Foot traffic versus food traffic
Despite the threat of getting stuck on the road and reaching your destination the following day, people chose to endure the ride, sit it out or look for other ways to get there.
That day, when EDSA became one big parking lot after some heavy rainfall, I was maneuvering through the flooded streets by Airport Road to get to Nobu at the City of Dreams. It was The Gourmand Market’s Trish Panlilio’s birthday dinner hosted by good friend and gallery man Patrick Reyno. My initial reward for braving the roads that rainy night? The thought of glorious nouvelle Japanese in the company of some of the most fun people had motivated me to head out and conquer the traffic that I was about to face.
So the moment came and my timeline was flooded with posts of people stuck in traffic, people tweeting about alternative directions and people just turning back in an attempt to avoid what was unavoidable. My dinner crew had decided to all ride with me in my van, unknowingly signing on to a few hours inside the vehicle just jogging in place, along with a few thousand other cars in the metro.
Our time was used to catch up, at least, and have long conversations, laughing and singing in the car as we moved along inch by inch and looked at the same view of the other cars stuck in the same traffic. True, these moments can really test your patience, but I realized that a sense of humor helps, too. Even if it’s not funny anymore. A few hours later —and with the help of Waze — we were back home. Yes, it was already the next day, but we had made it!
Our town, our country
Fast forward to the next few days and the rain once again made its presence felt, thereby making it quite obvious that a sequel to the dreaded “T word” could be possible.
I knew better this time and chose to schedule my appointments around the same area, near the Raffles and Fairmont Hotel where Town and Country’s Fabulous Food and Drink Affair was being held. Each year, the publication tops itself in throwing its anniversary bash by gathering the best and the brightest names in the culinary front and I always make sure I am present when the chefs show off.
The entire Fairmont ballroom was filled with foodies hopping from one food hall to the next. This year the emphasis was not just on the food but on the drinks as well. Each stellar restaurant and chef worked with only the finest beverages for a more lethal combination. It was nice to see the pages of Town and Country come to life in this event. Connoisseurs, captains of industry, media movers and shakers all in perfect harmony, just like the food and drinks.
Despite the names and the noise, it was a no-frills, no-fuss event. Just glorious food and wonderful people. Just like the people in and behind the magazine — people you’d brave the worst traffic to be with.
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More tales, less traffic @officialTIMYAP on Twitter and Instagram.
