“Takaw mata” is a great Filipino phrase. I’m not sure what the english equivalent would be. “Visually triggered over-ordering”? At any rate, at the same roadside eatery we stopped at outside Bangkok where we had three plates of pad thai in this previous post, we also ordered three plates of fried rice. Yes, we were hungry.
Into a wok with oil go the eggs, then chicken and sliced carrots…
…some sliced onions…
…cabbage and other greens and toss well.
Add three plates of previously cooked and cooled rice.
Soy sauce, fish sauce, possibly tamarind paste, sugar and some other spices.
Garnish with some chopped green onions and sliced cucumber. Yum. Delicious.
6 Responses
Now that’s what i would call fast food, cooked right in front of you! Takaw mata and nakakatakam.
“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” Though I don’t think it’s takaw mata if you finish everything. Just plain ‘takaw’. Hahaha. Kidding. Just a very healthy appetite!
Yum! Good and filling.
“Takaw mata” is very physiologic when at the sight or even thought of food or its aroma (ang sarap! we exclaim) drives the brain to signal the stomach into high gear producing gastric juices and prepares the stomach for digestion. This phenomenon also gets one’s hunger to high intensity because this so-called cephalic phase of digestion happens even before food gets into the stomach.
And yes, “takaw mata” can lead one to think he/she can handle more than what is in sight and in some instances the intense craving or desire for the food gets you into high expectations only to be doused by its disappointing taste:(
Oftentimes triggered by the dish’s appearance or reputation and so through no fault of one’s own, could not be finished because it looked better than it tasted. Anyway, to leave uneaten food on the plate is terribly wasteful, in my view, but almost customary among Filipinos I have eaten with over the course of a lifetime.
Sight induced cupidity is how I would translate it but the closest locution in English is more advanced than ours, “biting off more than one can chew.”
I am fan of Chinese fried rice and lately eating out at Thai cuisine restaurant. This is an interesting recipe and worth trying. Thanks for sharing.