Filipino Sweet Spaghetti #1

The infamous sweet spaghetti. When I see this dish, my mouth immediately salivates for the savory, salty, parmesan-y taste I know. But when I shove it into my mouth, I am teleported into the Elf movie, eating spaghetti with tomato sauce and maple syrup on it. Yet, I soon find my plate empty as I take bite after bite, my tastebuds still curious with the unexpected taste. This dish can be eaten at any time of day and is found in every fast food joint here, McDonalds, Burger King, Jollibee, and even Starbucks. It is a staple at every filipino birthday party or celebration; think of it as the potato salad equivalent at a cookout. Despite my mixed emotions on this dish, there is no denying the incredible video-ke sessions that will transpire as we slurp down these noodles, or lasagna.

This sweet spaghetti brings me back to my first ever bite of food here in the Philippines. When we arrived to our training site in Manila on January 30th, we were welcomed with a meryenda, or snack: sweet spaghetti. I remember seeing the rest of the volunteers at dinner that night and instantly laughing over our similar reactions to the sweet spaghetti, “it was interesting right? But good?” while trying to gauge other's responses and convince ourselves that it was tasty. Despite the 24-hour travel day or the 12-hour time change or the sleep deprivation, this communal confusion over a sweet noodle was the first moment we knew we were not in a travel wormhole, but now living in a completely new place.