On the 153rd birthday of Philippine national hero, get to know what the man's favorite eats, sort of like a foodie adventure into his stomach.

What were Jose Rizal's favorite food?

Answers: tinola (which was served at an event in the opening chapter of Noli Me Tangere), ginisang munggo, and tuyo (which was called sardinas secas). For dessert: toasted pastillas, yema, and empanada

the dried fish called tuyo and fried rice, Jose Rizal's favorite breakfast

What's his favorite fish?

Answer: ayungin (silver perch), endemic to Laguna de Bay, served in different ways, with hefty servings of rice. This was also narrated in his acerbic novel Noli Me Tangere where he wrote "the ayungin is good for sinigang; leave the biya for the escabeche, the dalag and the buan-buan for pesa." They are actually typical Filipino food.


What's his favorite breakfast?

Answer: no happy meals here but it's fried rice, tuyo and tsokolate eh (Spanish hot chocolate using tablea)

Now, Jose Rizal's secret to his genius is in his genes then later developed through hard work and study. It will not help you be a genius if you eat the same food he ate but at least you know geniuses eat like ordinary people.

Labels: Filipino Food, Jose Rizal

Featured on various TV shows as serving "very good" and "to-die-for" halo-halo, a Filipino dessert of various sweet ingredients mixed with shaved ice and milk, it litterally means "mix-mix" and is one of Filipinos favorite desserts during the hot summer months.

Tutubi, when he visited the town of Kawit, also passed by Barangay Digman in Bacoor town to sample this famous ice concoction named after the village of its birth (and you thought it's named after the owner of the place?)

There are actually two of them "holes in the wall" in Digman claiming to be the original (plus another 2 or more beside them) and you guessed it right, they both have the name "Original" appended on their registered name (much like the Original syndrome on buko pie shops in Laguna): The Original Digman Halo-halo and BC2 Original Halo-halo. One of them even had the name patented but not enforced (a patent holder doesn't necessarily mean the original, just the first to legally claim the name or idea or innovation)

Tutubi chose "BC2 Original Digman Halo-halo Talk of the Town" as it's the one with parking space (read: vacant street parking in front, unlike the other "Original" halo-halo parlor) and this is his take on the famous dessert this side of town.

BC2 Original Digman Halo-halo costs PhP55.00 (with ice cream), regular variant costs PhP45.00 on the menu

Digman Halo-halo ingredients (sangkap/sahog):

Tutubi counted twelve ingredients on the counter:

Beans, corn, ube halaya, mongo (mung beans), minatamis na saba (sweetened banana), green and red gulaman (gelatin), langka (jackfruit), nata de coco, macapuno (mutant coconuts), sago. Note the usual suspects: shaved ice, leche flan toppings then ice cream for special halo-halo orders. (Does it have lambanog (coconut sap wine) as secret ingredient?)

Review of Digman halo-halo:

One word: overrated! Sometimes, simple is better probably why Razon's halo-halo (or it's derivative Teresita's) stands out from the rest. Yes, there were many ingredients but even with that number of ingredients don't make it sweet and creamy, in fact it lacks creaminess factor even if Tutubi tried to add more milk to compensate.

The beans, yes the beans, Tutubi's favorite halo-halo ingredient (or sometimes he prefers just the beans with shaved ice and milk) were not cooked right-- not tender and bit raw. If they're in business for quite some time, how come they don't know how to properly cook the beans?

Is it worth going all the way from Manila just for this? No, but if you're the area, probably near Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, it's worth your try if you just need to sample it yourself. Tutubi prefers just going to Hidden Tapsi for tapsilog frugal food find, even taking out half-kilo of tapa, which rumors say are horse meat (tapang kabayo) and not beef tapa.


How to get there:

GPS coordinates: 14°27'37"N 120°56'34"E

If you're still looking for some kind of Bacoor Food Trip or even Cavite Food Trip that includes Digman Halo-halo in your itinerary, here's a map of Bacoor town proper where you can see old stone church of Bacoor upper left and Digman Halo-halo upper right. Manila is to the right while Cavite City and Kawit town is to the left.

