The Death of Dreams (Frankiana)

Chapter 11

Franki's POV

Sobrang saya ko nang matawag si Diana sa top 3. Para akong supportive girlfriend dito. I'm so proud of her. Nakangiti lang ako kahit kinakabahan para sa kanya pero okay lang, alam ko naman na kayang kaya nyang lampasan to.

"For this round, may isang matatanggal. Kaya dalawang contestants nalang ang magtutunggali sa final round. So, nakapasok na ang second table. May lima kayong pagpipilian sa mga yan, but this time hindi pa natin ire-reveal kung ano ang laman nyan." Paliwanag ng host, tinutukoy nya ang nakatakip na plates sa mesa.

"Ready naba kayo?."

"Reading ready!." Sagot nila maliban kay Diana. Halatang kinakabahan siya kasi halos nginangatngat na nya ang buong daliri niya.

"You may now get your chosen secret ingredient." Instruct ng host.

Kumuha na sila at dinala ito sa kanya kanya nilang cooking corner.

"Your challenge is to fry your chosen ingredient and also serve its own sauce. Okay, in 3,2,1..go!."

Nang sabay nilang buksan ang nakatakip halos mandiri ang lahat. Patay na frogs,crickets at silkworms. May dugo pa nga eh. Pakiramdam ko nga masusuka nako. Silkworms ang kay Diana. Mahirap hirap ito dahil,

FLASHBACK

"Ang pinakamahirap talaga sa lahat ay ang exotic foods." Sabi ko kay Diana.

"Hindi kasi kaaya aya ang itsura at amoy nito kaya mahirap i-identify kung anong lasa. Kailangan mong tikman. It has to taste better than how it looks or smell."

Sana naman maalala ni Diana. I'm pretty sure she will.

EOFB

Hinuhugasan na niya ng maigi ang worms. Goodness, they still look disgusting. Sobrang tagal niyang natapos sa paghugas. Diana, bilisan mo. Dumaan na ang isang minuto sa 10minute challenge nato.

Stress na stress na ang lahat, siya parang hindi parin sigurado sa kung anong gagawin niya. Syempre, mahirap to para sa kanya kasi di nya naman pwedeng hulaan ang lasa nito. Lalo na't sabi niya hindi pa sya nakakakain ng kahit anong exotic food sa buong buhay niya.

Pinapanuod ko parin ang ginagawa niya. Kumuha siya ng dalawa sa silkworms, pinisa niya ito at inamoy ang lamang loob. Diana,alam mong mahal kita pero that's so gross.

Ngumingiti pa yung gaga. 8 minutes nalang. Saka sya dali daling kumuha ng malinis na table napkin saka nilapag dun ang kasyang worms. Sunod ay nag tadtad siya ng cabbage at dalawang pirasong siling labuyo na pinong pino at nilagay kasama ng worms, saka tinupi table napkin at piniga piga ang nasa loob. Nang durog durog na ang worms, pinagdugtong dugtong niya ito ng puti ng itlog saka binalot ng harina, nilagyan ulit ng puti ng itlog at konting vegetable oil saka prinito. Infairness, presentable nang tingnan ang worms. Nakaporma ito na parang burger patty. Right, is she making a burger made out of worms?.

Habang piniprito pa ang patty, kumuha siya ng kalahating baso ng freshmilk at ibinuhos ito sa frying pan kasama ng patty. Iniisip ko palang, naglalaro lang ata tong si Diana. Alam ba nya ang ginagawa niya?.

Nang medyo pakiramdam na nyang luto na ang patty, kinuha na niya ito at nilagay sa isang plate. Nilagay nya ang gatas na ginamit niya parang pang marinade. Hindi ko naisip na pwede mo palang e-marinate ang piniprito mo. Nilagyan nya nalang ng kung ano anong dahon sa ibabaw for the finishing touches. Perfection. At natapos din sya sa tamang oras.

Kumuha sya ng isang kutsarita and kumuha ng gatas na sauce nito para amoyin ito at malaman ang posibleng kalalabasan ng lasa.

And this is it. The moment has come. Lumapit na ang tatlong judges. Top 2 food vloggers in Asia. Isang Filipino at isang babaeng Chinese.

"Let us now call our three contestants again. Who among you three wants to serve their dish first?." Tanong ng host.

Parang di confident yung dalawa at si Diana lang ang nagtaas ng kamay sa kanilang tatlo. Napangiti nalang ako, atleast may guts na sya. Masaya nako. Kaya niya to.

"Wow, I love the guts Miss Mackey. So what do you have for our second batch of judges today?."

"I call it ah--The Milkyworm Galaxy." Sira ka talaga Diana, nagtawanan naman ang mga tao sa studio pati yung host at judges.

"Hahaha interesting. Well come on judges, your dish is now served."

Lumapit na ang dalawa at tinikman ito, takot na takot ako. Pano kung nagkamali ako ng tantya?.

"Hmm beside of the non-wormy presentation, that's really great. Explosive in the mouth. I love the spiciness of this dish. I feel like I'm eating spicy pork with slightly sweet sauce. Just perfect." Sabi nung Chinese.

"It's spicy to you?. Well actually, it's creamy. More like a chicken curry to me." Sabi nung Filipino guy.

"Really?. That's weird. I'm sure it's really spicy. It tastes like pork, not chicken." Defend pa nung Chinese girl.

"Okay guys, calm down. Why don't we ask Diana on what it really tastes like?." Suggest ng host.

"Actually sir, I don't know how it tastes like."

"Haha you're funny. What do you mean you don't know?."

"You see, I never tasted any of my dish in this competition. The reason why these two tasted my food differently is because of gender differences and race. Sorry, I don't mean to be racist here. I just want to elaborate my point."

"It's okay, go one Miss Mackey."

"So first thing to know is that women are more sensitive when it comes to certain senses, especially in taste and also because they have less pain resistance than men, their body recognizes and reacts more with the chemical capsaicin from the chili. That's why she's thinking that it's spicy. Second is milk reduces the effect of capsaicin, so that would make it less spicy. Our Filipino judge here ate a portion following with drinking the milk sauce so he's not recognizing the chemical." I explained. Nagpalakpakan naman ang mga tao.

"Wow, that's amazing--you must be great with biology and chemistry in highschool no?." Tanong ng judge.

"No sir, not really. Actually, I learned that from my dad."

"Impressive. So how about why it tastes like pork or chicken?."

"Because of how it smell. Just like I said, man recognizes the smell. When Mr. Filipino Vlogger here was eating the dish, he smelled it first. The senses signals to the brain while the brain recalls a certain memory of a smell, it's a bit creamy and has a bit kick of spicy when you smell it, so his brain told him that it should taste like it smelled like. Which is a chicken curry. While Ms. Chinese Vlogger here focused on what it tastes and look, and it certainly looked like a burger patty so her brain told her that it tastes something like it. So yeah, you've been tricked."

Nagpalakpakan sila ulit.

"And when you cover your eyes and nose, you will know that it actually tastes like ginataang baka. Please Mr. Host, can you try it?."

"Well ofcourse." Piniringan na sya as he pinched his nose close. Saka ko sya sinubuan.

"Hmm. It really does tastes like ginataang baka." He smiled.

"See? So, cooking sometimes is just about tricking this guy here." I said pointing my brain.

Clap clap clap. Napalingon ako kay Franki at nagwink sa kanya.