tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155402122012-02-02T15:59:04.703+08:00food to sweeten lifeKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.comBlogger3681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-59806097130774291022012-01-27T17:48:00.000+08:002012-01-28T13:44:51.886+08:00

gabi "babies" It was a long weekend and several groups of family and friends were scrambling to plan where to go and what to do. I was game for anywhere and whatever, but two days before Saturday I received a text from my kids' school asking me to fetch my eldest, who was feverish. The youngest had fever the night before, too, so I tentatively informed everybody we may not be up for any

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-7474308389654450552012-01-16T18:50:00.000+08:002012-01-17T16:43:40.831+08:00

This is part of an ongoing series, "Tinapay," about local breads found in street corner bakeries across the Philippines. To me, ensaymada is to tsokolate as the pestle is to the mortar, the chef's knife to the chopping board, salt is to pepper. One's function ceases to exist without the other. My mother disagreed. A heavenly breakfast to her is a cup of hot tsokolate with suman and ripe mangoes

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-18503242170551949242012-01-09T19:00:00.000+08:002012-01-16T16:45:02.815+08:00

Rains have marked the first few days of the new year, cooling off an otherwise balmy holiday season. With a marked tropical depression uncharacteristically so early in and off-season, and with northern Mindanao still reeling from the devastation of the last typhoon, 2012 does not bode well. But Filipinos are intimate with floods and typhoons, and treat rains as blessings. And so the weather

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-78963443238064355632011-12-16T06:30:00.000+08:002011-12-22T00:40:35.406+08:00

Starting October, all around Pangasinan, and all along the McArthur Highway in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga, the rounded crowns of mango trees have been sprouting clumps of brown leaves as if wilting and exhibiting symptoms of deciduous trees preparing for winter. For those not in the know, it may look alarming. Are the mango trees dying? But for those who grew up under the trees' shade

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-52010684503776892462011-12-14T18:30:00.000+08:002011-12-15T11:32:43.125+08:00

Christmas of last year I received a container of ube halaya from a friend working at the state airline company. Apparently, this ube has long been famous among PAL ground and air crew, and when I had a spoonful of it I realized it had every reason for being so. It is not as smooth as Good Shepherd ube, but chunky. Not chunky with big cuts of unmashed ube, but with uniformly diced bits, chewy

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-29466189832889445112011-12-13T00:30:00.000+08:002012-01-05T16:49:47.477+08:00

gourmet tuyo Tuyo and tinapa are usual breakfast staples in the Philippines. They are eaten with insanglil, sinangag or rice left-over from the night before which is stir-fried and topped with crunchy-fried minced garlic, sunny side-up eggs, and preferably achara, or sliced tomatoes with mashed itlog na pula (salted duck eggs). Yes, we eat rice all day long, starting with breakfast, and full

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-22227617526946980542011-12-07T18:51:00.000+08:002011-12-07T20:24:49.132+08:00

Finally we're having cold weather - I thought it was going to stay hot til Christmas. But the rains haven't let up yet - which is helping a lot in cooling the surroundings. Showers in the mornings, dark horizons at noon - they somewhat exacerbate my befuddlement at the darkening skies as early as 5PM. The rains have been arriving daily since after Undas, so much so that I've found mushrooms at

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-18472292934520490692011-11-21T17:25:00.031+08:002011-11-22T19:11:37.787+08:00

I am told this is a fine example of Southern Tagalog tamales. Tamales is a Filipino indigenization of the portable, wrapped food that originated in Mesoamerica (Aztec/Mayan/Incan civilizations) called tamal or tamale (plural tamales), which found its way to the country via the Spanish conquistadores. I thought tamales was a regional delicacy in Pampanga, but Kapampangans affirmed there was a

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-8215558775787676992011-11-19T13:25:00.004+08:002011-11-21T17:25:08.449+08:00

I loved the city of General Santos, a former B'Laan tribal settlement named Dadiangas which refers to the endemic trees proliferating in the area. It was renamed General Santos after the commanding general of the Philippine Army who led the resettlement of migrants from Luzon in 1939. It is a highly urbanized city, with interesting hotels and restaurants, but without all the wretchedness. The

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-58717838612702271552011-11-17T20:58:00.009+08:002011-11-19T11:20:04.510+08:00

Here is a glimpse of how people in Sarangani celebrate. I had lunch at the General Santos City branch of our office, and while we watched Mommy D being interviewed on local TV, we feasted on tilapia.Yes, that's right. Tilapia, humongous tilapia, as massive as a platter. I checked to see if we were still in Lake Sebu. But no, the tilapia was from the cultured ponds of Alsons Aquaculture, which

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-74003436115637135022011-11-14T16:51:00.041+08:002011-11-19T10:59:45.492+08:00

I had heard about the roads in southern Mindanao, and the airport, and the infrastructure being developed there. I had heard the projects were funded by foreign agencies.Actually being in Sarangani and South Cotabato was an altogether different experience, so far removed from mere hearsay. Yes, the highways were the widest, the smoothest even though they weren't coated with asphalt, and no speck

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-80548497374332942282011-11-12T20:39:00.054+08:002011-11-19T11:03:24.785+08:00

Last week the municipality of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato celebrated Helubong, its foundation anniversary. It's a fairly new town, having been ceded from the town of Surallah only in 1989. And I remembered the enchanted time I spent there. For the longest time I had been aching to go there, having been fascinated since the late nineties by the tales of a trainor-consultant. He said the lake sits

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-5212625126571679922011-11-01T12:19:00.033+08:002011-11-03T07:49:44.673+08:00

