Every dish is an astounding story

Private dining restaurants to try now that lockdown restrictions have eased up in Metro Manila

With the significant drop in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, the alert status of the National Capital Region (NCR) has been downgraded to level 3 in mid-October. The lowering of restrictions was great news for business owners and consumers alike since we are somewhat given a semblance of normalcy in time for the festive season.

This transition means that we are once again allowed to dine out and enjoy visits to leisure areas, including malls, parks, and restaurants. Going out is beneficial to the economy, and with the crisis we are facing today, restaurateurs need all the help and support they could get.

Of course, we must remind ourselves that while we are given more freedom now, we should be more responsible for each other’s safety. We must respect our health workers, our family and friends, and ourselves by following stringent anti-COVID measures so as to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Given that we do strictly abide by the rules of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), and that we have completed our vaccination shots, eating out shouldn’t be a problem.

Dining is best experienced as a package, with interactions with the chef, ambience of the restaurant, aroma of food being cooked in the open kitchen, as well as the setting. There is also the fact that some cuisiniers prepare certain dishes to be consumed in a special manner, some in one bite, others in a particular order, which further elevates the dining experience.

Food is experiential. Beyond nourishment, food has been reinvented these days, as it contains stories, ideals, philosophies, and cultures that make life more meaningful. Enjoying a meal in a restaurant has become, more than a sensorial delight, also an exploration, a discovery, an enchantment.

Since we’ve been caged indoors for so long, paying a visit to some of these food establishments might do us good.