I have to admit, one of the benefits of being in a relationship with someone of a different ethnicity is the food.

Take Adobo for instance. I can eat the stuff on a daily basis if I had to. Who would have ever thought that I'd get so excited over boiled Chicken and rice? Growing up there were times I resented my mom for constantly cooking fried chicken and rice. And if the chicken wasn't fried it was baked. And when it wasn't chicken it was pork chop. But no matter what there was always a pile of rice on the side and I hated it! Ten years later and all you have to do is add some soy sauce, pepper, garlic, and calamansi and it's freaking crème de la crème.

It's the same with Salmon. My mom used to cook Salmon and I hated it. The only fish I enjoyed eating was fried. The flavor of fish has never been all that appealing, it's the seasoning. So if it wasn't fried I didn't like it, because the flavor was in the grease and cornbread (i think it was cornbread).

Needless to say, the first time Emily made Salmon for me I didn't expect much. The size of the cut threw me off... I was used to little slabs of salmon that could fit in the palm of my hand. Emily pulls out a slab of Salmon so big it looked like it came off something with arms, legs and a name. Where the hell do you get a slice of salmon 18 inches long and 6 inches thick? But evidently there are endless supplies of it because it's always in the fridge. Anyway, Emily rubbed the "meat" down with mayonnaise, added some soy sauce and calamansi, and baked it. After it was done, it smelled too good to be fish. Again, served with rice and it was crème de la crème.

At this point it's safe to say that I'll eat anything with soy sauce and calamonsi. If you added some soy sauce and calamonsi to Dinuguan I just might try it.

So we have chicken and fish, you gotta have beef right. Growing up, there were times when all I'd eat for dinner was a T-Bone steak. I'd eat the meat and suck on the bone for another hour (my uncle used to sauté a steak in parsley and garlic and it was the best. Drowned in hot sauce and it was heaven). I didn' think it could get any better until Emily cooked 'Beef Steak.' Not steak, 'Beef Steak.' Why is it called 'Beef Steak' instead of just 'Steak?' Isn't all steak beef? I don't know, but the important thing is she boiled it in, guess what? Soy sauce, and calamonsi. Crème de la crème.

Finally there's Lumpia, something like an eggroll, but not really cause I can eat them like peanuts. Give me a nice cold beer (San Miguel of course) and a bowl of Lumpia and I'm chillin.

With food so good, there's got to be catch right? I must warn you that there are side effects to eating 'ethnic' foods. For example, Emily and Filipinos a like eat with a fork and spoon. I used to laugh at Emily and tease her about this. No knife, just a spoon and fork. But see there's a method to the madness. I'd look at Em's plate and it'd be spotless when she was done. I'd trip out, but it was one of those things that's interesting but you don't think to speak on it. So years went by and each time I'd think to myself "how the hell does she get every single grain of rice of her plate?"

One day she told me to try using the spoon and fork. So I did, and I must admit the combo does is efficient. I too cleaned my plate just as well as Emily's, I didn't think it could be done. I figured she was either skilled or had a healthy appetite. I was ignorant though! The spoon and fork combo allows one to slice, dice, and bite without having to use a knife. Both allow you to lift food into your mouth, unlike a knife where you risk cutting your lip and is just useless when it comes to a pile of rice. In short, if I were cursed and had to eat Hooters hot wings using utensils only, I'd choose a spoon and fork.

Back to the side effects:
It was probably a year ago I used a spoon and fork for the first time. It wasn't something that I took to. It was cool, but I'd done just fine with my fork for the last 25 years. At least that's what I thought... Today at lunch I had some left over Adobo that Emily made. I couldn't wait to get to it. I warmed it up in the microwave, grabbed the day's paper, and sat down to grub. It wasn't until I was down to my last bite that I looked at my hands, and what do I see? A spoon and fork! I didn't even realize it.