If you have a private vehicle, you can get there fastest from Manila via Cavitex but you need to exit via Bacoor then turn left towards Bacoor town. Look for a road after passing Bacoor Church where you turn left.

If you're commuting, you can get there via buses from Baclaran and drop by just before you reach Bacoor Church (Church of Saint Michael the Archangel)

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Filipino Food

This is Tutubi's personal list of Filipino restaurants he visits in Quezon City, with native restaurants at least and some Asian cuisine at most that caters to all budgets (except the exclusive and super expensive) from hole-in-the-wall, frugal food finds to "fun dining" place. Some were his own discoveries, while a few were from travel or food TV shows like GMA's Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, GMA News TV Pop Talk, Biyahe Ni Drew, Ang Pinaka, et al for your own version of Quezon City food trip.

As always, Tutubi paid for all his meals at these restaurants, no "pay to praise" posts here nor glowing reviews due to freebies or free meals. The list does not include native restaurants that has gone mainstream (too many branches) outside Quezon City.

If you know of other places, frugal food finds, vegetarian food, halal restaurants in Quezon City, or any recommendation, please leave a comment as Tutubi knows there are many others out there still waiting to be sampled:

List of Quezon City Restaurants (Native Filipino or Asian at most):


Alavar Seafood Grill and Restaurant (
Address: Timog Avenue, Quezon City
Remarks: try Zamboanga City's curacha and Alavar Sauce)

Aling Conching Native Chicken and Fast Food
Quezon Avenue
Remarks: closed down

Bagoong Club
Address: Scout Dr. Lazcano near corner Tomas Morato
Remarks: Bagoong themed
Specialties: different versions of bagoong, Bulalo with mongo,
Budget: PhP175.00 up

Carinderia Buffet
Address: V. Luna Avenue corner Mabilis Street, Diliman
Remarks: the cheapest buffet with native Filipino dishes
Budget: PhP149.00/person

Casa Naimas
Address: Tomas Morato near corner Kamuning
Remarks: Ilocos empanada and other Ilocano cuisine

Countryside Grill
Katipunan Avenue, Barangay Blue Ridge
Specialties: pork barbeque, crispy dinuguan, calderata

Dannylicious Barbeque
25 Rajah Matanda St., Project 4, Quezon City
Telephone Number: +63.2.440.7996
Specialty: pork barbeque
Remarks: frugal food find

Farinas Ilocos Empanada
Locations: West Avenue, Visayas Avenue
Specialties: Ilocos Empanada, Bagnet, Pinakbet
Remarks: frugal food find

Gayuma ni Maria
Address: 123 V. Luna Extension (Maginhawa Street), Sikatuna Village, Quezon City
Open 10am-11pm on Monday to Saturday; 10am-10pm on Sundays.
Telephone numbers: +6.32.441.4872; +63.921.681.8989

Jek's Kubo Bulalo at Ulo-ulo
Location: Maginhawa St. UP Teachers Village:
Specialties: bulalo

Kanin Club
UP-Ayala Technohub
Remarks: recommend the sinfully good crispy dinuguan
Budget: PhP300.00+

Lechon Capital of Quezon City
La Loma with lechon (roasted pigs) shops and restaurants led by Ping-ping Lechon

Little Quiapo
90 Malakas St, Brgy. Pinyahan (back of SSS)
Diliman, Quezon City
Specialties: palabok and halo-halo

Mang Jimmy's
Balara (near Balara Water Filtration Park)
Specialties: Tapa mix and sizzling pork sisig

Mang Jimmy's best-seller: the Tapa Mix served on a sizzling plate: yummy and tender at PhP120.00 per order


Mixxx CP3 Vigan's Best
Branches: Maginhawa Street and C.P. Garcia (Bulalo at Inihaw)
Remarks: Ilocano food e.g. Bulalo iloko, poqui-poqui, dinakdakan

Myrna's Bulalo Haus
Address: Tomas Morato corner Kamuning
Specialty: Bulalo (of course)

Nena's Special Bibingka and Restaurant
Address: Gen Romulo St., Cubao, Quezon City
Specialties: native filipino delicacies: bibingka, puto bumbong, puto kutsinta