All roads lead to cemeteries today. As they have been leading from cities to provinces and towns for the last week. It's All Saints' Day, though it's called Pista'y Inatey in Pangasinan, or pista ng patay, feast of the dead. It's one of three celebrated holidays in the Philippines, when people trek home to gather with kith and kin. The holiday moniker is an irony, because it is much more a feast

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-22000600484162712852011-10-06T08:59:00.007+08:002011-10-07T19:36:50.818+08:00

It's finals week for the second grading period and my gradeschoolers and I have been reviewing about the unique characteristics of Filipinos for their culture and civics class. Among the list of magagandang katangian in their textbook was the trait katatagan ng loob, which is about equivalent to resiliency, or strength of spirit. This trait was specifically attributed to Overseas Filipino Workers

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-23719553994873204012011-09-06T13:06:00.009+08:002011-12-07T19:51:24.458+08:00

Uong na pungol is the Pangasinan term that is the equivalent of the Tagalog kabute sa punso, or kabuteng punso. Literally, these are mushrooms that sprout from anthills, which are regarded in the highly superstitious Philippine countryside not for what they really are, but pungol or punso are quite fearfully considered as the dwelling places of dwarves. So I'm a bit surprised at the

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-36916133988406297322011-08-23T07:36:00.011+08:002011-09-06T11:16:26.864+08:00

Generally speaking, edible Philippine marine and fresh fish run the gamut of grayscale, including the tints and shades in-between, interweaving with hues of brown. Which goes to say those colorful tropical reef fish are for snorkeling purposes only, more or less.But there are exceptions of course – large pelagic fish like red snapper (maya-maya), red grouper (lapu-lapu), parrotfish (loro) and

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-28685167854677562582011-08-20T12:26:00.010+08:002011-09-05T12:58:56.951+08:00

I had thought chiesa have gone extinct. I had them intermittently as a child, because our next-door neighbor, a grand-aunt, had a tree in her backyard and we had unlimited access to it. Not that I would go out of my way to climb the tree and harvest the fruits. I didn't like chiesa (chesa, tisa, canistel) as a child - the texture was like eating wet chalk, the sweetness not as pronounced as

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-85179790392323337612011-08-18T07:07:00.007+08:002011-08-19T14:30:34.618+08:00

These fruits are available year-round, though they vary in volume and price, and the degree of sweetness, at certain times. Papayas, called apayas in Pangasinan, and pawpaw outside the country, are cheap throughout, going at Php20-25 per kilo. In photo above are the native variety, which grow out in humongous sizes. The skin is thick and smooth, the flesh either yellow-orange or a deep

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-31149535927529947252011-08-16T15:13:00.015+08:002011-08-16T16:54:01.191+08:00

Having been acquainted with the "pointless" sili in Cagayan Valley, I came home to Cavite to find pots and pots of the real stuff - siling labuyo, all abloom and sprouting young fruits - at my public market suki, who sources vegetables from Tagaytay City. My suki said this is the authentic siling labuyo - short, stubby, and so fiery it'll cut your tongue off. I got so scared I didn't buy a

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-21586521591221097632011-08-15T16:57:00.006+08:002011-08-19T12:49:52.602+08:00

I just couldn't leave the series on my trip to the Cagayan Valley region without mentioning the pastries I brought home as pasalubong to the kids, in addition to the carabao's milk pastillas and chicharabao. I've mentioned previously that I didn't see any souvenir shops in Tuguegarao City. It was just providential that just across my hotel there was a grocery store, where I bought the milk

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-25252025941048213542011-08-11T17:17:00.015+08:002011-08-16T14:43:54.014+08:00

So someone called me the night before I was to leave Tuguegarao, and begged for those Ilocano sili. I thought, sili? I've heard Ilocanos put sili into their pakbet and most anything cooked, but I thought so do we, though not in pakbet. But I know its value - rendering dishes fragrant and spicy - and put it in anything that could benefit from it. So what's the deal about it in Cagayan? Turns

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-83714933723284103942011-08-10T14:32:00.018+08:002011-12-10T18:56:00.692+08:00

Pancit - noodles, but generally it refers to stir-fried (guisado) noodles - is, I think, the most influential legacy of the Chinese to the Philippines. Of course, I'm biased because I love pancit. And furthermore I love to eat. But go to any major city in the Philippines and there will always be a panciteria (a hole in the wall that serves mostly stir-fried noodles). Not just that, all towns,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-6897028117052474722011-08-01T13:41:00.012+08:002011-08-16T15:00:04.872+08:00

carabao's milk pastillas Carabaos (Bubalus bubalis carabanesis, a subspecies of the water buffalo) are the beast of burden in the Philippines. They are considered sacred, though the idea of working hard something that is sanctified is a bit conflicting. But the kalabaw is not deified like cows in India. Rather, it is accorded respect, even treated as a family member, for its role in a highly

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-68831003627250536162011-07-27T12:14:00.003+08:002011-11-15T17:21:06.739+08:00

There was a period in my childhood when I shuttled back and forth between Pangasinan and Isabela, first with my mother, and through subsequent years with my younger siblings as they were born. We spent summers there, and holidays, too, running around gravel-lined roads in a settlement surrounded by bald mountains. It was exotic, because I had grown up in the plains of central Pangasinan, with

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-76234869132447240692011-07-07T10:18:00.030+08:002011-07-25T14:44:09.900+08:00

This fruit has attained legendary status for me, because I've heard a lot about it, yet I've rarely seen it. Oldies tell me it used to be common in my hometown, but nowadays it has ceased to exist. I once came across an old woman at the public market selling paraphernalia for gagalen (nganga) who had a couple of sorry-looking, shriveled dalayap, and for my entire life that was my only encounter

