House Parties

House Party in Bochum

Personal Collection

Filipinos love to eat, and some love to cook and entertain but hosting house parties have become less and less as I grew up. Although my mother still prepared merienda for almost 20 of my relatives every Sunday, cooking and hosting at home has become less common. If it were at home, it is often catered. It's just much more convenient. Otherwise, families go to a restaurant, and for bigger parties, certain sections of restaurants are closed off to make it private. 

But not in Germany. Or maybe in all of Europe? Or perhaps it's a student thing. Aside from the notes above, I've become accustomed to eating and drinking out when with friends. Gone are the drinking/load up sessions at home before going out back in college. Perhaps, it is indeed a student thing. 

When I initially got here, I wanted to keep on going out and try all restaurants possible. I wanted to soak up the restaurant scene (and practice my little German too). But it was difficult to find someone to keep on going out with as often as I was used to in Manila -- at least 3-4 dinners a week. Let's not talk about lunch and coffee dates, even exclude literally night outs. And even in little Bochum, dining out is expensive. We once went to a tapas bar and spent about EUR 30 each. We were full but not so drunk. For my pre-birthday dinner at a Greek restaurant, we spent just about the same, to think we shared viands and just had two servings of drinks each. 

So in Bochum or in Ruhrgebiet, house parties seem to be the only option. It sort of makes me depressed. What's the point of dressing up? And if you host, you smell like the kitchen. If you shower right after and before the guests arrive, pasmado ka! (What's pasma in English?) And since it's student accommodation, it's far from being aesthetically appealing (maybe it's different in Japan or Scandinavia). Everyone comes with a bottle of wine, a six-pack, some chips, maybe some chocolates and dessert but never really the main course. The host will have to provide the real meal, the music and the venue. 

Imagine, since the first week of November, we've had house parties every week, and three more in the pipeline leading up to the end of classes before the Christmas break. If it's not a concert, people tend to bring the party home. 

But after seeing this entry by the Parlour Dinners, house parties seem to appeal to me again. Now, I feel like a hypocrite. You see, house parties here are not like the ones my friends' C and S host with the chef bothers in Manila. Then, they were chefs in the making but the menu was carefully planned and the dinner was meticulously prepared with the best ingredients. And of course, it's nothing like the student house parties here in Bochum. As the cliche goes, that's comparing apples and oranges. The same thing applies to supper clubs and house parties. 

Thanks to the article though, I was reminded about the opportunities for good food, bonding, and entertaining that house parties provide. For a foodie and home-cook like me, it's a chance to exercise my Marthe Stewart-tendencies which I gave up for my Sadako Ogata/Madeleine Albright dreams. 

A few weeks ago, I hosted a house party to celebrate my birthday with my classmates and floormates. Since I had class all day, I had an easy menu: I roasted several packs of BBQ chicken wings which I bought from Aldi, and prepared my tried and tested creamy tuna pasta -- I've been making this since I was 14 years old. Then there were unlimited crisps and pretzel sticks. A floormate prepared mini cupcakes with white chocolate mascarpone topping (see above), that complemented the chocolate cake and ice cream I had (this time from Netto). I had a few bottles of wine and my classmates brought more but it was not enough. The room was dark, music was good. Friends were full, buzzed (but just one puked), and danced. 

Maybe it was a good party after all. But next time, I'll do it ala supper club -- restaurant food served at home. 

And guess what, there are supper clubs in the my immediate neighborhood! 

http://rebelotesupperclub.blogspot.de/ (Dusseldorf)

http://pasunrestaurant.wordpress.com/about/ (Frankfurt, Cologne, and Dusseldorf)