O'ini Taste of Kapampangan
Address: 63 Xavierville Avenue, Quezon City
Telephone Number: +63.2.238.2521; +63.927.931.7360; +63.947.554.5502

Pan de Amerikana
Location: Katipunan Avenue near Boni Serrano
Remarks: sports the inverted house design, with chess tables similar to
the original chess-themed Marikina restaurant

the inverted house cum restaurant has a real red range rover with functioning headlights (photo taken by Tutubi's friend using a newly-acquired Nikon D90)

Pares Mami House (Quezon City)
Address: Amoranto (Retiro) corner Dr. Alejos
Coordinates: 14°37'38"N 120°59'34"E

Partners Pares
Location: Roosevelt Ave, near the San Francisco bridge
and Quezon Avenue

Robina Chicken House
Munoz, Roosevelt Avenue
Remarks: in front of Munoz Market, serves roast chicken for more than 30 years already amidst all the competition

Rodic's Diner
Locations: University of the Philippines and Maginhawa Street, UP Teachers Village
Specialties: beef tapa (tapsilog)

Romulo Cafe
Address: Scout Tuason cor. Scout Dr. Lazcano Quezon City
Telephone Number: +63.2.332.7275
Remarks: homey restaurant owned by the family of Carlos P. Romulo
Budget: PhP400.00 per head up

Sabroso's Lechon
Address: E. Rodriguez corner Tomas Morato
Specialty: pork lechon

Satti Grill House
Address: SM City Fairview food court
Quirino Avenue corner Regalado

Shabu-Shabu sa GW
Anonas Extension (between V. Luna and Kamias Road)
Telephone Number: +63.2.343.0178
Remarks: serves shabu-shabu with Filipino ingredients, featured on Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (June 9, 2013 episode)

Snackaroo
Matalino St. near Sulo Hotel

Spicy Tongue
Location: Timog Avenue
Specialties: Bicolano cuisine kinalas, laing/pinangat, bicol express et al

TatyStar Bakery
Address: 45 Anonas Extension, Brgy Sikatuna, Quezon City
Specialties: Toasted siopao (Naga specialty) (they even sell frozen tinuktok, sort of like laing)

The Alaskan Salmon Ulo Ulo House
98 D. Roces Avenue
Contact Number: +63.2.411.5391

Parilla
Address: Scout Reyes corner Scout Gandia Street
Specialties: Chicken Inasal, Kansi (Ilonggo version of Bulalo)

Umbul Satu Cuisine.
154 Maginhawa St.
UP Teachers Village
Status: The only halal restaurant in the area. Closed down 2012

Vieva Satti Haus
Address: 9 BMA Ave cor 94 Katinlad St., Tatalon, Quezon City
Telephone: +63.2.473.2591
Remarks: serves satti and other Tausug delicacies from Zamboanga. located near corner E. Rodriguez

Tutubi is not in any way connected with any of these restaurants/eateries listed here nor did he received freebies/free meals in exchange. For reservations and appointments, sample menu prices, events parties, please call the restaurant contact numbers or visit their official website.

Labels: Filipino Food, Metro Manila, Quezon City Restaurants

usually sold near churches in the Christmas season, puto bumbong is gelatinous rice of purple color steamed in bamboo tubes then served on banana leaves with grated coconut, butter and sugar.

Have you ever wondered why the puto bumbong is purple color?


You will usually say it's due to the violet food coloring added to the rice part of recipe but the truth is this: original, authentic puto bumbong recipe uses a variety of black rice that gives it the purple color and the unique taste.



typical puto bumbong you buy on the roadsides now are made from glutinous rice (malagkit) and mixed with food color for that purple color. So how would you know the authentic from the fake one? ask the vendor or you can guess from the price.

Pirurutong rice variety is a tad expensive than malagkit therefore the "immitation" is cheaper than the authentic one, and in taste, there's a slightly different texture/consistency if you use pirurutong. go figure it out as describing in words is not easy

related post:

Gourmet Rice varieties of the Cordilleras

Labels: Christmas, Filipino Food

Pancit Batil Patung (or batil patong) is Tuguegarao’s version of stir fried noodles topped with a fried egg topping (the patung or patong) and served with a siding of egg drop soup (called batil) plus soy sauce, spicy vinegar, and lots of raw onions.