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-89222568234691084332011-06-30T15:24:00.016+08:002011-11-22T17:59:06.038+08:00

Lugada is an authentic Caviteno dish that involves sauteeing seafood with greens. It's usually a showcase dish for sting ray, but I learned recently that it is also good with dilis, or anchovies.And because I had access to fresh dilis, and because I didn't know how to clean and cook sting rays (though I don't lack instruction - vendors at the market assure me they would clean and chop the ray so

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-61021346426123337682011-06-23T22:04:00.008+08:002011-06-30T15:24:18.019+08:00

Pansit con Sabaw, De Luxe PanciteriaThe other day my kids' yaya was distraught and had to call me from school because she had brought my son his lunch, but the boy was so engrossed in the film showing of Jose Rizal's biopic that he didn't want to take it. I perfectly understood my son, as I often forget about meals myself when I am involved in something, so I let the kid have his way. But yeah, I

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-32413539380880488202011-06-16T22:09:00.023+08:002011-07-29T13:55:29.934+08:00

It intermittently rains in Cavite now, what with LPAs one after another, usually embedded in ITCZ, sometimes bonding together to form a super typhoon.When it rains the whole day, no fish can be found at the Cavite wet market. Fishermen cannot go out in the inclement weather, and fish dive deep to avoid the commotion at the sea surface. Whatever fish is being sold at the market after the rains

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-59032414904301844342011-05-31T16:34:00.028+08:002012-01-16T20:15:17.709+08:00

This is part of an ongoing series, "Tinapay," about local breads found in street corner bakeries across the Philippines. I am familiar with Southern Tagalog crunchies due to Metro Manila's proximity to the areas where these are part of daily life. A lot of officemates hail from there, who bring the munchies after weekend trips back home. Less frequent though much savored road trips to

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-32374671994878364052011-05-24T17:37:00.011+08:002012-02-01T17:08:02.964+08:00

I am always giddy with anticipation every time a trip south is scheduled - to the Quezon Province, and even on to Bicol, as long as it involves a road trip. The one, sole reason for my fevered agitation is Quezon's special tikoy, that hefty, copper-colored block of malagkit, sugar, butter, milk, and cheese mixed into sticky sweetness that defines what ecstacy is for me. I don't need to

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-76049379599906789912011-05-17T19:45:00.005+08:002011-07-02T15:22:23.934+08:00

The first and last time I went to see the Pahiyas Festival in Lukban, Quezon was 16 good, long years ago, when I was with friends visiting a friend and we were all blisful, carefree singles. Now we are joyfully blessed with kids, and we thought it was time to introduce the festival to the next generation (ugh, it feels old to write that), and to relive our past adventure. So with eight kids in

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-69760259607295570242011-05-06T19:46:00.006+08:002011-11-15T17:20:08.194+08:00

Certain areas in the Philippines call for a road trip. Besides having a lot of cool and lovely places to stop by, with million-dollar views along the way, the more important thing is that the roads are wide, smooth, and kept in top shape. While I was growing up I had heard of two places discussed among adults as road trip havens. Ilocos was one, because then President Marcos took care to have all

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-48611825959846180062011-05-04T18:39:00.008+08:002011-05-05T15:00:05.237+08:00

I always come upon a tree or two of pias (kamias, Averrhoa bilimbi) with full-grown fruit clustered all around the trunk. Or a bare one, the trunk all bald and lonely. But I never knew what the buds looked like. Or that they first blossomed before developing into sourness.About a couple of weeks ago some small pias fruit started appearing in the fruit tray at the dining table. Upon inquiry my

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-58318017771945840542011-04-12T17:54:00.000+08:002011-04-12T18:46:19.583+08:00

Halo-halo, that mix of boiled, sweetened rootcrops, beans and saba bananas, with a handful of shaved ice lodged in, poured with a dollop of milk, then topped with a thin slice of leche flan and a spoonful of ube pudding, is the ubiquitous favorite Filipino summer snack. By February every street corner across the country sprouts a table laden with jars of the ingredients and a chestful of block

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-24815936677058239872011-03-30T19:08:00.010+08:002011-03-30T20:44:38.051+08:00

The blazing hot Philippine summer season means it’s tangay-tangay time. In the Pangasinan language, tangay-tangay describes people – children and adults alike – who are always looking up towards the heavens.And that is because during the sultry months, most trees teem with fruit, branches laden with so much that they are almost perpendicular to the ground, and one ripe fruit is bound to slide

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-40663358356092682102011-03-26T22:56:00.004+08:002011-06-18T13:37:02.219+08:00

I enjoy going to the wet market of Cavite City. I've been going there regularly for four years now, every week without miss, except when we are out of town on weekends. I've more or less become familiar with the cycle of seasonal fish. I've come to know that there won't be a lot of fish choices today, even no choice at all, when it rained throughout yesterday. And I've expanded my horizon and

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-10085917874119970912011-03-22T16:48:00.002+08:002011-07-02T13:44:56.337+08:00

These fresh beans have been lately appearing in the spread of my suki vegetable vendors, both in Cavite and at the Guadalupe "peripheral" market (along the busy alleys where Ilocanos and Batanguenos sell, and not inside the sprawling official market building). I sometimes come across them still in their pods, and I buy them freshly shelled.But at other times they come already packed in small

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-32441981294790397072011-03-18T16:29:00.011+08:002011-03-18T17:01:05.582+08:00

