031: about about time / somebody feed arns
Nins has a time recounting the lessons behind the romantic dramedy About Time starring Domhnall Gleeson. Arns savors the flavors of Manila through travel docuseries Somebody Feed Phil.
referenced in this episode:
About Time clip: The Secret Formula for Happiness
About Time clip: The Last Time With Dad
"‘Somebody Feed Phil’ Star Phil Rosenthal on the Perils of Filming a Food Show: ‘If You Saw My Cholesterol Levels Right Now…’" by Brent Lang for Variety
0:00 - Intro
2:37 - Announcement: new format!
7:38 - Nins: About Time
29:38 - Arns: Somebody Feed Phil
53:09 - Outro
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Hi, I'm Angela Non. I'm Ariana Kempis. And this is BRB crying. [Music] Hello everyone. Welcome back to BRB Crying. I'm Ariana, also known as Arns. And I'm Angela, also known as Nins. And your girls are back. We are back. [ ] back. We're [ ] back. We're [ ] back. Thanks for waiting. I know it was kind of long. I know, but you held your breath for 6 months. Like, wow. Good for you guys. Every morning they were like, "Oh my god, when can I exhale yet?" Yeah. No. Now you can because we are here on this couch primed and ready to pour out our hearts to you all and continue to spread the gospel. That crying is incredible. Yep. Crying is something that we should celebrate. Yeah. If you're new here, welcome. Love to have you. If you're old here, welcome back. Welcome back to our cryb babies. Truly, truly, we missed you. If you were worried that we weren't ever going to come back, um, you don't have to worry anymore because we're back. Um, where was I going with that thought? Um, it's been a while. I think we're just really rusty. Yeah, that's what happens when you [ ] off for 6 months and then think that you just like remember everything about running a podcast. But that's fine. We're all in this together. And it was a great six months off. I mean, oh yeah, time of my life. I'm a new person. Can you tell? Can you tell? How are you doing? How have you been for the past 6 months? Oh, girl. Um, really good. I really, really welcomed that break. I think that you and I did so [ ] much for the podcast that it just consumed us. Mhm. And there was just no downtime. But I just really really enjoyed every second of our break. That's not true. But I really relished the length of our break. Yeah. Really took our time deciding one to come back to. Mhm. Mhm. Anti- capitalism. I don't know what else to say. We take things at our own speed here. We're ting into announcements a little bit here. We are restructuring our podcasts a little bit. Instead of a batch of 10 weekly episodes, we are going to do every other week because this shit's hard. We're tired. Because we're tired and it's just a little bit more sustainable for us and for you, too, because then it's not like, well, they just [ ] off. When are they coming back? You know, like the idea here is we just keep going every other week. If we miss out on a week, fret not. We'll be back. But in general, we're just going to do this new cadence. We're gonna try it out. We're going to try something new. We're going to try something new. We're brave girls. Okay. We can do hard things. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad you're doing well. Thanks. I didn't even get the chance to like swing it back, you know? I was just so excited to announce, you know. Yeah. How are you? Um, I'm good. I too welcomed that break. I don't think I realized how tired and how much it was really taking from us. Mhm. So, it feels good to be coming back into this refreshed. Yeah. Excited. Mhm. With like a new focus. I feel like both of us really took the time to just establish what we wanted out of this podcast, out of life. Mhm. And uh here we are going for it. We are, you know, we're doing it. [ ] Yeah. Yeah. Any highlights from the last 6 months that you want to share? I can talk about a highlight from yesterday. Um well, I finally watched the F1 movie. Oh my god. Who's been wanting me to watch it? Okay. I did not know this movie even existed. Uh-huh. I truthfully didn't even really understand what F1 was. You know what? NAS, you know, NASCAR cars driving. Sure. Brad Pitt, you know, that's what you're hearing. Um, my life has changed. Really? I am now obsessed with Formula 1. Oh, I spent all day yesterday not preparing for this pod binging on Netflix the F1 docky series. Okay. 10 episodes. I'm obsessed. Interesting. So, that's what's been going on with me. I really would not have guessed. You know what? Me, too. Now, I will agree to watch it with Lou. It's really good. Okay. And that is all I will say. Okay. That's all I need. Yeah. I mean, there were other highlights, but that one is just like fresh in your mind. As I'm speaking right now, I'm not here. Yeah. I'm over there in Monaco. Yeah. If we had recorded this like a couple weeks ago, my mind would have been in Fiji on that Love Island. You know what I mean? Is this your highlight? Oh, yeah. Bring bring me in. Bring me into your world. This is my highlight. I've been deep in the lore of Love Island USA season 7, but I need to close the door a little bit cuz I'm getting a little I'm getting a little crazy about it. Are you starting to dream about it? Starting. Yeah. Okay. But yeah, we had a really great time the last 6 month. I I went to Australia with lose family. That was beautiful. Just been chilling. I don't know. I feel it, you know. Chilling. Me, too. That's what I got. That's all I got. God. Sorry listeners if you've been waiting for an update from us for like six months. I actually I don't even know what I did. What the [ ] did I do? I was going to say look at our socials and you'll see what we But I don't. But we stopped posting. We stopped posting because we were taking a break. So, but that is a great segue because we are going to keep all our announcements around stuff like merch, maybe inerson events, all that stuff is just going to stay on social media. So follow us at beerbbycrying.mpodcast on Instagram specifically because that's where we're going to post updates of that nature and we're just going to keep it nice and succinct on this pod, you know, like we always do. Uh yeah, that's so us. Succinct. So us. 10 words or less.
