When I think about my undergrad years in the University of the Philippines, my mind doesn’t drift to the typical everyday campus memories composed of org life, jeepney rides, food trips, and the beautiful scenery.
College life wasn’t boring at all. But if you ask me the highlight of the six years I spent in university, it had to be her—the classes I shared with her, the classes I cut with her, the in-between moments that we just spent together.
How can it not be the highlight? All those six years in college make the most of our now 9-year relationship. We’ve spent over a third of our lives being together. When I think of UP, I think of her. When I think of us, I always go back to the in-betweens spent at The Chocolate Kiss Cafe.
I have my usual orders: The Devil’s Food Cake with its super smooth and chocolatey fudge linings (a personal forever favorite), the cheesy and chunky Spinach Dip, and the Chicken Kiev—the first-ever dish I tried from their mains which left me with no regrets with its tasty and flavorful recipe.
We had a lot of small dates between our classes at the quaint cafe located in Bahay ng Alumni. We’d often share cake samplers because we couldn’t decide on just one cake. On days we didn’t want to spend too much on food, our go-tos are a plate of nachos (because one serving was so loaded and can last us the entire day) and the Spinach Dip with a couple of bread refills (because it was just that good and we both loved our carbs).
But when I think of Chocolate Kiss, my mind would always go to their Baked Potato. I don’t even recall ever trying it, but my girlfriend would always get that as her order. Our dining experience won’t be complete without this hand-sized baked potato wrapped in foil and loaded with a delightful mix of colorful toppings.
It was her favorite. She’d have it after a tiring exam, a productive lab, an exhausting PE class, a great lecture or just any other lunch day. She’d just always go back to that baked potato.
Funny enough, when I tell her about it now, she doesn’t seem to remember. But then again, I’ve always been the one to remember those kinds of details in our relationship. She was the more responsible one, reminding me about errands and deadlines. My job is to remember the other, mundane memories we share—like the taste of some side dish we ate randomly in a place we only went to once.
The Chocolate Kiss Cafe was a place of comfort for us. It was home to everything simple—of simple times, of simple choices. I can already see the black monoblock chairs, fresh flowers on the table, a beautiful display of cakes, familiar strangers in the background, and in front of me would be her with her baked potato. It was a safe space that felt like home.
We were just two UP students in love who wanted to have nice sit-down dates with full meals that wouldn’t hurt our wallets too much. Chocolate Kiss always gave us that.
I get all warm inside and my mind plays a romcom-esque montage of all those baked potatoes. It brings me back to easier times, times that I wished would never end—just being there with her and not worrying about anything else, just being happy, and in love.
Memories inside the cafe call me back into that feeling—when it felt like we were going to last forever as if it were that easy. College allowed us to just be, since the world didn’t demand much from us yet. Times are different now, and there are more gray areas than there are moments of clarity. But at the end of each day, she’s just really my baked potato, I’d choose her any time and any day of the week to share a table at The Chocolate Kiss Cafe with.
✺ Words and art by Carla Francisco
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CARLA IS AN ALMOST ARCHITECT TURNED MAGAZINE EDITOR TURNED ART INTERN TURNED FREELANCE VISUAL ARTIST AS SHE TRIES TO FINALLY GO AFTER HER DREAMS. SHE’S INTO BOTH DIGITAL AND TRADITIONAL ART. YOU CAN FIND HER AS @CARLANORBS ON INSTAGRAM.
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