G&B's version of Pancit Batil Patong (Solano, Nueva Vizcaya)

Rapsatodits' version of Pancit Batil Patung (take out version thus it still has no sauce and the spices mixed with it

the unique texture of the noodles and the siding and raw spices make this noodle dish unique from other regional pancit recipe specialties.

If you're looking for pancit batil patong in Manila, there's Rapsatodits restaurant on Roosevelt avenue near Frisco (between Sto. Nino St and M.H. del Pilar in front of EastWest Bank) for only P60/order good for 2-3 persons already unless you have a big tummy. there's also the special order for P80 with lots of toppings but Tutubi has yet to try it.

where is the best pancit batil patong recipe available? Tuguegaran, Cagayan? Kalinga?
or nearby places?

if you know of other places in metro manila serving this dish, please drop a note :P

you may be looking for:
pancit batil patung recipe, pansit batil patong recipe. batil patung in quezon city
pancit batil patung isabela, best pancit batil patung tuguegarao,

Labels: Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Pancit

Are you sure you've been to Bicol? Sure, you've seen the really beautiful Mayon Volcano in Albay, swam with the butanding in Donsol, Sorsogon, stayed at CamSur, visited Caramoan and other now usual part of Bicol tour itinerary but probably you've missed other lesser known Bicol culinary treasures due to pre-occupation with Bicol "sightseeing tours." Besides the pili nut, have you sampled authentic Bicol Express? This sweat gland-inducing dish seems to be getting spicier as you head south. The equally great pinangat of Camalig, Albay, the less-known hinugom, kuyog, binut-ong, kinagang of Sorsogon plus other Bicol specialties like the sinantolan (different from Laguna and Quezon versions of the ginataang santol dish), the kinunot and other bicol dishes with primary ingredients of coconut milk and chili. This one may be too ubiquitous for you and probably served right under your nose when you got there. The pancit bato was introduced to Tutubi by a close friend from Daet during his first visit to Camarines Norte about 10 years ago. Pancit bato costs just PhP5 per serving then and yet it's so filling it can put to shame Chowking's similar serving costing 12 times as much. pancit bato servd to Tutubi by friends in Paracale In a visit to Paracale, Camarines Norte, he was again re-acquainted with the frugal food find in Bicol, again at P5 per serving but less in serving size after 10 years. Why was it called pansit/pancit bato? It's not made of stone/rocks nor stone used to cook/make them. The noodles were actually made in the town of Bato, Camarines Sur and made from rice cassava (kamoteng kahoy) Tutubi has a future post on regional variants of pancit in the Philippines, a collection of stories and pictures for his "pancit tour of the Philippines" :P

Labels: Bicol Cuisine, Bicol Region, Camarines Sur, Filipino Food

Due to the searing summer heat unusually interrupted with summer rain, common in Paete yet unusual in Metro Manila, Tutubi will "escape the heat" by sneaking in at the recently-opened Teresita's Halo-halo and Pancit Palabok of San Fernando Pampanga at Waltermart North EDSA just beside Munoz Market.

Teresita's halo-halo, priced at PhP85.00/order (ordinary) has similar ingredients and recipe with Razon's halo-halo except for the langka (jackfruit)



Teresita's halo-halo bears an uncanny resemblance to the more famous Razon's halo-halo only to find out later by Tutubi that the owner of Teresita's Halo-halo belongs to the Razon's clan of Pampanga.

This would be a nice start-up business if Teresita's halo-halo is open for franchising. Franchise businesses are great for new entrepreneurs. Any contact numbers and franchising costs of Teresita's if open?

Labels: Filipino Food, Pampanga Restaurant

Locally called tajom in Surigao, Tutubi's friends brought a plastic bag full of the sea urchin for just PhP20.00 at Cantilan market and was served, what else, but kinilaw style.

