The Lunch a Whole Country Eats

It is just after noon and the street has gone quiet. Shutters are half down. The office you wanted is closed, and the small restaurant beside it is suddenly full.

Katatapos lang ng tanghali at tahimik na ang kalye. Nakababa ang kalahati ng mga shutter. Sarado ang opisinang gusto mong puntahan, at biglang puno ang maliit na restawran sa tabi nito.

In the Dominican Republic lunch is the real meal of the day, not dinner. The plate that arrives is white rice, stewed red beans poured over it, and a piece of meat, usually chicken, with a little salad on the side and fried green plantain if you are lucky. It is called la bandera, which means the flag, because the colours on the plate are the colours of the country. People eat it most days of the week and do not get tired of it.

Sa Dominican Republic, ang tanghalian ang tunay na pagkain ng araw, hindi ang hapunan. Ang platong darating ay puting kanin, may nilagang pulang beans na binuhusan sa ibabaw, at isang piraso ng karne, karaniwang manok, na may kaunting salad sa tabi at pritong berdeng saging kung swerte ka. Tinatawag itong la bandera, na ibig sabihin, ang bandila, dahil ang mga kulay sa plato ay mga kulay ng bansa. Kinakain ito ng mga tao halos araw-araw at hindi sila nasasawa.

The useful thing to know is the rhythm, not the recipe. If you turn up hungry at three in the afternoon you will find the good places empty and the food gone. Eat when everybody else eats. Then ask for a small strong coffee afterwards, standing up, and go back out into the heat.

Ang kapaki-pakinabang na dapat malaman ay ang ritmo, hindi ang recipe. Kung dumating kang gutom nang alas-tres ng hapon, makikita mong walang laman ang magagandang lugar at ubos na ang pagkain. Kumain ka kapag kumakain ang lahat. Pagkatapos, humingi ka ng maliit at matapang na kape, nakatayo, at bumalik ka sa init.