The colegialas of St. Theresa’s immediately took a liking to the specialties of the Lapu-Lapu, dinuguan at puto, arroz caldo, pancit luglug, banana fritters (now known as turon) and lumpiang ubod. Word spread far, wide, and fast about Aling Asiang’s delicacies and soon, even Alex’s prominent friends in the legal profession and government service became faithful customers of the small restaurant.
As it turns out, a ladle in the hands of Aling Asiang was as good as any magic wand to save the day. But somewhere in the future, there still lies an enchanted carriage in waiting.
Every Sunday morning, Aling Asiang prepared a car load of food for their family’s weekly Luneta excursion. Even for such outings, Aling Asiang would never settle for ordinary sandwiches made with ham and cheese. She would put a distinct native twist to the American favorite by using adobo, or fried fish fillet as filling. This was complemented by vessels of pancit, dinuguan, kare-kare and rice wrapped in banana leaves good for twice the number of people in the family.
Luneta during Sunday afternoons was the melting pot for everybody who was anybody. As such, the Reyes children would often invite their classmates to eat with them. Pretty soon, these classmates will make it a point to look for the Reyeses at Luneta because, after all, Aling Asiang’s “Pino” sandwiches was a winner over cold hotdogs in buns puddle by rolling vendors in the area.
On one particular Sunday excursion, Aling Asiang figured that perhaps there was future in putting up a rolling store to compete with those already in Luneta.
Fidel Reyes (not related to the family of Alex and Asiang), a suitor of the eldest daughter Teresita, perhaps in attempt to gain favor with his future in-laws, offered his battered Ford which would be converted into a rolling canteen at a cost of seventy pesos.
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