Whenever I read ABNKKBSNPLKo!, the world, it seems, slows down. My senses are tickled by Bob Ong’s comic interpretations of our so-called Pinoy life: the mishaps, the tragedies, the joys and the unexpected lessons we scoop from it. The thing that I love about his books is that all of them are brutally frank, despite the jokes, the side stories and his simple yet tambay-ish way of putting his ideas in place. He doesn’t need too much flamboyance in his words nor does he need to make his works exclusive. His books are for everyone who’s Pinoy and wants to be one. 

Besides his writing style, I also love the fact that whenever I dive my nose into any of his books, I go back and reminisce on my own childhood experiences. And each time I do, the first thing that comes to my head is FOOD-FOOD-FOOD. Back in my pre-school to grade school years, I loved junk foods and I was thrilled to spend my allowance on street foods.

“Scramble”. This is a street food that I got addicted to all my elementary years. This is served with shaved ice, milk powder and chocolate syrup. Retail Price: 5 Php.

Iced Gems. Back then, this snack was sold for 3 Php. I only ate the “gem” part of it and gave the cookie portion to my kuya (yeah, I know, eeow..). But when I grew up, I ate the cookie part as well. It’s been almost 2 years since I last ate this delicious snack.

Tomi. This snack’s mascot is a hairy caveman named Tomi. He even carries a club and have long hair. The character isn’t appetizing but it’s cheese flavor is really, really good. I swear, I could eat almost 3 packs of Tomi.

Humpty Dumpty. I liked the bbq flavor of this snack, the brown one I think. I hated the violet one and I absolutely loved the cheese flavor. Too bad though because the cheese flavor was banned from our elementary fieldtrips because of it’s strong and pungent smell.

Mama Mia. This is a snack with a chef cat as it’s mascot. It’s a sort of a noodle snack and a bit spicy. My kuya called it his pocket canton delight.

Marie and Rebisco Mocha Biscuit. There’s something about soft and chewy cookies that I just cannot resist. These two literally melt in your mouth! I’m not sure if Marie is still being sold though.

Butter Ball. My mom was the one who introduced this sweet candy to us. This orange ball of pure melon and butter sweetness can make you go crazy! The plastic was a stripy orange and white. I don’t know if this being sold up to now.

Crackets. This snack’s mascot is a dancing elf but this rectangular cookie is egg-flavored. I don’t get the relationship between the two but I had this for baon from kinder to grade 1.

Apple Dapple. My mom had to force this cookie in my mouth when she first bought this for me. But eventually, I loved it. This is the most delicious (and cheapest) apple flavored cookie I’ve ever tasted.

Fruit-C. I never liked Zesto in my whole entire life. And I especially despise orange flavored drinks. But this juice drink changed the way I viewed fruit juices. When I was a kid, I always thought fruits were sour and disgusting just like oranges and dalandans. But this juice drink’s lychee, mango and guyabano flavors are super excellent! Not too sweet but it tasted so good. I don’t think this drink is still around though.

Pritos Rings. Unhygenic as it may seem, but I used to put the rings in my fingers before I eat them. A bit spicy but a bit sweet too, this snack has always been my favorite. Too bad it’s not around anymore.