All right. All right. That's enough of that. That's enough of that. Let's just roll on in. Okay. Who's going first? I don't remember. I actually don't know who's going first. I think for the last episode technically you went first. Oh yeah, that's right. But I also started off last season. Okay, how about this? How heavy is yours? Um, is it going to be leave me like down in the dumps? I don't know. Is yours No. Is it like lighter? Yeah, mine's lighter. Okay. Ah, [ __ ] it. I'll just go first. All right. Okay.
[Music] All right. Well, to kick off my story for today, I actually first need to shout out my sister Christine and our friend Darren because they have both been adamantly trying to get me to watch this movie for several years now. Years. Years. Oh yeah, they've been trying to get me to watch this movie for years. And I'm such a hypocrite because when I'm like really passionate about something, I won't leave you alone until you watch it. Like I won't stop talking about it. Love Island. Hello. Mhm. But it has sadly taken me years to cross this one off my list. So I finally watched this movie during our break and sure enough sure enough ugly cried. Ooh, ugly cried. Okay. And to make matters worse, guess where I chose to watch it? At home. I don't know. In the movie theaters on my 14-hour flight to Sydney. Oh, very last row of United Airlines economy. You know, last row. That's where I chose to Hey, you know this movie that everyone said was really good and might destroy me. Press play. Yeah. You know, God, I know. I always regret doing that. You know what? That's where I also watched Little Women. Maybe that's just where I need to be. Yeah. Like that's just You just need to constantly be on 14-hour flights. That's my environment. Yeah. Mhm. Mhm. Okay. So, what movie was it? It was the 2013 romantic dramdy About Time. Rachel McAdams. Mhm. I've watched snippets. You've seen it? I think I watched it, but it's a little confusing because she was also in another movie called The Time Traveler's Wife. Yes, I don't remember which one. I think I watched this one. I did. I I think I did with the guy from He was in Black Mirror, right? Yes, I did watch this one, but I don't remember anything about it. Okay. Um Okay. Written and directed by British filmmaker Richard Curtis, who by the way has had his hands on every single [ ] British romcom that we [ ] know and love. Okay. Nodding Hill. Mhm. Bridget Jones Diary. M Love Actually. Mhm. Please. Please. So, the [ ] we know is going to hit, you know. Insert standard spoiler warning. Every [ ] spoiler you can imagine. But at this point, it's your fault. At this point, the movie is 12 years old. Don't come for me. Mhm. And then I got to say like, "Oh, but you know, just watch it. It's so good." Blah blah blah blah blah. Come back to the podcast. You know, you know, you know. Yeah. You know, you [ __ ] know. All right. Okay. So, plot. Main character is a young man named Tim Timmy. Tim Tam Timoth, you know. No, he just he just goes by Tim. Okay. And he's played by actor Donal Gleason, who was in fact in Black Mirror for that one episode. And Tim is in his mid20s. He grew up in Cornwall, which is like this beautiful coastal county in southwest England. Sources for that was Wikipedia. Mhm. Did not know. Um, very much an average Joe kind of guy, a bloke, if you will. An average bloke. Mhm. Kind of awkward, zero RZ, but obviously has a really big heart and really wants to find love. He is super close to his family and his dad in particular played by legend Bill Nye. I feel it in my fingers. In my fing you know in love actually the the rock star. What are you saying? What are you saying right now? The rock star in love actually. Do you remember? Like he's like the has been rock star and he's like I feel it in my fingers. Okay. Christmas is okay. Please, please continue. Please move on for the love of God. All right. So,
so if you
Okay. Okay. So in this movie on New Year's Day, Bill Nye Zatti tells Tim of a family secret and that is that all the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time. What what um few grand rules first being that Tim can only travel back in time. He can't go forward and he can only travel back to moments in his own life that he's experienced before. So he can't like go back to like the 1940s and stop World War II. Classic premise of the time traveling. