The Makati Lunch Crowd

I live and work in Makati but I rarely see and observe the Makati lunch crowd.  I work nights and night time lunch is different from day time lunch.  You see - working nights mean you can dress down.   So most of the people you see during your lunch time at midnight are wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers.  Makati daytime - is very different.  Most companies still retain the dress code prior to the dot com era.  I used to work for a consulting company and their dress code prescribed hosiery for women, under-shirts for men, closed toe pumps for women, and neck-tie for men.  Most local banks still follow that dress code. 

Today - I woke up early but I knew that I didn't have to work tonight since it's Martin Luther King in the US.  It's sort of a holiday for the US - and it's actually observed by the company I work for.  I decided to go out for lunch and I didn't want to go that far - so I had my lunch at Relish at Ponte Salcedo.   I was wearing shorts since the restaurant was in my building.   I was the only one dressed down since it's the daytime lunch crowd.  Incidentally - the only non-working group in the restaurant was a group of women who look like the grand Dames of Manila.  Although they do not work - their outfit still meet the strict dress code of Corporate Manila.  I was actually tempted to call them the real housewives of Salcedo Village - but I recall that maybe half of these supposed housewives may actually be mistresses. 

So I ate my lunch - fidgeting most of the time - feeling uncomfortable over the fact that I was so under dressed.  I was tempted to ask my lunch company ( who was actually dressed up as well ) - to just have our lunch to go.   Thing is --- as I said earlier - this is a rare occasion for me - to eat lunch when the sun is out --- so I decided to stick it out even if it meant sticking out like a sore thumb.

But enough about my under-dressed drama - and let's talk about what I had for lunch.  I ordered the Relish sisig.  It's new in their menu.  I told the waiter that if it's not crispy - I will send it back to the chef. It was not crispy - but I didn't send it back.  It was delicious.  Relish really does not disappoint when it comes to their dishes.  My friend ordered their cream based pasta - and I can't recall what it's called.  I can only remember that it's cream based with mushroom and truffle oil.   The chef seems to have mixed a lot of truffle oil in the sauce.  It was again scrumptious but it tasted so rich.

I am writing this blog in the evening - trying to keep myself awake.  Tomorrow - I'm back to working nights.  So I have to make sure that I keep to the right schedule.  Tomorrow - I go back to having lunch with the underlings who wear jeans, t-shirts and sneakers.