Things that I hate about planning is that they don't go as expected but well  some things that were unplanned turns int something fun. On the last minute we have agreed to have dinner at the Golden Cowrie in Salinas Drive, Lahug Cebu City. Supposed to be a dinner of five but ended up to be a dinner of three. Mitos, Meg and I agreed to meet at the restaurant.

I arrived first and I was tasked to order the food so when they'd get there the food would be ready. I always love their food there though its been almost a year since my last visit. I have read a couple of not so good reviews of the restaurant online over the past months so I'm a bit cautious of what to order though I am very much familiar with what's on their menu. They haven't really changed anything as far as I have observed.

I ordered crispy pata (crispy pork leg), bicol express, adobong talong (eggplant cooked in vinegar, soy sauce, oil, and spices), and green mango and dilis salad (green mango strips with crispy fried anchovies mixed with red onions soaked in vinegar and sugar sprinkled with crushed peanuts).

Meg arrived wearing a yellow shirt and with a yellow handbag which made me smile because she's so in for our surprise. The food was served before our dear mother Mitos arrived so we started to eat while waiting for her. I started with the green mango salad and to my delight it still tastes the same as the last time. I was eased from my worries when I get to taste all the food. The crispy pork leg was indeed very crispy and cooked just the way I like it, the adobong talong and the bicol express are cooked just right and tastes just the way it should.

Our dear mother  arrived 15 minutes later with her birthday gift in hand, a fresh pineapple. We were all laughing when she gave her birthday present. I took out my share of present pineapple juice in can and in a bottle which brought more laughter in our table. Just like what  I have said earlier Meg was so in the theme for our surprise. We ate over a a very lively conversation which I think really made us more hungry. I always have a very healthy appetite but all three of use were really hungry because we added 2 servings of baked scallop and sinigang na hipon (soured shrimp stew)  to what I have ordered earlier. The scallops were baked well and tastes really very yummy the second serving is a proof to that. The sinigang was served almost at the end of our meal but nevertheless delightful.

The waiters were very friendly and helpful, the only thing that is not so great about it was that we were billed for 7 servings of baked scallops instead of 2. It was then taken cared of though so it's good. Let's just say that the cashier had read the waiter's hand writing wrong.

And before this post ends we would like to thank mother Mitos for the treat. (SMILE)

• Adobo is a borrowed Spanish word refering to a common and very popular cooking process indigenous to the Philippines. When Spanish colonizers conquered the Philippines  in the late 1500s and early 1600s, they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar, which they then referred to as "adobo," which is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade. Dishes prepared in this manner eventually came to be known by this name.
• Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large marine gastropods in the family Cypraeidae. The word cowry is also often used to refer to the shells of these snails.
  

  Golden cowries are egg-shaped with a flat base and a narrow opening. Like other cowries, their shells are smooth and highly polished. They protect their glossy finish by wrapping their brightly colored mantle lobes nearly completely around their shells when they move. Golden cowrie shells have been used as currency and religious symbols throughout the South Pacific. On the island of Fiji, they were worn on a necklace by a chieftain as a symbol of status and rank.

  The traditional Filipino game sungka uses cowrie shells.