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? So, second, they do kind of touch on like the whole like butterfly effect thing, which like yes, if Tim goes back in time and changes something, it usually will have like some very small inconsequential effect on his present life, but like nothing drastic. For the most part, it's pretty minor. And then I'm just going to very briefly pause here and just say that everyone this is just like you know it's a simple cutesy little romance film like we don't need to like it doesn't make sense like quantum physics like just just enjoy the ride. You know what I mean? So I'm not going to look too closely into it. We're just I'm here for the plot, you know? Yep. Okay. So, in this conversation, his dad is telling him how to go back in time. And all Tim has to do is find a small dark space, clench his fist, and close his eyes and think of the exact moment that he wants to go back to. And then he'll find himself there. But then once he goes back to that time, he has to live life. He can go back to the present. Oh, he can go back to the present. Yeah. Yeah. Just not in the future. Yeah. Okay. So, I'm going to share the scene with you, Arns, of Tim having this conversation with his dad because obviously it sets up the whole foundation for the plot. So, you're going to see Tim kind of not believing his dad at first, like, "Yeah, right. You're full of shit." And then he actually tests it out and he goes back to the night before, which is like this New Year's Eve party. And you'll see that Tim is able to avoid all of the awkward moments that he had from the night previous. So for those who want to follow along, this is at the 4 and 1/2 minute mark of the film and we're going to watch about a 5 minute clip. Okay,
so I just showed that clip and after Tim tests it out, realizes that he can in fact travel back in time, he comes back to the present and he continues this conversation with his dad. And of course, Tim is immediately like enthralled by this idea of like, "Oh, well, I could probably just like make a [ __ ] ton of money or like I'll never have to work again." And his dad, who is obviously more learned at this point, just advises him on how to best use his gift. Quote, "You have to use it for things that you really think will make your life the way you want it to be." And Tim says, "Well, to be honest, I suppose at the moment it would be just great if it could help me find a girlfriend." And then his voice over, which you hear throughout the movie, says, "For me, it was always going to be about love." So from there, a lot of plot ensues. I'm just going to cut to the chase. Tim, after many antics, he moves to London and meets the love of his life, a woman named Mary, played by the only time traveler's wife, Miss Rachel McAdams. Very, very cute unfolding of their relationship. Charming, quirky. We don't have time. We don't have time. I personally can't travel back in time. Mhm. I can only live in the present and in the present I'm fast forwarding. Mhm. Mhm. Love it. So, we're going to fast forward a bit to Tim and Mary visiting Tim's family for the first time. And this is at about the 1 hour and 3 minute mark. We're going to watch about a 3minute clip.
Okay. I I wanted to show you that clip because I think it gives you a really good idea of like the family dynamic and you just see how close he is to each member of his family. So, very wholesome day. Uh Mary and Tim's mom have tea along the beach and they connect over how much they love Tim. and Tim and Bill Nye Zatti play a cheeky little game of table tennis which is one of their favorite pastimes together. Every time Tim is home, they that's kind of like their bonding activity. And then they have this family dinner afterwards. And at this dinner, Tim announces that he and Mary are engaged and that the wedding will be very soon because they're also going to have a baby. So Tim and Mary get married. Their wedding was actually kind of a mess. It was like the worst weather you could ever imagine. I mean, like hurricane speed winds. I feel like I remember this part. Downpours of rain, really cringy best man speeches, but of course, the happiest day of their lives. And that night, Tim asks Mary if she wishes they'd pick a less wet day to get married. And of course, she says, "No, not for the world." And then shortly after that, their daughter arrives, this perfect girl that they name Posie. And Tim's voice over says, "Suddenly, time travel seems almost unnecessary because every detail of life is so delightful." There is one big caveat, however, after Posy's birth, which is that Tim can no longer change the past before she was born. He can still visit the past, but he can't change anything. Otherwise, once he travels back into the present, he could potentially have a completely different kid. I remember. Yeah. Yeah. According to Bill Nye, quote, "The exact sperm and the exact moment you got this particular baby, so if you do anything the tiniest bit different, you'll have a different child." Again, not going to look too far deep into this. Just know that that is one of the rules that they have to abide by in this movie. So, at this point in the film, Tim honestly just focuses on his family. He's happily married. He and Mary welcome a second child into their lives, and they're just like really [ __ ] happy. Like, it's just cute. But this is a movie after all. So, got to have the drama. Something sad has to happen. Mhm. and that's that Tim's dad is diagnosed with a very aggressive type of cancer. So, his time is running out. And in their last few conversations, his dad is like, "Tim, I need to share with you the one lesson I spent my entire life learning. It is the most important thing I can teach you. So, we're gonna look at that conversation now. It is at the 1 hour and 36 minute mark. We're going to watch about a 6 minute clip.