My heart goes out to all those who are facing undefinable loss at this time from the monstrous earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan. I spent a month going around the country one winter years ago, marvelling at the delicately beautiful landscape and ancient structures, at the same time gaining many tomodachi Nihhon-jin. I failed to keep the communication with them over the years, and my

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-16188237904469803182011-03-11T12:46:00.011+08:002011-03-14T12:37:36.382+08:00

It melts in your mouth, leaving a swath of orange oil coating your lips, which you won't hesitate to wipe away with your tongue. It's hot with the fire of finger chiles, aromatic from the bay leaves and whole black peppercorns. It's flavorsome, the meats infused with all they've been stewed with. That's Ilonggo adobo, braised in vinegar and annatto oil until they mellowed and let the flavor of

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-11952769792256217642011-03-04T22:40:00.014+08:002011-03-05T14:29:44.907+08:00

Most of us have forsaken, during the last ten thousand years, the nomadic chapter of our history as modern humans. But we had hunted and gathered for roughly 5 million years, that doing so had been implanted as a basic instinct that is passed down in our inherited collective memories. I can prove that with the unexplainable behavior of my kids. Don't think my kids are weird, as my friends think

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-43058125735401201652011-02-23T18:36:00.000+08:002011-02-23T18:36:00.564+08:00

I was given these two samples of a citrus fruit picked from a tree at the backyard of a family friend in Muntinlupa City. I thought they were dayap, but the househelp quickly pointed out that dayap are smaller, remain green, and that these are actually cabelew, the local term in the Pangasinan language.Cabelew echoes in my childhood memory banks, and is indelibly associated with unripeness, of

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-56861051100249505082011-02-22T09:04:00.002+08:002011-05-04T18:58:15.652+08:00

As a rejoinder to the post immediately preceding this one, where I talked about going natural, I'd like to swallow some previous words. Eat pancakes, specifically.For, more than two years ago, I extolled the consistent, moist and delicious quality of a local pancake brand. Reading the post now makes me cringe - it sounds like a paid write-up, though of course I've never done such a thing in my

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-50289074030617386272011-02-17T16:12:00.009+08:002011-02-19T12:03:57.058+08:00

Early on in my life I've adopted the back-to-basic approach to eating - slow food, natural, balanced but with emphasis on plant sources. Perhaps this came about because I've had to deal with a hereditary, untreatable disease in the family at a very young age, and health had always ranked high in our priorities when I was growing up.It helped that the normal, every day diet of Pangasinenses

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-70273593578113232072011-02-04T20:44:00.010+08:002012-02-01T17:13:48.183+08:00

I spelled that title like how it is pronounced in Pangasinan. The common spelling elsewhere is "buchi," but in the Pangasinan language the vowels are hard but does not involve a puckering of the upper lip, while the lower lip is extended down like the floor is acting on it like a magnet. This is not Pangasinan butse, though. This is more like mochi from the plains of Central Luzon, and maybe

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-78899962701192730262011-01-25T13:49:00.001+08:002011-02-04T16:05:18.629+08:00

That is the color of the flowers of baktaw or bataw, and the color that runs along the edge of the pods, despite appearing lilac in the photos, while still alive – by which I mean while still attached to the plant. But they turn a paler hue of lavender after being harvested for selling. And of course when cooked, that lovely tinge disappears altogether. We had stopped by the roadside to buy daing

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-47322237606787588282011-01-16T10:54:00.007+08:002011-06-18T13:37:43.055+08:00

Not a lot of fish can be found at the market in Cavite lately, just the usual caballas (mm-mm), small yellowfin tuna (mm-mm), tilapia (from Batangas, mmm!), bangus (from around here, noooo!), squid and talakitok(expensive).I'm missing small tulingan, dalagang-bukid, asohos, even galunggong and blue marlin. Only two kinds of shell abound - clams and mussels, but the clams have disappeared, while

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-28903743136736663902011-01-12T22:53:00.005+08:002011-02-17T18:28:19.183+08:00

The last quarter of the year up to the first two months of the new year is what my husband calls "peak season" in the family. Besides the festive Christmas season, all of us celebrate our birthdays during this time, our hometown fiesta falls in January, there’s the much-hyped Valentine’s Day, and we also head up to the mountains for a large-scale annual reunion in February. And we all know that

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-86074440027534729382011-01-06T20:16:00.003+08:002011-01-13T13:47:36.944+08:00

No, I’m not calling you names. Balimbing is actually a fruit, not a two-faced person. And balimbing is five-faced. Well, a worse member of the human race can wear more than five faces, but it’s unfair to associate human folly with something so innocent.Especially something so pretty, as well. And sweet. The name has been much maligned with its designation as a disloyal bottom-feeder, and kids

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-84687959884579585692011-01-04T17:33:00.012+08:002011-03-23T17:54:27.680+08:00

The label "special" is really meant in Neng’s Special Bibingka. It’s big enough to be a cake, the moist crumb eggy and buttery with a refined sweetness, the itlog na maalat not bitingly salty but brings just the right contrast, is outstandingly fluffy yet dense not airy. And it is available only during the Christmas season and thereabouts. Despite living in Cavite for a number of years now, I’ve

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-64704142974381036962010-12-24T07:39:00.001+08:002010-12-26T16:41:59.276+08:00

Back in the days when I was young everybody had a member of his immediate family working in Saudi (KSA). That is, everybody excluding me, as my father worked in the country, and my only relative abroad was in Australia. So every other classmate in my class had big baons (snack money) because the riyal’s exchange rate was very high, and they wore branded clothes and shoes, to school.I don’t know

