15 October 2025
It was Friday when my mom and I went to the city to update her pension and process some claims. We arrived in the afternoon and went straight to the office we needed to visit. Because of that, we didn’t have lunch until we finished our transactions. We were supposed to go to the bank afterward, but we skipped it since there wasn’t enough time. It was almost five, and we were famished!
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I convinced my Mom to make a quick visit to a nearby park since we already had the chance. My mom rarely goes to the city or other places, so I thought it was a good opportunity. We never expected to come back to the place where the man known for his famous line, “I shall return,” stands. And yes, we did return to McArthur Park, the same place my mom, siblings, and I visited a year ago.
Then I realized I didn't bring my other phone, so the quality of the photos here isn't really good. I let my mom walk around and told her it was a nice place for walking, jogging, or even having a picnic with friends or family.
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If only we knew how to drive and fix our late father’s car, we wouldn’t have sold it, which we did a week ago. We could’ve traveled more as a family. Seeing people enjoying their time at the park reminded me of those days when our father was still with us. We used to go on trips together in his car. Those are the moments I miss the most since we lost him.
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After a short walk, we felt so hungry, lol. From the park, I noticed some lights under the trees on the left side. Curious, we walked toward them and discovered it was a food park. Exactly what we needed!
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The food park had different stalls selling all kinds of food — street food, desserts, snacks, drinks, and even rice meals. I wondered if it was newly opened because it wasn’t there the last time we visited.
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There were Korean dishes, Japanese food, Hong Kong-style meals, barbecues, different street foods on sticks, and of course, classic Filipino favorites. One of them was pares, a Filipino comfort food that literally means pair. It’s served with rice and a savory beef stew, often with a bowl of soup on the side.
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My mom and I decided to try pares since it looked good and I’d never had it before. It was served in a bowl wrapped with plastic. I was excited to taste it, but honestly, I was disappointed. It didn’t taste good and even had a weird flavor that ruined my appetite.
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I looked around for something else to eat. From my seat, I saw stalls selling takoyaki and shawarma. The line for takoyaki was too long, so I settled for shawarma instead. It wasn’t anything special or filling, but my mom hadn’t tried shawarma yet, so I bought one for her to try.
Sadly, I was disappointed again. The shawarma didn’t meet my expectations. I still remember the first one I ever had back in college. It was so good that the taste still lingers in my memory.
That was the best shawarma I’ve ever had. Mom and I shared our food and decided to head home since it was getting late and we still had a few hours of travel back to our hometown.
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That simple trip turned out to be a bonding with my Mom. We got to spend time walking and sharing quiet moments together. That was the best part of our small trip.
Thanks for your time.
Jane is a Filipina wanderer in a foreign land who finds comfort in nature and freedom in writing. She loves watching raw picturesque landscapes, listening to the symphony of nature, breathing in drops of sunshine, walking through scenic trails and cityscapes, tasting new culinary flavors, capturing pretty little things, venturing into hidden gems, and dancing with the flow of life.
Her new experiences, adventures, challenges, lessons, small successes, and joys are colorful paints that fill up her canvas of life. She hopes to see it beautifully painted while she can.
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