[ __ ] Okay. So, in this conversation, Tim's dad tells Tim his secret formula for happiness, and it's a two-part plan. The first part is just getting on with ordinary life. Live it day by day like anyone else would. And then you watch this montage of just an average day in Tim's life. You see scenes of him at his stressful job and then he goes home and he's just like, "Ugh, it was kind of a rough day and then he goes to sleep." But then comes part two of Tim's dad's plan to live each day a second time. The first time with all the tensions and worries that stopped him from noticing how sweet the world can be. and the second time just simply noticing. So then you watched him relive that same stressful day and you see how easy it is this time to find small moments of humor, connection, wonder, and joy. And that night when he goes to sleep, he tells his wife it was actually a really great day.
H what a lesson to learn from his father that if we look hard enough, every day of our lives are filled to the brim with these moments, these small victories, these quiet loves. We are surrounded by them. Shortly after, Tim's dad passes away. And Tim is obviously devastated. But part of him is somewhat okay about it because he can just easily travel back in time if he ever wants to see his dad again. It's not until Mary, who by the way has no [ __ ] clue that Tim can time travel. We're just going to skirt over all of the lying by emission in this relationship. Mhm. Very healthy. They're still cute though. Quirky, you know, but it's not until Mary tells Tim that she wants just one more baby, one more child. Uh-huh. And it's not until they get pregnant with his third child that Tim fully experiences the weight of losing his father. Because of course, once that baby is born, he'll never be able to see his dad again. But he agrees to it. And the night before Mary gives birth to their last child, Tim pays his dad one last visit. This is the last scene that we'll be watching today. Thank God.
Okay, so for those listening and watching along, this is at the hour and 49 minute mark.
Wait, you're going to need to kill me. Oh, that's fine.
I can't breathe. That was literally me on the plane. I forgot that this is what happens like on the podcast. Um, sorry. I'm going to have to describe it. Please stop. Okay. So, the night before Tim's last child is born, Tim goes back in time to play one last table tennis match with his dad. His dad wins the match and he says, "What's my prize?" And Tim goes, "A kiss." And Bill Nye is like, "A kiss? Why?" And then Bill Nye realizes what this moment is and says, "Oh, ah, I get you. This is it." Then Tim says, "This is it." So then Bill Nye says, "You know, there's one last thing I want to do. It's completely against the rules, but if we're careful and we don't change a single thing, it shouldn't do any harm. So, they get in the closet and travel back in time together to when Tim was a little boy, and they head down the beach and play in the water.
So, as you are, I was completely inconsolable at this point. Because in reality, if I really had the power to go back in time, my first thought wouldn't be to fix some silly little mistake or erase those embarrassing moments where I was awkward or imperfect. My first thought and my most ardent wish would be to relive those memories of my life that were nothing short of pure unadulterated joy where I felt nothing but happiness and love and not change a single thing about them.
marrying my husband, one more school drop off with my mom, meeting my sister's son for the first time. Those are the things worth coming back to over and over again.
The movie ends shortly after that, which is perfect because again, can't breathe. But it ends with Tim creating his own formula for happiness, which actually no longer involves the need for time travel at all. His formula is just to recognize those moments of joy and love as they happen in real time. Which is perfect because as far as I know, none of us can travel back in time yet. I don't know about you. I certainly can't. Okay. So, let me just romanticize my life now in the present and every moment so that at the end of it all on my deathbed, I can say with definitive conviction, I truly had the time of my life. Whoa.