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-3727815857732449712010-12-08T19:43:00.009+08:002011-01-13T14:46:28.903+08:00

So the Christmas season is upon us, and a surprise awaited me at the onset of Advent - this bloom that had suddenly sprouted amongst the small "grove" of turmeric beneath a coconut tree.I had inserted (insukit in Pangasinan) into the loose earth some broken thumbs of luyang dilaw that had shrunken like a lola's fingers about a year ago. I had been trying to grow edible things in the property

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-49980318334052508152010-12-02T20:21:00.002+08:002010-12-06T20:44:56.367+08:00

The mother, and the entire family, of my friend and Bacolod host for two trips now is a veritable source of information on Negrense food and traditions. She recounted how baye-baye is made in the countryside, and explained what distinguishes a good one from one that is ordinarily made (it’s all in the toasting and grinding). She pointed out where best to sample things, bought and offered cassava

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-33765039037108057612010-11-26T20:15:00.002+08:002010-12-06T20:45:27.616+08:00

Having started this series of posts on the food of Bacolod and Negros with the MassKara festival – borne out of the misery experienced by Negrenses with the slump of the sugar industry in the 1980s – I thought it fitting to end it with a piece that shows how sugar production is doing today in the island. In sweeter notes, this time.For there is Alter Trade, believed to be the leading

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-48781678721517333712010-11-23T19:29:00.009+08:002010-12-06T20:48:24.345+08:00

Negros Occidental, whose capital is Bacolod City, is an island of vast sugarcane fields. It is the country’s major cane sugar producer, exporting to other parts of the world. Of course the industry had a major impact on the foodscape of the region. Traditional Negros products are guaranteed to induce sugar highs – piaya, butterscotch, napoleones, biscocho, baye-baye, pinasugbo.In Bacolod,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-3761246053596021392010-11-19T14:04:00.001+08:002010-11-23T20:05:56.597+08:00

Here's a cursory look inside the Burgos Market in Bacolod City. I was there on a Friday morning, and I was surprised that it looked sleepy, what with just a few people shopping, the stalls not fully occupied. But the selection was nonethless exciting, and I found some very interesting things.The shells I have seen somewhere else, though not in Pangasinan nor Cavite. Somewhere in my other trips, I

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-22302371219537038822010-11-17T19:58:00.010+08:002010-12-02T20:48:28.428+08:00

In the scruffy fashion of restaurant dining that is SuTuKil of Cebu, or Breakthrough in Iloilo, or Luz Kinilaw of Davao, the nameless stalls by the beach all over the islands of the country, and of course the centralized, macro version that is Dampa/Seaside in Metro Manila, Bacolod holds its own with an even better version. 18th St. Pala-Pala promises excitement in the intimate encounter with

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-31181431523482221542010-11-11T19:25:00.014+08:002010-12-02T20:50:39.342+08:00

Aboy’s seems to be the Bacolod equivalent of Breakthrough in Iloilo, Silverio’s in Dagupan, Stephanie’s in Tacloban, Bob Marlin’s in Naga – it is where you take guests from out of town to experience the best of the local cuisine.Aboy’s is native to the hilt, a large open pavilion structured with bamboo, or bamboo look-alike, nipa, capiz, though there is an equally huge air-conditioned area that

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-1985480608182178592010-11-09T19:03:00.006+08:002010-12-02T20:55:21.201+08:00

I have eaten chicken inasal by many and varied establishments, from exports Chicken Bacolod, Mang Inasal, the former mall foodcourt king Ilonggo Grill, to the one and only Tatoy’s by the beach in Iloilo. But I was in Bacolod, and I did not neglect to go basic, as far as inasal is concerned. For I went to Manokan Country.Inasal may have started here, and inasal is done best here. Manokan Country

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-15638567652825452322010-11-03T10:51:00.013+08:002010-12-02T20:56:03.586+08:00

Baye-baye is this rice delicacy that's as common as sugar in Bacolod, yet is held in so high esteem that it is served on special occasions, and is so much a part of traditional celebrations.Particularly on All Saints' Day in the island of Negros, tradition dictates that baye-baye is made, the preparation and eating shared by kith and kin converging in the family household, the departed loved ones

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-80085375607901230632010-10-26T17:43:00.006+08:002010-12-02T20:56:42.139+08:00

Because of previous posts on the food of Bacolod prior to my trip, and some readers’ comments to those posts, I had a line-up of traditional places to visit in my itinerary. Foremost of these were the cansi houses along the old shopping district, in an area that can be considered Bacolod’s Escolta, full of dilapidated buildings, dusty from years past and forgotten by time. Cansi had been

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-4410777117962037412010-10-21T17:18:00.006+08:002010-12-02T20:58:49.972+08:00

From southeastern Luzon I jump over to the other side and land on genteel soil, in Bacolod City on the island of Negros (in the western Visayas), to let the kids exult in the revelry of this year’s MassKara.The city of Bacolod celebrated its charter day last Tuesday, but the 72nd founding anniversary was preceded by two weeks of festivities, the most well-known of which was the maskara festival,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-83454251626427073162010-10-13T12:03:00.016+08:002010-10-20T18:39:13.982+08:00

What else to bring home from Bicol aside from bade and bags? Pili, of course, in all imaginable forms. Pili brittle, roasted pili, crunchy pili with honey, pili tarts, pili marzipan, pili-coco jam, pili bar, salted pili, it can go on and on. No apologies needed, because that nut associated with the Bicol region can only be found in the eastern middle portion of the country - from Bicol down to

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-14921847030509475842010-10-05T12:33:00.005+08:002010-10-18T14:08:40.153+08:00

