We had tinapang bangus for lunch last Saturday, and before I could begin eating, my father asked me to make him a patis-and-calamansi dip. I never thought those two worked well together.

"Yan kasi ang kinalakihan ko," he explained. "Patis at kalamansi."

So I did what I should do. I took the large bottle of patis on the cabinet, took a calamansi from the chiller and struggled with slicing it in two. After finally doing it with a larger knife, I squeezed out all the juice in a small plate - I can't call it "platelet" even if it sounds funny - on the dining table. And then I tried it.

It actually tastes good. I didn't know.

I don't really use patis in everything. I don't hate it, though; I think the pungent smell of patis, whether it's made from fish or shrimp (or I'm confusing it with bagoong), is one of the best Filipino cuisine has to offer. I just didn't like the way it'd season things unevenly. When I was a child, my mother would place a lot of sinigang broth on my rice, something which I didn't exactly enjoy, but eventually appreciated as time passed by. Anyway, she would also sprinkle patis on the place, so I don't have to season it myself. I got annoyed by the fact that some parts of the plate taste saltier than others.

Only later did I make my official, gastronomic excuse for not using patis: I like my foods with their natural flavors intact.

Thus, I am not fond of soy sauce, although not as much as patis. I appreciate condiments like ketchup and mustard, but seasonings are a totally different thing. Still, I use patis when I have to - when the bulalo is too queasy and the utak gives me a headache, for instance; patis supposedly makes the taste more bearable. And I agreed.

And, since we were there already, why do we only use calamansi for its juice, rather than its minute amounts of pulp?