Clearly, I don't remember the movie. Or maybe I was just really young when I watched it and I was like, "Oh, this is sad." You know? Yeah. But this occurred to me as I was watching it. The fact that he goes back in time to that moment that they're playing table tennis and the fact that it's obvious that the dad has also gone back to that moment in time. Who who knows how many times he's gone back to it for both of them. It was that stupid little game. Yeah. Oh my god. I mean like Jesus [ ] Christ. [Music] Yeah. Thank you for that beautiful reminder. Don't thank me. Thank my sister. Thank Darren. Thank you Chris. Thank you, Richard Curtis. Thanks, Richard Curtis. Those reminders never get old. No, this is why entertainment like that exists. To [ ] like hit us over the heads and be like, "Wake the [ __ ] up." Yeah. Romantic. I love that you put it that way. Romanticize your life right now. God, that was beautiful. Thanks. Came back swinging, you know. Yeah, it really hurt. Oh my god. [Music] All right. I'm nervous. You preemptively pulled the tissues already. No, no, no. That's just No, please. This is Okay. Okay. Okay. Um I'm not going to blindside you. Okay. We'll end it cute. Yeah. This is very very light. Okay. Cool. I mean, obviously I still cried, but not like that. Good thing I went first then, huh? Yeah, I know. That was Thank God.
Oh, man. Okay. All right. So, yeah. Hard [ ] pivot. Let's [ ] go. I missed a pivot. I know. Whoa. Okay. This is a much needed pivot. Okay. So, I would like to start off my segment today by asking you a question to tell me about one of the best meals you've ever had. I think I know what you're going to say. We were talking about flavor-wise, right? Like meal like you went out to eat a meal. Yeah. Like an an experience. Yeah. Yeah. I actually have this ready. It is one restaurant I had in uh Bangkok. Yes. I [ ] knew you were going to say that one. Oh my god. Mark Wis. My husband loves Mark Wis. He's like a food YouTuber. Highly recommended this restaurant called Soy in Bangkok. I I think about it constantly. Incredible. Incredible. The waitress was wearing a tube top Heineken dress. Love it. It's like seared in my memory. I love that. She was great. Was it like the food itself? Was it the vibe? The first bite of that salad was like, "Oh, I didn't know flavors could do that. I didn't know food could taste like that." I love that. It was so [ ] good. Yeah. And it was a salad. Like, you don't go like, "I'm really excited for this salad." No, it was so [ ] good. It was like lemongrass, prawns, garlic. I love a lemongrass. I [ ] love lemongrass, dude. I [ __ ] It was so good. Lime. Oh god. I knew I knew you were going to pick that one cuz you talk about it a lot because like it's been so seared in your memory. Yeah. I actually don't know what yours is. I know. I actually when I was writing this I was like what is mine? One of them that comes to mind is also in Thailand. So I was like I I can't say that one. That's too annoying. So instead I will talk about one of the meals I had in Kyoto when I was in Japan. We were walking home and it was super rainy. We were so hungry. We ducked into the first restaurant we could find and it's an okonomiyaki place and we sit down at the little bar. Mhm. I hadn't had okonomiyaki before then which maybe was a mistake because everything else after ass. I see. There's like a bashameal sauce on top. It was It was incredible and it was unplanned too. And then it ended up being the best meal of our entire trip. Love that. Yeah. Well, the reason why I want to recount all of our really annoying international travel. I'm not gonna be annoying and pick a meal in Thailand. So, I'm going to pick a meal in Japan instead. Exactly. The reason why is because today I want to talk about a food travel show called Somebody Feed Phil. Okay. Have you watched this? I have not. Yes. I can see in your face. You look confused. I love that look of confusion. I hadn't either. My cousin recommended it to me. I was actually like, I don't know what I want to talk about. First episode back and she was like, I think you should watch this. I cried twice and I was like, le thanks for doing my homework for me. Damn, we should have eaten a snack before this. So sorry. So yeah, I'm about to just talk about food for like 20 minutes. But first, a little cook context, sources for today, the show itself, Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, and then an article for Variety titled Somebody Feed Phil star Phil Rosenthal on the perils of filming a food show. If you saw my cholesterol levels right now, dot dot dot by Brent Lang. So, Somebody Feed Phil is a documentary series on Netflix following producer and writer Phil Rosenthal as he eats his way around the world. He's joined by family and friends, new and old, travels to far away lands, exploring culture through meal after meal after meal. It's currently on its eighth season, which was released in this past June, 2025, and it's one of Netflix's longestr running unscripted shows. Also extremely important, incredible theme song. Um, there's like a can somebody feed Phil.
