What can you eat for 30 pesos?

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This evening, I went out to eat dinner. What I had in my wallet was 36 pesos. Despite having an insufficient budget, I wasn't worried, knowing that my God won't let me go hungry.

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Matthew 6:25

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Before leaving the dorm, I went to the guard house to refill my water bottle and paid 2 pesos for it. I only had 34 pesos left for food tonight. Instead of the usual jeepney ride to Grove, the place outside the campus, I walked because I might end up not being able to afford anything for a meal.

Bogart's Bentelog

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I went to Bogart's Bentelog, a small fast food restaurant along Grove.

The restaurant's menu. "Silog" is a Filipino word which combines sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg). There are a variety of choices for the fried viand or ulam:

• longganisa (Filipino-style sausage)
• hotdog
• tempura (deep-fried chicken)
• maling (luncheon meat)
• siomai
• jumbo hotdog
• tapa (cured beef)
• burger patty
• tocino (sweet cured meat)
• bacon
• chicken
• porkchop
• shanghai (spring rolls) - This is apparently the newest addition to the "bentelog" menu; it wasn't yet included in the photo above.

I wanted to order Shangsilog, but the only available meal that costs 20 pesos was hotsilog. I don't eat hotdogs, so I opted for Tempusilog, which costs 30 pesos. I was left with 4 pesos.

My bottled water + Tempusilog (This is the most decent photo my phone could take.)

The food was immediately prepared after I ordered it; it took about 10 minutes before it was served. As expected, the meal has a very small serving; it tastes good though, especially the tempura. I liked how crunchy it was.

Because I ate smaller servings than usual, I didn't feel as full as I would usually be after eating. I naturally don't eat a lot, but the normal serving sizes are slightly larger than this.

I have no problems with the staff; they move quickly and are friendly too.

Still, I'm thankful for being able to eat a nice dinner for only 30 pesos. I walked back to the dormitory because I only had 4 pesos left. I'll be getting my allowance tomorrow, so it's only for tonight that I had to make some sacrifices.

Should you try it?

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Would I recommend students to eat at Bogart's Bentelog? Yes, especially if they're on a tight budget. However, they should not do so every day, as regular consumption of fried foods isn't good for the health.

Warning: The risks of eating too much fried food

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Eating fried foods may lead to weight gain as these are calorie-dense foods; these are also high in trans fats, which are associated with lower "good" HDL cholesterol levels, and an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity (McDonell, 2017).

Nevertheless, it is a good choice if someone, particularly a student, runs out of a budget and needs to survive a week, day, or, in my case, a night without enough money.

Thanks be to God for helping me survive the night with little money in my wallet.

DISCLAIMER: This blog post isn't sponsored by Bogart's Bentelog. I just chose to write about it, because I've been seeing this restaurant quite a long time ago, but I've never tried it until recently. The photos were taken from the restaurant's website unless otherwise stated.

Reference:

McDonell, K. (2017). Why Are Fried Foods Bad For You? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-fried-foods-are-bad#section1.