Tuesday, June 28, 2022
manilastandard.net
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
manilastandard.net
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Columns The Joyce of Eating by Joyce Babe Pañares

Food is memory and love

Bernadette LunasNickie WangbyBernadette LunasandNickie Wang
September 29, 2019, 6:40 pm
in The Joyce of Eating by Joyce Babe Pañares
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
73
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Email

Food is memory and loveIsah Red embodied cariño brutal. He’d berate you for sloppy work or crack a half-meant joke about you being mired in poverty or something similar, and then he’d feed you generously.

More than a decade ago, when Manila Standard still held office at the Port Area, he called the attention of our sports editor, Riera Mallari, who had then just bought a brand new Honda City. “You should get your windows tinted. Have them in super black,” he said. “Nakakahiya kasi,” he added before bursting in contagious laughter. Sir Isah, of course, was then driving a BMW. Riera laughed at himself and at the not-so-subtle ribbing and had his windows promptly tinted super black.

Food is memory and love
Sir Isah with the Pantry Gang

Once, according to Nickie Wang, his protégé who would later succeed him as our entertainment editor after he retired, sir Isah blew his top during a presscon in Tomas Morato in Quezon City as the restaurant did not have enough plates. “Ano ba itong restaurant na ito? Kulang sa plato. Magsara na kayo,” he told the waiters. The owners of the restaurant reached out to him after and invited him to try their dishes again, this time with a promise of better service. Sir Isah eventually became friends with them, and the much-improved restaurant has since become a go-to place for events and press conferences.

At the office (now in Makati), you’d always associate his presence with food, and rightly so. From the walang-kamatayang pansit and donut to cakes and pizza, he was not one to think twice about sharing food. He had a soft spot for the Pantry Gang—what we call ourselves in the editorial team due to our fondness for going to the pantry to eat together. During one of those days when we did not have any food, he said in jest, “Kawawa naman kayo. You’re poor.” He then went to his room, fished out several gift certificates from a nearby restaurant, and instructed us to order whatever we wanted to eat.

Food is memory and love
Sir Isah with the Pantry Gang

He was not picky when it came to our office merienda. Hot pan de sal with cheese or Spam or Maling was enough to make him smile. He loved the lumpiang shanghai prepared by Daddy Hen, husband of our layout artist Vickie, even if he knew it could trigger his GERD. Sometimes, he would even prepare egg sandwich for us from scratch. But once, when I tried to experiment on sopas, his discerning side surfaced. “Ano ito? Is this food? Kung restaurant ka, nagsara ka na.” But he finished his cup anyway, and said in his pampalubag-loob voice, “Pwede na rin.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Sir Isah was a lot of things. He was feared by a lot of PR practitioners even as he was fast friends with the best of them. He was a mentor to Nickie and Bernadette Lunas, who succeeded him as our lifestyle editor when his time to retire came.

He was also the reason why my column exists.

Food is memory and love
Sir Isah was the reason why this column exists; he even came up with the name for it.

When I joined the desk in 2015 after more than a decade of covering the Malacañang beat, he suggested that I, who only knew how to write about politics and security, should start writing about demi-glace and julienned carrots, at least, once a week.

“Sawa na ako sa mga food columnists na payat. Parang hindi naman sila credible. Ikaw na lang tutal mahilig ka naman kumain,” he said while laughing out loud. I thought he was only teasing me with his crazy idea, but he was serious enough to even come up with my column name, The Joyce Of Eating, and the rest, as they say, is history (or in this case, a weekly gastronomic adventure).

Sir Isah was deeply loved, and he will be sorely missed. In the movie Ratatouille, the food critic Anton Ego said that food is memory. For Anton, the scent of a beloved dish can evoke happy memories of a mother serving her young son his favorite food. So it is with sir Isah and his generous heart. He left us with lots of fond memories to remember him by.

Food is memory and love
Isah Red was many things: an editor, a writer, a mentor, a friend, a media luminary. For us, he will always be remembered and loved for his candor and generosity and so much more.

I’m at joyce.panares@gmail.com.

Tags: Isah RedPantry GangRiera MallariThe Joyce Of Eating
ADVERTISEMENT
Bernadette Lunas

Bernadette Lunas

Nickie Wang

Nickie Wang

Related Posts

Good times and good vibes at Jones All Day bistro

byJoyce Babe Pañares
December 5, 2021, 7:50 pm
0
146
Good times and good vibes at Jones All Day bistro

After almost two years of staying at home to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, we are slowly and...

Read more

A healthy spread for 2021

byJoyce Babe Pañares
February 21, 2021, 9:30 pm
0
152
A healthy spread for 2021

To say that last year was a particularly difficult one would be an understatement.  As if the pandemic and the...

Read more

Lockdown food trend: Baked sushi

byJoyce Babe Pañares
October 25, 2020, 8:50 pm
0
165
Lockdown food trend: Baked sushi

From ube cheese pan de sal to Dalgona coffee, the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned several food trends in the country,...

