When the clock strikes twelve in the noon, we UP students, after facing and absorbing lessons all morning, all look for a place to eat in and feed our grumbling stomachs. Since the two canteens of the UP campus are almost always full, we have to head and look for other carinderias, or local Filipino eateries selling and serving and viands.
One of the most popular carinderias that are mostly visited now by my fellow UP students is JOWELDON. It is located in that little path right across Mark and Matthews. You will pass by two sari-sari stores with photocopying machines and a couple of other carinderias too but if you just follow that narrow pathway and turn left right after that brown gate, you’ll find yourself standing right in front of JOWELDON with its’ name in big bold letters plastered in front of the eatery. It is one of the one of most famous carinderias that is mostly visited and loved by UP students-- especially during eating hours of the day.
The whole atmosphere in JOWELDON is cozy and really homey. It is a little carinderia with four green-painted walls with two jalousie-windows on the left wall from where the doorway stands. The carinderia has four rectangular tables and two round tables available wherein around six customers can occupy. The rectangular tables are placed near the walls of the carinderia, viewing the outside of eatery wherein plants like San Francisco
During eating hours, and most especially during lunch time, JOWELDON is almost full and crowded with customers from UP Cebu . Some of them are lined up outside the carinderia. Some are getting their orders. Some are getting themselves spoons, forks and glasses. And some are already on their stools, enjoying their beloved ordered food while watching a noontime show airing on the television. And with the scene in JOWELDON during lunchtime, it is blatant that UP students fancy eating and spending their lunch time in this carinderia and I’m not even speaking for the customers’ starved stomachs.
There are essentially a couple of reasons why my fellow UP students want to eat in JOWELDON. One is the carinderia’s excellence in their service. The moment you line up to say your order, you will be welcomed with a smile and immediately accommodated by Ate Evangeline Chan, the cook, and her three other co-workers. But not only are they accommodating, they are also efficient in providing you your orders. It’s like in here, what you order is what you get. Charmine Cramales a UP Cebu BS Math student and an avid customer in JOWELDON said, “kay smiling man ang mga tindera ug lami sad jud ila mga sud-an” (the vendors will always greet you with a smile. And of course their food is delicious) when asked why she never gets tired of eating in the said eatery.
Another reason is the taste of their food. Among all the carinderias located near UP Cebu , JOWELDON sells foods that are very mouth-watering. The viands that the students usually order are Lumpia Shanghai or Spring Rolls, Monggos, Humba, Bam-i and Halang-halang. These viands have most likely caught and satisfied the taste buds of my fellow UP Cebu students.
Christine Codera, a first year Management student of UP Cebu and another keen customer, said she likes Lumpia Shanghai best because of its crisp and its delectable sauce, “Lumpia akong pinakaganahan kay crispy kaayo unya lami pa jud kaayo ug sauce.” Lumpia Shanghai or Spring Rolls is a dish made of ground pork, minced onion, carrots, and spices with the combination held together by beaten egg where all these ingredients are carefully wrapped in lumpia wrapper. It is a Chinese food that is usually paired with the familiar orange-colored sweet and sour sauce. This dish was brought to the Philippines
Monggos, another popular dish of JOWELDON, is made with green mung beans, chopped onion, garlic, pork, seasoning (for the taste), and coconut milk. It is unmistakably a simple dish which is unmistakably delicious with its deliberately salty and milky taste. In JOWELDON, a bowl of this dish can be bought in a really cheap price which us 10 pesos. So not only is this dish utterly tasty, it is also undeniably affordable.
Humba, on the other hand, is also one of the most popular dishes ordered in JOWELDON. It is a sweet pork dish that resembles the very well-known pork adobo in terms of its look. It is mainly made of chopped pork belly, diced onion, minced cloves of garlic, achuete or atsuete (a leaf that is popularly known to produce a golden yellow to golden brown dye; used in cooking), soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar. It is served by chopped piece in JOWELDON and each piece costs 25 pesos. The price is fair enough for its slightly sweet, slightly salty and definitely luscious taste.
Another well-known and well-liked dish in JOWELDON is the Pancit Bam-i. This dish is also from the Chinese but this has been common already in Filipino kitchens for the past years. Pancit Bam-i or just simply Bam-i is a noodle dish prepared with a mishmash of canton (or egg noodles), sotanghon (or bean thread noodles) and a number of sliced vegetables and spices, like minced cloves of garlic, chopped onion, red and green pepper. The combination of these ingredients provides a fascinating texture and distinct taste for the dish. When cooked, the noodles are in a yellowish to brownish color giving more touch to the appearance of the dish. In JOWELDON, this Bam-i dish costs 10 pesos per serving.
Halang-halang is also one of the most ordered dishes in JOWELDON. If you translate the world literally to English, it is called spicy-spicy. The translation “spicy-spicy” may sound quite weird and amusing but it somehow makes sense since this dish surely gives a remarkable fiery taste. It is made from chopped chicken pieces, thumb-sized pieces of ginger, chops of onion, coconut milk and the most essential ingredient—the chili peppers. The dish somehow appears like a chicken curry; only, halang-halang has this brownish color of soup given by the coconut milk and spicy taste of the chili peppers added to it. Halang-halang in JOWELDON is served by each piece of chicken and each piece costs 25 pesos, just enough to compensate for its deliciously peppery taste that would surely satisfy the taste buds of the students who are fond of spicy food.
So, points taken, I say that these are generally the main reasons why most UP Cebu students love to eat in JOWELDON and why I am trying to invite and persuade you to try to eat in this said carinderia. JOWELDON’s provided service is superb and overwhelming that you would not regret stepping foot on this eatery. The workers are also very accommodating, very efficient in supplying your orders, very quick in providing their services and they never ever fail to share a warm smile to their customers. Aside from those things, I am pretty certain that you will enjoy their foods that are very delicious and scrumptious that the effort carried out by the cook is frigging evident in its’ tasty cooking. I am quite sure that if you try eating even one of their foods, you would not settle for just a single serving or dish, you would most likely want to order another one and another one and not because their servings are too small but because their dishes are just remarkably good for the taste buds. And lastly, the prices of their dishes are reasonably understandable, considering that the dishes are truly palatable that you’ll never regret spending your money on it. There is really no wonder to why UP students always want to eat their lunch in JOWELDON so you better try eating in this carinderia too. Do not miss it.
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very good essay.your attention to details is amazing.every item is well-defined and described.congratz!
TumugonBurahin