Yep. Not as good as that, but up there. But before I get into the show, I want to talk a little bit about Phil because you look confused. So, I will enlighten you. Who is Phil? He is the creator of late '9s, early 2000s sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. If you've never watched this, you've definitely heard of it at least. I didn't really grow up watching this too much. I don't think my parents were watching it very much, but it's about this dude Raymond, his wife, their kids, and they live across the street from Raymond's parents and brother. And that's the premise. That's it. But beloved sitcom, it ran from 1996 to 2005, won 15 Emmys. So, yeah, a little embarrassing. Um, but Phil is the creator. He is the brains behind it. So Phil is warm, eccentric, goofy, what you would imagine a sitcom writer to be like huge dad vibes in the best way. He will There was one episode in San Francisco. He was like in line for a croissant at Tartine and it's so good that he turns around he's like, "Have you tried this? Have you tried?" Like everyone like 4 foot radius around him. Um, yes. Which my dad like totally, you know, like, "God, have you you should try the croissant?" Yeah. You should try the thing that it's known for. Yeah. Um, but he it's I love it. He's just so enthusiastic. Every single bite he takes, he is loving the [ ] out of it. Like his eyes will get really wide and he'll be like, "What?" Yeah. What? Oh, I love that. I love that. I love it when you're not [ ] pretending to be too cool to enjoy what you're doing. Yeah, he really
vibe. And as you follow along on his travels, you immediately feel like you know him. If I saw him in person, I'd be like, "Oh my god, Phil, it's me." You know, but yeah, his energy is so contagious and everyone he approaches is like family to him. And then he has his actual family who he also just adores the [ ] out of. He has a brother named Richard who is actually the executive producer of his show. So he's always behind the camera and even though he's behind the camera, you see him so often because Phil is always baiting him like try this like he'll like eat the whole [ ] like chicken wing and he'll be like try it, you know, like there's nothing left. So you see Richard a lot and then his parents also played a big role especially in the beginning cuz they passed as the seasons went on but at the end of every episode he would Skype them Helen and Max in their little high-rise New York City apartment with their super thick accents. They are crowd favorites immediately because they can't hear Phil. They're arguing with each other. It's it's incredible. And it's so I think after they've both passed in season 6, he did like a memorial episode and he basically says I modeled the parents in Everybody Loves Raymond after my like cuckoo ass parents. So in addition to Helen and Max, we have his wife Monica and then he has two kids and one of his kids, his son is actually part of the production crew, too. And then, you know, as he goes to these different cities, he'll sometimes he'll have his wife join or he'll have his daughter join. The dream. My god. [ ] dream. The dream. [ ] And that is one of my favorite parts of the show because he just has so much love for his family and he's just like, "Fucking come along with me." Yeah. On this ride and let's enjoy what this world has to offer together. Mhm. Another thing that I love about this show is that as light-hearted as it is, when Phil travels to a new city, he will also explore its nuances. So, he'll get a little bit into the history, and sometimes it's grim. It's not always rainbows and butterflies, but he'll also emphasize the way immigrants have shaped a local cuisine. So, so he'll touch on weightier things like that, which I appreciate because that's why you travel, you know, to get a clear understanding of the world. Yeah. Yeah. In all of its nuance. So, while he does try this traditional food or he'll try like fancy restaurants, he'll also try modern interpretations of classics. He'll go to random street vendors. He'll try fusion dishes. Sometimes he'll even try a cuisine that is completely like not from the country. Like in Copenhagen, he had like a Mexican place. It looked incredible. You know, she cuz the chef obviously from Mexico and Yeah. Yeah. So, I love that he doesn't just limit himself. Mhm. And then at the end of each episode, he will, for the most part, he will gather all his friends, everyone he's met along the way, everyone he's invited to join him on his meals, and they eat one last meal together. And it's beautiful. In this interview he had on Variety, he said, "This show is the culmination of everything I've strived for my whole life. It's everything I love and value. Friends, family, food, travel, and laughs. We have a limited time on Earth. Those five things are what I'd like to remember.
Anyway, anyway, so today I want to talk about an episode from Phil's most recent season, and this is season 8. It's the seventh episode titled Manila.
Nope. No, no, no, no.
So, Phil was first introduced to Filipino cuisine by way of his parents' caretaker. Are you crying? Yeah, I'm already crying. His parents care.
