Commensality: A feast of Friendships

by Menchie Khairuddin

Long before we were friends and Mon cheri Daybook was born, Food has a long history of bringing people together. Food has the ability to conquer so many different barriers and allow us to be closer to each other.

In the present time, you can rarely find a cuisine or dish that is not a fusion of different cultures and cuisines. And that in no way is a bad thing because Diversity never hurt anybody! Megan, Maby, Eun and I have bonded over food one too many times. We go to certain restaurants for comfort food, food on-the-go and my most favorite budget friendly options. Yes, we count in coffee with the aforementioned types of food we indulge in because like Lorelai Gilmore, the girls of MCD need coffee in an IV too.

Food reflects on one's culture, tradition, religion and family.It reflects on your past and your ancestors past, so pretty much anyone who came before you. For MCD it reflects on all the times we have eaten together. All the jokes cracked, tea spilt and ideas born while we were together. Our diverse tastes in food can sometimes be a tad annoying, but there’s this certain thrill in it too. We all get to see beyond who one of us really is. For me, I’m known for cooking delicious chicken curry, a dish that is so common in my household but nostalgic for Eun. Ube halaya is the dish that leaves Eunice hungry because when she brings Ube Halaya to school, there’s none left for her. Maby on the other hand is always eating a grilled cheese sandwich, why she loves it so much still baffles us all. Last but not least, Megan MCD’s resident chef is known to not have just one staple dish. She likes so many different dishes that it’s hard to keep track of. But the one thing Meg ALWAYS has are mints and coffee.

Our breakfast, lunch and dinner dates got us through a lot of hard times in University and it’s something we at MCD will cherish forever.