Tammy: Inihaw na Bangus, Steamed Rice and Tomatoes

The standard lunch break lasts from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. In more flexible workplaces, it may extend till 2:30pm. If you're the boss or owner, it could very well take up the whole afternoon.

However, it was past midday when my officemate, Tammy sat down for her meal at 5pm: Grilled Bangus and rice. As a Project Manager, her day is focused on managing the projects of corporate clients for an activation agency. It is a tedious job that involves scouting for event venues, overseeing coordinators, auditioning talents--all the small details needed for successful implementation.

"I eat around 2, 3 or 4pm," Tammy says, as she wolfed down the boneless grilled fish, alongside a side dish of sliced fresh tomatoes and atchara. When one is focused so much on the nitty-gritty details, it's easy to lose track of time. She pairs the sweet, tangy Bangus with a spicy concoction of 3 pieces of crushed siling labuyo in soy sauce and calamansi juice--the perfect afternoon kick after a long day of poring over cost estimates.

Eating at odd times is something I've been guilty of. As a freelance floor director years back, I'd stand up for a full eight hours, refusing to remove my headphones and let go of the cue cards as I fully ignored the cold McDonald's Cheeseburger, stale fries and watered down Coke that sat at one sad corner: my lunch and dinner rolled into one meal, a reward for a job well-done.

Breakfast on the go has also taken on a whole new meaning. Both my mom and I would munch on granola and raisin bars while downing bottles of pine-orange juice as we switched lanes along EDSA. When the objective is to get to your meeting (which you're already late for due to Manila traffic alone), there's no time to think about sitting down for a proper brunch.

Yes, meals have migrated from dining tables to cars and workstations, from break time to crunch time. Constantly on overdrive, we rush our food to keep up with the pace of our professional lives. This is no longer the age of "dressing for dinner." The idea of eating properly and on time, let alone with a fork and spoon, has started to escape us faster than you can say "Drive Thru."

So, when was the last time you ate on time, I asked Tammy.

"Two months ago?" she answered. "I ate your baon, remember?"

That's when I realized I had left one-half of my Pork Sinigang that day she finished mine. That afternoon, I had to rush to a meeting.