Bob Marlin in Naga City is the favorite go-to place of my officemates in Bicol. The last time I was in Naga three years ago we had lunch and dinner there. This time around, we went to Bob Marlin for our post-conference socials. The small restaurant was packed due to the Penafrancia, and especially since we went there on the last working day of the week. We sampled the latest offering, Sinigang

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-47421581763096406952010-09-30T19:52:00.007+08:002011-03-12T13:59:56.213+08:00

Binatog is this common street food in the general Luzon area of boiled, whole white corn kernels that's eaten with grated young coconut and sugar. I haven't developed an affinity to it, as I had been warned by elders when I was a child that the combination of coconut and corn is lethal for the stomach. And of course it is streetfood, with all the gruesome reputation attached to it. But when you

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-29399261631982117722010-09-24T20:09:00.013+08:002010-10-18T14:06:17.417+08:00

The morning before the translacion, before the downtown streets were closed, I took an early jaunt to the Naga public market, which was within walking distance from my hotel, being just a couple of blocks away. I had been to Naga almost exactly three years ago, and the market had been one of our stop-overs then. My main agenda was the bade, or dried fish (daing), section. I was able to procure

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-11794923142673300462010-09-22T12:00:00.008+08:002010-10-18T14:05:24.216+08:00

Pinangat is a traditional Bicol dish that's sold by vendors who walk around town starting around lunchtime. The entire morning is taken up with the preparation and cooking of pinangat due to the amount of work involved. The seafood of choice - usually shrimp, but also fish - is chopped fine, mixed with onion, garlic, spices, wrapped in gabi leaves, then slowly cooked in coconut cream in thick

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-55636326581243509942010-08-31T20:17:00.005+08:002010-09-17T12:08:42.962+08:00

If you know anyone who has been to Mindanao - anywhere in the island - chances are you likely received as pasalubong durian candies - those long, thin rectangles of hard pastilles that give just a hint of durian flavor. Mainly, though, they are sweet and milky. They are common across and in the breadth and width of Mindanao - I've been to areas in the north, south, southeastern and northwestern

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-51037244136493459252010-08-23T13:07:00.004+08:002010-09-17T12:14:59.913+08:00

I see no glamor in eating crabs and shrimps, which require full employment of one’s craws and possible spatters of sauce and fat on neckties and blouses when a carapace proves too hard to open. I belong to the school that advocates eating crustaceans at home. But in Davao, fresh seafood is king, and it’s glamorous to eat them. Anywhere. And everywhere. So it's not surprising there's this open-air

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-246733573231461472010-08-11T17:53:00.020+08:002010-09-17T12:15:35.273+08:00

Because of the Philippines’ proximity to Taiwan and China, waves of Chinese migration to the country date back hundreds and hundreds of years. So Filipino culture is bound by so much Chinese influence, especially since trade with the Chinese go back a thousand years, from the tenth century.And since the Chinese are business savvy, much of Philippine commerce is lorded over by the Chinese. The

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-91217105681818004692010-08-04T17:18:00.015+08:002012-01-25T16:59:37.237+08:00

This year there must be an incredibly enormous bumper crop of mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana L. (elsewhere known as purple mangosteen to differentiate from other varieties, which I haven't come across yet in the Philippines), that legendary fruit pined for by people living in the higher latitudes because it only grows in tropical climates, and only in this part of the equator. Never have I

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-29143684623600407612010-07-28T12:58:00.019+08:002010-09-17T12:16:05.719+08:00

Davao is fruit-land. It is home not just to durian but many other fruits that are not ordinarily found anywhere else in the Philippines. Davao pomelo, for example, is a class of its own among all other pomelos growing around the country. It is the sweetest, perhaps because of its size - it is one of the smallest - so the sweetness must be from concentration of flavor. The average size is slightly

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-88024758393005160722010-07-09T18:01:00.040+08:002010-09-17T12:26:17.265+08:00

Everybody who had been to Davao always had this line to tell me - the smell of durian assaults you the moment you step out of the plane. I’ve never been to Davao before. Besides being too far from Manila so that airfares were never slashed down, and because there are no natural wonders, like a nice beach or a waterfall or a raging river or a thick rainforest, that beckon to me, except of course

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-10927372477591437772010-06-25T13:26:00.002+08:002010-07-09T18:00:50.985+08:00

Tawilis Bouillabaise (Php95, single serving)A former elementary and high school schoolmate, whom I don't ever remember speaking with, emailed me this link to an article published sometime in late February, upon discovering this blog and that one of my interests is food and its correlated activities, cooking and eating. Basically, that article talked about Filipino-American (Fil-Am) chefs whose

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-76719301426077289722010-05-25T15:55:00.011+08:002011-03-24T16:09:39.644+08:00

Marunggay (malunggay/moringa, Moringa oleifera Lam) leaves are commonly known in the Philippines as a nutrient-packed vegetable and a very economical cooking ingredient, that I thought everybody else ate the other parts of the tree like we do, as well. That is, until I brought home some friends from my college dormitory in the summer of our freshman year. The first dinner at home my mom served

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-52679488884931132262010-05-18T13:01:00.017+08:002010-06-16T11:30:31.945+08:00

Okay, enough of mangoes. It's all piko and pajo (which in Pangasinan we call pao, accent on the last syllable) now anyway, the cache of carabao variety seems to have dried up at last. We don't eat ripe pikos as is, but they're good as a flavoring ingredient, especially to pastries and other baked goods, or incorporated in desserts, like mango sago. Pajos we only eat unripe, with rock salt and

