One has this stereotype of healthy food lacking in savory taste, bordering on blah. Sometimes, one thinks of it as close to pagkaing darak (or rice bran fed to poultry, cows and pigs)—no offense meant to one’s friends who have chosen to eat strictly plant- or fruit-based food. 

One’s palate was honed by a mother who cooked a carnivore’s dream feast as everyday fare. She occasionally made paksiw na bangus or ginisang ampalaya with beaten egg to break the routine. But that’s about it, unless you counted the pechay, potatoes and carrots in her nilagang baka or the eggplant, okra, onions, tomatoes, radish, and taro (gabi) in her sinigang na baboy as tokens to a balanced diet. 

Call this writer a miseducated, malformed eater—a condition that now seems to account for a number of comorbidities.

But because our scheduled group reunion would include a vegetarian and some non-meat diners, one looked far and wide in Mandaluyong City for a place where we could lunch in peace and with a sense of goodwill to all. 

The chosen site was Shangri-La Plaza with its recently opened Street Scape (what used to be a cavernous branch of National Book Store that has been subdivided into spaces for several restaurants). Its location is in media res—right in the middle of things for those coming from the north (Quezon City), east (Mandaluyong and Pasig), west (Taytay) and south (Muntinlupa). What’s more, the specific resto is on the ground floor, so no climbing or too lengthy walking even in air-conditioned comfort for the senior citizens. 

The Wholesome Table or TWT is not easy to miss. In the fashion of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, there is one such growth smack in the middle of the dining room, requiring diners to go around it to reach their table. It stands there like a roundabout or rotunda. There are no paintings decorating the walls; instead, there are shelves for neutral-colored bowls and similar containers. The kitchen has a rectangular window through which one can peer at what’s going on inside.

TWT was agreed upon because of its extensive menu made up of organic produce. Even the cows, where the beef is sourced, eat grass, not artificial feeds. But strangely enough, no one among the carnivores ordered red meat. The only dish on the table that the strict vegetarian couldn’t sample was the appetizer gambas al ajillo (or shrimps cooked in olive oil, garlic and chili). That went very fast, along with the first order of potato croquettes. A second order was made as a concession to the habitual latecomer in the group, and even then, there was only one croquette left for her.

Everything was for sharing—the platters of vegetarian pizza (with grilled eggplant, slices of zucchini, red peppers and arugula) and vegetarian lasagna swimming in Mornay sauce (defined by Wikipedia as “a béchamel sauce with grated cheese added”). Even the falafel bowl, supposedly a superbowl for one, was shared by the group until it was emptied. As for the hummus with slices of hard bread, it was, like the title of a movie, gone in 60 seconds, give or take.

Deo, the waiter assigned to our table, smiled through our string of requests, among which was taking group pictures from one end of the long table for nine to the other. He parked green bottles of warm and cold water at strategic points so we didn’t have to constantly signal him for refills. 

When his duty time was over and we were still chatting long after the desserts of burnt Basque cheesecake, a scoop of homemade strawberry ice cream (which had the texture of a cooling sorbet), chocolate cake, and double chocolate cheesecake were consumed, Deo introduced us to his female colleague who took over. If one could only applaud him, one would have done so for true service with a smile.

What followed was the long goodbye among friends who hadn’t seen one another in three months. A tentative date for a reunion was set for September. For that event, one wouldn’t mind if the group re-gathered at TWT, and maybe (oh, yes and oh, no) for those big on protein to sample such tempting dishes as the duck, the hickory spare ribs, and the chicken barbecue—balanced, of course, by a variety of vegetable salads for those not inclined.