While there is nothing left to do but lament its demise, I must also say this to the Nayong Pilipino Foundation:

Newer does not always mean better.

And in my heart there will only be one Nayong Pilipino.

I would like to invite everyone who has a Facebook account to join Remember the Nayong Pilipino, a group that I put up there. This is to honor the memory of the original Nayong Pilipino in Pasay City, which will soon be just that—a memory lost to generations of students and children who will never know the historical and cultural value of this once beautiful park.

The new Kenny Rogers (now kenny’s roast & grill) at the Powerplant Mall, amidst the steel buildings of the Rockwell Centre may be impressive, but all it is the same food repackaged to a more expensive look. Some of the food that we got used to in their previous incarnation are no longer there, like the spaghetti and chicken tenders combination.

My co-workers and I had lunch there today, and to be fair the food was good, but prices have jacked up at least 50%. While in the old Kenny Rogers setup you could have a meal for less than P100, the new kenny’s roast & grill requires that you have at least P150 for lunch, if you don’t order soft drinks. Why?

They got rid of the dispenser type softdrinks and sell purely in cans at P60 each! While kenny’s roast & grill Powerplant may have succeeded in upping its clientele to the A crowd, they have almost certainly alienated the working class, more of whom are at the Powerplant for lunch rather than their targeted A crowd.

The kicker for the day was when my co-workers and I had already paid our bill and were just waiting for our change, a waitress (the one with short cropped hair) came to us with nary an “excuse me” and said “Mam, nagbayad na ba kayo?” (Ma’am have you already paid?) When we said yes, she followed up with “Magkano binayad nyo?” (How much did you pay?) This exchange made kenny’s roast & grill Powerplant look like a carinderia to me rather than the posh resto it is trying to project itself as. My co-workers and I stood up and vowed never to eat there again.

Moral of the story: Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it is.

There is absolutely nowhere I would rather be than in Chef Tony Simmons’ mess hall, under the care of his generous and accommodating staff. The food is always heavenly, the mess hall itself is replete with modern furniture and is always bright and deliciously cool.

The pictures here do not do justice to the numerous nourishing meals I have had in the past two weeks because of them. And no amount of thanks can equal the care they have given me, the whole Imaginet crew, and almost a hundred other people who come in every mealtime for sustenance.

I left Masbate in the wee hours of the morning today, but last night as I said goodbye to the kitchen staff, telling them I was leaving, the first thing they told me was “Ma’am, mag baon ka para may makain ka sa biyahe.” (Ma’am, please pack some food so that you will have something to eat during the trip.)

I’m sure going to miss them.