His parents caretaker is We're Filipino, by the way. Just Just for anyone that doesn't know. Yes. Yes. Our families are from the Philippines. Yes, we are. Our families are from the Philippines. That's great. Thank you for that context. This is why we are already tearing. But he was Phil was first introduced to Philip
Phil was first introduced to Filipino cuisine by way of his parents' caretaker, Isabelita. So, as they were getting older, she was like their favorite person. So, in this episode, we watch him for 40ome minutes explore Manila. The episode opens up. He's touring Intramios. Have you ever been there? Mm-m. Okay. So, this is in the city and it was the site of the Spanish rebellion and it's now this city that's crawling with life there. All these Spanish walls erected. But as they touch on in the show, there was a lot of pain and bloodshed because this is where national heroes like Joseé Rzol fought for our freedom from the Spanish. So, I appreciated that. That was like the first thing that he opens up with. M and then you know throughout the episode he goes to the fancy restaurants and then he also rides around in a jeepy who again for our non-filipino cryb babies. A jeepy is like a jeep like cab that is weaving through the streets of Manila and picking up and dropping off people. Very chaotic, very quintessential like what you see in the streets of Manila. And he even has lunch with the Jeep drivers at their local spot. And I love that it's a pretty honest look at what life in Manila is like. You have this juxtaposition of wealth, extreme extreme wealth and extreme extreme poverty. Mhm. So one thing that through all of that really shines through for me is I'm reminded of the resiliency of the Filipino spirit. You know, after centuries of being oppressed and being a colonized people, so many impoverished, suffering from this tremendous wealth gap, there's still so much joy to be found. We are a people that can't be broken. And that act of sharing a warm meal with each other is one of the best ways that us Filipinos celebrate life and find those simple joys. Can't wait to do that after this recording. I'm starving. I know. I can hear your stomach growling. Hopefully the mic doesn't pick that up. But I just want to show one one little scene because we could I mean we could watch the whole episode. I'm so excited to watch this. I know. I know. When I get home. Yes, I know. It's a really good episode. So, one scene that I want to show you today. In this scene, Phil and his wife visit a restaurant in Manila called Toyo by Chef Jordie Navara. Shout out Jordy. Um, stunning restaurant, of course. Stunning restaurant. Moody, beautifully curated, nicer than any restaurant I've ever been to, clearly in Manila. And I think the chef is out of town, cuz usually he'll have the chef sit down with them, obviously. Obviously. And in this case, he had the chef's wife sit down with them as well as their business partner. and they're so cute and funny and just so warm. And throughout the meal, there's a I think I'm assuming she's a chef because she knows so much about food, but I also know things about food as a non-chef, but I'm pretty sure she's a chef, so we're going to call her a chef. But her name is Ces, and she's walking them through every course as she brings it out. And she's she's so cool. If if it were me, I would be like, "Oh my god." Like, you know, I would I would try really hard to be her friend. Um, so they're like halfway through their meal and Ces comes out and she has this huge basket of raw vegetables and it is the 18 vegetables from the children's folk song Bahai Kubu. So again for the non-filipino cryb babies, Bahay Kubu is it's it's a children's folk song that you grow up hearing in the Philippines. And do you know this song? I don't. Okay. You've probably heard it though. It's like
no. Okay. So, this is guarantee anyone who grows up in the Philippines, if you ask any, you know, ancestors, old aunts and uncles, they'll all know the song. And the English translation is my humble hut.
My humble hut may look tiny, but the veggies around it sure are many. Um, it's literally they're just talking like squash, radish, onions, tomato. It's just a list of vegetables. But the chef explains that the next dish that they are going to serve is a mixture of all of these vegetables. So, I'm going to just show just show you that little scene. This is on Netflix if you want to follow along. It's around the 10:45 mark and Netflix does that weird thing where it's about like how much time is left. So it's like the 33 33 minutes left mark.
