Rice and shine

Prior to my departure from the Philippines, I had the opportunity to be invited to a gathering for German institutions based in the country. These include the previous and incoming beneficiaries of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), among others, of which I am a scholar.

One student who went to Germany for an exposure trip blurted out that one of his co-student actually got sick due to lack of rice ingestion within one week. Rice, to every Filipino, is like the air we breathe and the water that we drink. It's the staple food found on every table, whether it be in Forbes Park or Payatas.

As one of those many who eat rice through all their meals of the day, the mere thought of eating bread or potatoes in lieu of my cup of rice almost made my stomach churn in panic.

Out of the 12 days I've been here in Germany, I've been able to live for a full week without rice. And yes, there is rice here in Germany, and yes, in Freiburg. My first ever decent meal after my 26-hour trip was a cup of sticky rice and a generous serving of chop suey good for 3 people! I found this treasure in Wok Man, mainly a Chinese take out counter but could also accommodate ten or so people.

So far, I've only tasted three of their rice meals, and none have been disappointing.