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-3000759231368567932010-05-12T12:34:00.008+08:002010-05-15T14:26:41.198+08:00

When a lad too much in a hurry to be a man embarks on an adult undertaking and fails, like courting a girl, perhaps, people remark "bubwit pa kasi," an expression that compares the lad to baby mice, which downplays the failure because of youth. More often that not the bubwit gets contracted into bubut - "kasi bubut pa eh" - the Tagalog term for a budding, or immature, fruit. These mangoes, though

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-39308491974862586062010-05-07T15:17:00.011+08:002010-05-18T13:08:37.730+08:00

I've been in high heavens for months now because mangoes - real good ones - have been flooding the markets with no signs of abating. The price per kilo is not very stable, but at least it doesn't go beyond Php60. With some patience and a good nose for bargains, one can even find Php35-40/kilo ripe carabao mangoes in unlikely places - at the fruit section of SM Hypermarket at the Mall of Asia, for

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-44757150501756555212010-04-30T13:31:00.006+08:002010-05-05T17:24:53.383+08:00

Pinaputok na Bonuan BangusThe beaches that abound in Pangasinan are vey much accessible to everybody - not a lot of resorts have been put up to appropriate any length of shore, so that most of the sandy areas defining the Lingayen Gulf remain free to the public. So investors/business people didn't think resorts that rely on the "artificial" waters of a swimming pool as attraction would sell.

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-58583822971164403202010-04-27T12:42:00.011+08:002010-06-03T11:38:04.810+08:00

Seafood Kilawin with Itlog MaalatOut on the beach with no baon and not exactly in the mood for grilling? Order inkalot a bangus (grilled milkfish) from the many houses by the roadside parallel to the shore. But if one prefers an entire spread of Pangasinan dishes at minimal effort, there are actually restaurants along Bonuan beach.The most famous is Matutina's restaurant, which grew exponentially

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-46012285024565840202010-04-23T17:00:00.012+08:002010-05-04T15:00:30.856+08:00

I am a beach bum. I grew up to be one. My kids are growing up to be beach bums. Pangasinenses are raised to become beach-bums.Gifted with an extensive coastline that wraps the northern, northwestern and western portions of the province, Pangasinan is beach country. So Pangasinenses' all-time favorite pastime is going to the beach. Entire barangays, school classes, clans, barkadas arrive at the

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-25391409380698281472010-04-16T18:52:00.014+08:002010-04-29T12:31:29.314+08:00

Paella PastaFrom one mountain getaway to another, we go to the country's summer destination, equally, if not more, popular than its Southern Tagalog counterpart even though it is way up in the northwestern portion of Luzon and a good six hours away by land (air trips have been cancelled years before). But it's quite summer there, last I heard, the temperature hovering around 30 degrees, the

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-86545295257640608832010-04-13T15:24:00.006+08:002010-04-16T18:51:54.361+08:00

Guyabano ShakeIt is the height of travel season in the Philippines. Schools have just closed, there had been two consecutive long weekends plus three more to come, and summer is in full swing. It is the ideal time to hit the beach, which is the most abundant of all tourist destinations, because at this time the waters are warm, the waves gentle, the shallows devoid of jellyfish. And rains will

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-8788523939766357782010-04-05T13:04:00.034+08:002010-04-13T12:17:07.445+08:00

Kilawing Talaba What better way to end the Lenten season than to hold a poncia? Poncia is the general term for a party in Pangasinan, but one that is centered around food. It is a party on a grand scale, and as I mention in this blog time and again, it is an undertaking by an entire barrio or barangay – people come to help in the preparation and cooking of the handa, or the dishes to be served,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-44417012858112495832010-03-22T16:15:00.012+08:002010-03-30T16:04:26.332+08:00

There I was talking about shallots the other week, when the American living the sweet life in Paris, David Lebovitz, whose incredible wit and humor I absolutely adore, writes about a roast chicken with caramelized shallots a few days later.I have been experimenting with different flavors and seasonings for roasted chicken for years because it's so versatile and very kid-friendly (for my own kids

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-88487265835200078722010-03-11T20:30:00.009+08:002010-03-24T10:44:13.155+08:00

As the heat intensifies the surroundings become awash with vibrant color. Nature loves to come out in the heat, in every color imaginable and even in varying shades. That's why we have flower festivals and festivals honoring the Virgin Mother with flowers during summer. But there is one tree who appears to counteract the intensity of hues during the season. But it still looks festive, like a host

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-3027915488234615362010-03-08T13:20:00.019+08:002011-07-02T13:52:34.774+08:00

During summer, you'll know when you've hit the province of Pangasinan going through the Camiling, Tarlac route, which goes into Central Pangasinan, an alternative and less-traffic-dense way from the MacArthur Highway (the way to Dagupan or Baguio) skimming the northeastern part of the province. You'll know you've arrived by the pungent smell that wafts from the warm earth and assails your nose,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-43674330452975996052010-02-26T21:46:00.011+08:002010-03-02T17:43:59.416+08:00

It's doomsday all over the news. The El Nino - the unusual warming in the Equatorial Pacific - is a dreaded phenomenon this year. The Philippines' entire eastern length is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, after all, and the warm waters' normal effect on the country is devastating droughts.El Nino has just arrived, but its influence is already felt massively. The once burgeoning San Roque dam,

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-12396784804433546222010-02-24T13:30:00.008+08:002010-03-02T16:39:10.157+08:00

Well...not exactly. They don't taste like they came from heaven, like they want to claim, as they've been christened Manna Crisps. No, not heavenly - not heavenly soft, nor heavenly sweet. They're the exact opposite. Unyieldingly hard - not even crispy - and almost bland but for a small hint of salt and the flavor of herbs.I think what the creators wanted to come up with was a way to heaven, in