So when are we going? When they invite us. Okay. So in the scene, Phil and his wife are eating this garden salad. And much to their surprise, before they actually bring out the food, Cass is like, "But first." And she busts out this guitar and they start singing this folk song about Hikubo. And when I watch this, okay, so a little bit of context here. My cousin Angelica gifted Sana a book of Tagalog children's folk songs. And this is the first song on there. So this is why I [ ] know all the lyrics now because we listen to it like almost every day and Sana will like try and say the words too. And so when I watched this I was um a little shocked like I didn't know I didn't know it was like they were going to come out and do do this do the most. they were going to do the most. And it was just so overwhelming for me because here is a people who have put so much thought and effort and love into the dishes that they're bringing forward. Mhm. And then they bust out in song and it's this song that every Filipino probably knows. And again, literally a song about vegetables, but that's the thing. It's not just a song about vegetables. It is an ode to the food that nourishes us, an ode to the abundance that we can always find, no matter how humble our roots are. Even in that scene, Jord's wife says, "The Philippines isn't it's a poor nation, so we've had to be creative and resourceful, right? That's how we've come up with these dishes." And these simple lyrics just really showcase that gratitude in song form. And another piece that I love about it is for you non Filipino cryb babies. I feel like food and song are like the pinnacle of Filipino culture around the world too. Especially with social media, people are starting to learn like, oh my god, like why does every [ ] Filipino know how to sing? you know, and singing is just such a core part of how we celebrate life, too. And to see this group of chefs at this really fancy restaurant, everyone comes out from the kitchen and they're all gathered around. They're all singing this song and it's like it it just brought me back to every single one of my family gatherings has been bursting with flavors and music. That's just part of it. That's part of our way of life. And to see them celebrating this meal as if it's just like this huge momentous occasion, it was just I was I was overcome. I've never eaten at that restaurant. I mean, I'm down to down to shout out Jordy. Jordy, our socials are beerbbecrying. I've never eaten there. I don't know the chefs, but I do know what it's like to search for joy and find it in those simplest pleasures. Even in the hardest times, especially Especially in the hardest times. There's definitely a version of me who would have cringed if I saw that compulsion to burst into song. I think a younger part of me would always be like, "Ah, ah, that's so embarrassing." I'm thinking about um my dad, you know, constantly would always do. It doesn't matter where the [ ] he is. Just a couple weeks ago at the farmers market, he was like dancing and like singing along to like the the guy who's playing guitar, and my dad's like, "I'm so much better than him." And I was like, "Oh my god." So there's a I think a young part of me who would be like ah you know but as I've grown in my understanding and really paired my life down to what what the [ ] really matters. Bursting out into song is what matters. You know what matters is sharing a meal, enjoying each other's company, savoring that bite and just finding joy however we can. So, thank you, Phil, for reminding the world how how beautiful the Filipino culture can be and for reminding us what we all feel so deeply in our bones, and that is that food is love. You can taste.
Delicious. Yeah. I think we've talked about food before on the show and what it means to serve food. Yep. We did it during an intro when you talked about chicken soup in Korea. Sorry, we're so annoying. Yeah, in Korea. This time it was Korea. Um, but yeah, I I think you nailed it with your closing, which is that there is such a story behind the act of making people food. Mhm. But there's also just as beautiful a story of tasting that food and feeling that love in that bite. Yeah. That's why I love that Phil's wife cried cuz I was like, "Oh, she got it. She [ ] gets it. She [ ] gets it. She [ __ ] knows." You know? Mhm. That was beautiful. Yeah. Watch the episode, everyone, if you haven't yet. That's it. We're done. So, you can eat now. Yeah. Sorry. I just want to like linger on it a little bit more because, you know, I I I know how important food is to most every culture. you know, it is something that is so personal and so specific to whatever culture you come from. So, even if you know you're not Filipino, I think what we strive to do on this show is tell these stories that may not fit the mold of what exactly your life looks like, but there is just such a universal thing underneath all of these feelings. Mhm. food, music, it's just about connection. Is there anything better than just sitting down and enjoying a meal with someone you love? I mean, it's all that matters. I can't wait to go to our world tour and stop in Manila and eat at Toyo Jordy. Jordy the Jordy.
All right. Wonderful. Look at us. Look at us. It feels so good. Well, thank you for listening to us. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for honestly just being really patient. I can't tell you how many times people are like, "Um, where's the pot at? It's here. We're back. We're back." Yeah. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for lending us your ears. As always, if you have not yet had the pleasure of following us on socials, we are at Berbby Crying. on Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube. Write us a little review if you loved it. Can't hurt us. Unless it's less than five stars. Sorry, that's um my little my little caveat. But yeah, it feels so good to be back in this space with you, Nins, and everyone tuning in. I love this. I love being here. I love talking about what the [ __ ] this life is about. Mhm. and then sobbing until I can't breathe and the snot is dripping down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, thank you for joining us for this hour. We'll catch you at the next one in two weeks. Mhm. Don't forget it. Don't we change things up. Don't ask us where we are in a week. But until then, brb crying. [Music]
Until next time…brb crying :’)