstrous voice inviting me. (Halimaw?Joke!)
We have been friends for 10 years, 5 months, 3 weeks and 2 days to be exact and this was the first time that he will treat me without any death threat. “Senyales na ba ito na malapit nang magunaw na ang Earth, beshie?” ( Is this the sign that the end of the world is near, best friend?) I jokingly uttered.”Umpanu labay moy napaspas na bulong ya marunggay?”(Do you want to be whipped using moringa leaves?), he replied. We were like aso’t pusa (dog and cat) but we knew that we loved each other. To cut the long, corny and nonsense story, we immediately went to a barangay located in San Carlos City to try a delicacy called pigar-pigar. For those people who are sosyal, they pronounce it as pee-gohr-peegohr. Sounds new? Pigar-pigar is a Pangasinan term which means turning over.
It is a delicacy that rooted from Dagupan City. Its popularity invaded the whole province of Pangasinan. Beef or carabeef sliced in thin strips is sautéed in generous amount of oil together with cabbage, lots of onions, liver or sometimes with cauliflower. The tenderness and taste of the beef depend on pagpigar (turning over) and time of cooking. The longer you cook the beef, the more that its juiciness vanishes.
Sometimes if the slaughtered animal is tander (old), the meat becomes makunat (rubbery) but eating with family and friends together, this will no longer be an issue. The taste of pigar-pigar can be intensified by adding a bit of calamansi, sili and toyo which are readily available on your table once you ordered. Of course, you are not a Filipino if you will not eat it na nakakamay (eating with bare hands) with rice and say “Mangan tayo”( Let’s eat.). Drooling? Same here. Wait I forgot to tell you the worst part of my story. My beshie and I ordered a kilo of pigar-pigar, a liter of soft drinks and 5 cups of rice. We were like PG then as in patay gutom for waiting “one thousand years” because of a long queue of customers. We were like ferocious beasts feasting on a delicious prey.
After we savored the tasty dish, my beshie called the waiter with poise and said.”Sampiga?”(How much?) The waiter politely said,” It’s 200 pesos, sir”. When my beshie was about to pay, I heard him murmuring. He began to look pale and worried. “Beshie, atilak koy kwartak.” ( I forgot my money.), he whispered. My whole body numbed and cold sweats began to bathe my fabulous body as my brain thought of a remedy. I did not also bring my money for the reason that my moron friend will pay all our expenses. Our emotions were like Ms. Universe candidates who failed to make it to the top 10.
The manager noticed our discomfort and said,”Antoy problema,sirs?” My beshie said, ”Anggapoy panbayar mi.” To our surprise, the manager just responded with a smile and said, “MANSINOP KAYO ANGGAD MANKAPOT KAMI NAANI NO LABI!” (Wash the dishes until we close tonight!)
In short, we became dishwashers for a day.
By: Gilbert Baysic
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