Delectables: MoMo Cafe @ Ayala Triangle Gardens (and reflections)

Last Friday (July 5, 2013), my friend Melody requested for an eat-out girl bonding session.

I owe her one after missing her calls and not immediately replying to her messages. "Gen, the listener" went AWOL this week due to the crazy rush of deadlines at the office. After the hectic week which ended quite well, I felt that I needed the Friday night dinner with a best friend =) There's only one condition: Dinner has to be light. (This is more of a preference rather than a diet as I'm already stick-thin :)

Drumroll...

Mel made the right first step in picking MoMo Cafe over Coffee Bea and Tea Leaf (the latter one's good but we've been there several times).

My definition of "light dinner" is usually a fruit shake and "something else". For "something else", "The MoMo Gourmet" in the salad section of the menu caught my attention. Thus, our "light dinner" consisted of drinks (served in fancy tall glasses: Mel had iced tea while I had an avocado shake) and a HUGE bowl (i.e., good enough for sharing) of The MoMo Gourmet salad. Over cheesy "kilig-much" stories, Mel and I enjoyed the salad. I consider this salad as one of the best ones I've had so far.

The salad greens were served crisp and the dressing was just of the right fruity (I think it's raspberry) sweetness. I loved the mix of flavors --- the crunchy walnuts, fresh and tangy orange slices, egg slices, grapes, different cheeses and mushrooms. I wouldn't mind trying this again soon.

The MoMo Gourmet Salad

My avocado shake sprinkled with colors that remind me of carefree childhood

The girl bonding session ended.

...With me feeling kilig over Mel's inspiration...

And Mel feeling more girl-y than ever...

I have never seen Mel like this, yes, and I told her that I can only remember feeling the same depth and range of emotions during my high school days. Not that it's high school-ish but it's only because the whole cotton-candy sweetness and vanilla-simplicity of it all is associated with that period (at least in my case). 

On hindsight, I think I felt the same about nine years ago (which is more recent than high school) --- went through a recognizably familiar play of emotions, focused on similar "mantras" to prepare and protect my heart, and got sidetracked by my own rules and society's norms. Hmmm, but I remembered making that final decision because I was too young to know any better :) And I think, my dearest friends know what happened next.

As we grow older, things get complicated. Right? 

The light-ness of an easily recognizable feeling (like love and any deep emotion) is often overridden with outside forces in the same way that a downpour of rain can put an end to a child's play. At some point, we were very clear on how we feel or how that other person makes us feel (It's so fluffy I could die...awww).

And then, we ask THE questions:

What will other people say? How will that change how others perceive me? Is it illegal?

...which confuse us in the end and continue to build up our uncertainty.

I didn't mean to talk about an "It's complicated" status in the same post about MoMo's gourmet salad. But I guess, that's the reflection: The best reasons why this salad made it to my "Will-Order-Again" list are its lightness and the distinctive flavors of each ingredient. Simple, individually great, and wonderfully blended. I hope that the flavors stay consistent and simple till my next visit.

We all wish that life and love can be just like that: simple and each day being individually great. But life is complicated, and today is the only thing that we have for sure.

My head aches from all the rush at work and I'd usually break free at the end of the week to reflect, recharge and unwind --- to make life as simple as it can be. I can go on wishing for vanillas (no wonder I love this as a flavor or a scent) and just bank on the straight-forward rule of going back to the basics. But things happen to confuse us and challenge us at the crossroads.  It's up to us to decide. Do we want it light and simple this time? Or do we choose to tip the balance for a change?

No two Friday nights are the same and we need to make different decisions for different times.

Simply light or overwhelmingly sophisticated, life is there to be savored.

Till here dear friends.