Read more

A full circle journey

byJoyce Babe Pañares
March 8, 2020, 11:00 pm
0
277
A full circle journey

If you search for the best Chinese restaurants in the metropolis, the results would—inevitably, definitely–include Gloria Maris and Choi Garden....

Read more

Happiness on a plate

byJoyce Babe Pañares
March 1, 2020, 7:30 pm
0
129
Happiness on a plate

When Hubert Young first tried MOS Burger in Japan in 1998, he knew back then the food concept would be...

Read more

Don’t go breaking your heart

byJoyce Babe Pañares
February 16, 2020, 7:50 pm
0
131
Don’t go breaking your heart

Valentine’s Day is officially over, along with all its commercial excesses—from candle-lit dinners to long-stemmed Ecuadorian roses that wilt faster...

Read more

Stories you may like

  • Ex-Naga dad links Leni’s brother-in-law to illegal drugs

    Ex-Naga dad links Leni’s brother-in-law to illegal drugs

    36770 shares
    Share 14708 Tweet 9193
  • Of course, it was BBM’s project

    30882 shares
    Share 12353 Tweet 7721
  • INC endorses BBM, Sara

    28808 shares
    Share 11523 Tweet 7202
  • Duterte’s seven biggest achievements

    22000 shares
    Share 8800 Tweet 5500
  • Marcos leads SWS survey on presidentiables at 50%

    13583 shares
    Share 5433 Tweet 3396

Print Edition

View More

Recent Posts

  • Sneakers for Makati : AB4.0
  • Asian markets’ rally fizzles as rates, inflation fears return
  • Development, sustainability not mutually exclusive, say experts in Stratbase forum
  • Hong Kong’s history: From backwater to trading metropolis
  • Russia fails to pay debt but denies default
  • Serena returns at Wimbledon as Nadal eyes next leg of Slam
  • US delegation arrives in Venezuela to discuss ‘bilateral agenda’: Maduro
  • UN meet sees blitz of pledges to protect ailing oceans

Advertisement

Latest News

Serena returns at Wimbledon as Nadal eyes next leg of Slam

byAFP
June 28, 2022, 11:30 am
0
149
Serena returns at Wimbledon as Nadal eyes next leg of Slam

Serena Williams returns to singles tennis at Wimbledon after a year away on Tuesday as Rafael Nadal begins his quest...

Read more

US delegation arrives in Venezuela to discuss ‘bilateral agenda’: Maduro

byAFP
June 28, 2022, 11:00 am
0
141
Russia receives Venezuela’s ‘strong support’

A US delegation arrived in Venezuela Monday to discuss a "bilateral agenda," extending discussions between Caracas and Washington initiated in...

Read more

UN meet sees blitz of pledges to protect ailing oceans

byAFP
June 28, 2022, 10:30 am
0
135
Southwoods nails Seniors’ Fil golf crown

A major UN conference on how to restore the faltering health of global oceans kicked off in Lisbon this week...

Read more

Irving will opt into NBA deal and stay with Nets: report

byAFP
June 28, 2022, 10:00 am
0
139
Irving will opt into NBA deal and stay with Nets: report

Brooklyn star guard Kyrie Irving says he will opt into a $37 million player contract option for next season to...

Read more

Putin guarantees supply of fertilizers to Brazil

byAFP
June 28, 2022, 9:30 am
0
139
Putin, Macron, Scholz discuss Ukraine arms, grain supplies

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday promised his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro that Russia "is committed" to maintaining its delivery...

Read more

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

ABOUT US

Manila Standard

Manila Standard website (manilastandard.net), launched in August 2002, extends the newspaper’s reach beyond its traditional readers and makes its brand of Philippine news and opinion available to a much wider and geographically diverse readership here and overseas.

Digital Edition

In tone and content, the online edition mirrors the editorial thrust of the newspaper. While hewing to the traditional precepts of fairness and objectivity, MS believes the news of the day need not be staid, overly long or dry. Stories are succinct, readable and written in a lively style that has become a hallmark of the newspaper.

Download – Today’s Paper

Search

No Result
View All Result

6th Floor Universal Re Bldg., 106 Paseo De Roxas cor. Perea Street, Legaspi Village, 1226 Makati City Philippines

Trunklines: 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Pop.Life
    • Newsmakers
    • Hangouts
    • A-Pop
    • Post Its
    • Performances
    • Malls & Bazaars
    • Hobbies & Collections
  • Technology
    • Gadgets
    • Computers
    • Business
    • Tech Plus
  • MS ON THE ROAD
    • Sedan
    • SUV
    • Truck
    • Bike
    • Accessories
    • Motoring Plus
    • Commuter’s Corner
  • Home & Design
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Construction
    • Interior
  • Spotlight
  • Gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Seminars
    • Exhibits
    • Community
  • Biyahero
    • Travel Features
    • Travel Reels
    • Travel Logs
  • Pets
  • Advertise with Us

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Install Manila Standard Web App

Install App