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-69481674489419795352010-02-09T13:11:00.019+08:002011-07-02T14:00:18.065+08:00

It used to be, before pastries and cakes and ice cream concoctions and cold salads of canned fruit, that candied gundol* was one of two (the other is, by default, leche flan) featured desserts in any festive occasion. And I mean really festive - grand celebrations like Catholic baptisms and fiestas. And probably even weddings. These occasions, in those more serene times not so long ago, were a

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-42285983511264437392010-02-02T17:43:00.003+08:002012-02-01T17:24:09.487+08:00

Kulambo is Pangasinan-speak for tikoy, the soft, sticky snack made by mixing ground glutinous rice with sugar and water. I don’t know why it is called thus – the Tagalogs refer to kulambo as that netting put atop your bed to ward off mosquitoes as you sleep at night, which we in Pangasinan call, aptly, mosquitero/moskitero. As much as the name is a curiosity, this tikoy is also distinct among

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-7417538994139289092009-10-31T10:41:00.005+08:002009-11-01T15:45:36.676+08:00

My kids have been bugging me for a pumpkin. But of course, in these tropical isles, there is no way I could find one. Maybe a giant squash, but the skin would be splotched and not as orangey. But SM has been carrying mini pumpkins for about two years now, and currently sells them at Php220 (roughly US$5) a kilo. I relented this year, and bought three small pieces that weighed in at just over

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-90045208764210928932009-10-28T12:36:00.013+08:002011-10-07T19:21:27.844+08:00

To all who have asked, yes, we were affected by the flooding in Pangasinan, but not to the point that any damage sustained was irreparable. At the least, it was an inconvenience experienced for a few days. As I've pointed out to queries, our distress was nothing compared to what many, many Filipinos in less unfortunate locations have suffered. Nevertheless, thank you very much for the concern.It

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-39472497587467977332009-09-25T17:13:00.007+08:002011-06-18T13:38:32.703+08:00

Cavite City is a narrow piece of land jutting out to Manila Bay, which curves back and points to the reclamation area in Pasay City, so that on clear nights we could see the twinkling lights of the piers, the Mall of Asia, and the various skycrapers as far back as those in The Fort in Taguig City. The limited soil space explains the absence of agricultural fields, and freshwater ponds. Salt ponds

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-11710337551899190102009-09-24T17:26:00.006+08:002009-09-24T17:54:24.028+08:00

I'm publishing more photos of the sireles (which I first spelled as ceriles) fruit, this time taken and very kindly sent by Mr. Antonio Medina, who also permitted me to use these photos in this blog. Mr. Medina took these photos from the trees in his own orchard, which cements the fact that the fruits on the tree in front of my house that I mistook for being sireles are of another kind. As for

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-91068029100681854912009-09-15T17:29:00.007+08:002010-03-16T11:59:04.013+08:00

Possibly the sweetest pineapples in this part of the globe. Not a fibrous inch is sour, the center core soft and entirely edible.It is of the small, probably the smallest, variety found in the Bicol region, average size is that of a medium fist. A whole pineapple can easily be consumed by one person, or split into three wedges. Nowadays, though, the Bicol pineapples are not consistently sweet.

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-20957161573705130572009-09-10T13:25:00.005+08:002011-02-04T16:00:51.138+08:00

[pickled bamboo shoots]This is not really cooked atsara-style, but more of an adobo, sauteed in garlic, onions then splashed with vinegar and left to cook. But it tastes pickled like a true atsara, sour and crunchy, and is eaten like an atsara, accompanying anything grilled or fried. And we call this atsara in Pangasinan. It is what happens when shoots mushroom around bamboo groves during the

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-27500879711467064512009-09-04T13:07:00.017+08:002011-07-20T12:50:00.683+08:00

The name of this Waray delicacy has accent on the second syllable, so it doesn't refer to those jerks you don't want to work with in the office. I don't know why it's called thus, but it's probably a local term that doesn't in any way relate to the highly popular English word with Greek origins. It's something luscious, generates happiness and induces a state of high due to the pureness of the (

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-2795616232430564892009-09-01T13:50:00.006+08:002012-01-16T20:17:35.542+08:00

[fr foreground, left, counter-clockwise: corioso, roscas, hopia de pili, delicias de pili] This is part of an ongoing series, "Tinapay," about local breads found in street corner bakeries across the Philippines. Tacloban City is the trade and commerce hub of Leyte and the island of Samar to which it is connected by the country’s longest bridge, the San Juanico. It is the regional center of

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-33908230845897767452009-08-26T16:31:00.015+08:002010-03-16T12:04:56.799+08:00

I bet nowhere in the Philippines, and probably even across the globe, can one find a seafood buffet spread of baked fresh scallops on the shell, fresh blue crabs done three ways plus crispy crablets, grilled tuna panga (yellowfin maw, or jaw), fried shrimps, plus a host of meat dishes including a goat stew, all in unlimited servings for the measly price of Php200 (roughly US$4). But such a buffet

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-19574334965079491872009-08-25T11:41:00.009+08:002010-03-16T12:15:00.925+08:00

I was in Tacloban City, in the province of Leyte, for two days, and I found it strange to be imbibing soup for breakfast. I commonly have soup for breakfast, yes, but my breakfast soups are mainly meat soups - broths made from boiling bony meats, added with macaroni pasta (for chicken soup) or noodles. These are usually thick or thickish and carbohydrate-laden, a meal in itself. The soup I had

Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0