What makes a meal memorable? Is it the company? 😀 The type of cuisine? 🍱 Or the exquisite dessert? 🍰 Give yourself a few minutes to think. It’s not so hard to pick them out, right?

After all, we don’t remember most meals we had while we were traveling. Don’t you wish you wear a memory chip that just replays food moments you want to watch again? (Thanks for the idea, Black Mirror, but I’ll pass.)

I believe we remember things because of their meaningful connections and this article from The Guardian confirms my conviction. Not forgetting certain things – like meals we took great pleasure in – makes us who we are.

So if I were to pick three of the most memorable meals from my trip, this would be my list:

3. The Stellar Vegetable Meal I had in Sagada on Valentine’s Day with Jewel.

Never in my life had I tasted broccoli and cauliflower so crunchy and oh-so-good. As I savored each morsel, I was thinking how I could get seconds or an extra serving to go. Jewel was a witness but I’m not sure she remembers. I still do and I always remember Sagada as one of the best places to get a plate of the freshest vegetables.

2. My first-ever Sili Ice Cream and Pili Nuts Cappuccino in Legazpi.

My Bicol trip was a bold move as it was the first time I traveled without any companion. That alone sets this trip apart from the rest. When you are an introvert on the loose in a strange city, your first instinct is to grab some comfort food. And nothing says comfort than ice cream or milky coffee. (Not combined, please. Consume separately.) In Legazpi, both had a distinctive twist: the cup of cappuccino was topped with local nuts known as pili while the strawberry ice cream was flavored with chili pepper. Who’d forget these weird combos? Not me.

1. The life-saving grilled chicken in El Nido, Palawan.

A series of bad decisions almost made us beg for food on our last day in El Nido. It was the first long-term travel Neil and I took so we were not big on budget planning and estimating cost. Instead of leaving enough cash for our El Nido trip, we spent most of our extra money in Robinsons Mall, Puerto Princesa buying shorts, sunglasses, and other unimportant things. So on our last night in El Nido inside our dark yet beautiful hut, , we found ourselves P200 away from starvation.

Fortunately, an aroma from somewhere nearby got our attention. It was a small, almost easy-to-ignore stall grilling chicken that saved us from sleeping hungry. The 200-peso grilled chicken came with free rice. Up to this day, I remember how good that serving of chicken was.

What about you? What meals do you remember best from your travels? Why do they stick? Share them in the comments! (You know you want to.)