These sea creatures are considered delicacies in many cultures, called uni in Japan (expensive or as the Japanese say it in Nihongo: takai!), ricci di mare in Italy. If you're unfamiliar what are sea urchins, they're the small balls with spikes you see on your snorkeling trips to the islands. (Sea Urchin photo from Wikipedia creative commons)

Tutubi has been looking forward to eating them just to taste for quite some time now but his wish was granted, without him asking for it, by his friends who informed him it's a usual part of daily fare, uncommon in urban jungles of Manila though.

kinilaw na tajom/kilawing tayom (served raw with vinegar and spices

As they always say, the sea urchin is an aphrodisiac though there's really no scientific proof to it. Sea urchins dont' actually taste slimy, has a unique texture to it and are, actually, good.

Now where can we find the urchin served in Manila restaurants, anyone? Japanese restaurants have it as uni, but not popular even in Makati in other forms, probably due to supply problems.

Labels: Delicacies, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food

Food historians said that the truly Filipino food devoid of any foreign influences is the kilawin (kilaw or kinilaw) where the food is not actually cooked but soaked in vinegar and spices. It's also the local food particularly liked by Tutubi's friends from France that they intend to duplicate at home later.

Nope, this is not the actual Kinilaw Festival celebrated annually on October 2 in Surigao City. This is the "fiesta" prepared by Tutubi's friends from Cantilan while in Inijakan: a kilawin feast with the freshest ingredients

Tutubi just watched as his friends took out the goodies they bought from Cantilan public market and the others gathered fresh seaweed, called lato, also to make kinilaw, the almost equivalent of the ceviche of central and south America, which uses lemon instead of vinegar.

the freshest ingredients of a kilawin recipe: onions, ginger, garlic, bell pepper and chili pepper. In some parts of Mindanao, coconut milk is added to the recipe

freshly-caught fish kilawin

freshly-gathered seaweed, locally called lato. You eat it by dunking the green thing in spiced vinegar

Now, what are the secrets of the best kilawin recipe? The best way "how to make Kilawin" is to use the freshest ingredients, the right vinegar that's not too sour (tip: don't use commercially available vinegar, try the local ones), prepare it fresh, consume immediately (don't let it stand for more than an hour, and lastly, prepare it with love!

tags:
how to make kilawin, how to prepare kilawin, kinilaw preparation, kinilaw recipe, kilaw ingredients, how to make kinilaw, how to cook kilawin

Labels: Caraga, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Surigao del Sur

If you're going to Lipa City or Batangas City, why not go on a food trip adventure to the land of the Ala Eh Batanguenos and sample their famous Batangas lomi, Batangas bulalo and goto batangas. This short post is about Tutubi's recent trip to Batangas City where he passed by Lipa to again eat at the lomihan in Lipa City: LBN Lomi House, just beside Bee Gees Lomi Hauz (past Tia Celeste's Eatery) and across LBN bar and Grill on J.P Laurel Highway in Lipa City serves a bowl of lomi at only PhP45.00 per order.

LBN Lomi serves generous serving of lomi with meatballs, bola-bola, posk slivers and pork liver and comes with a dip of calamansi, soy sauce and chili. The first time Tutubi saw the lomi years ago, he though his small "bodega" can't accommodate the extra heavy lomi meal but he was able to finish it.

LBN Lomi serves lomi that's filling and cheap at phP45.00/serving. best served with a dip of soy sauce, calamansi and chili

Two of Tutubi's close office friends, one from Tanauan and the other from Lobo, cite LBN Lomi Hauz and the other lomihan inside Lipa City public market as favorites. Another recommended lomihan is MGM lomi in front of Days Hotel just near SM City Batangas.

The best lomi in Batangas, according to Chef Gene Gonzales, featured in his Manila Bulletin article has these places, yet to be tried by Tutubi:

"Megalicious - is on the main highway right past SM Hypermart . This nipa hut structure beside Mega subdivision underneath some tall trees has a very provincial feel. A giant bowl of rich flavored lomi thickened by eggs with home-made quekiam, meatballs, pork slivers, and topped with lots of crushed chicharon and hard-boiled egg is served with a side dish of toasted garlic and fresh shallots. A dip of soy sauce, calamansi, and chili complete this 65-peso bowl that is good for two.

Emjaykas - Also located right past SM Hypermart and Eternal Gardens Memorial Park on the main highway, Emjaykas also serves a delicious Batangas-style goto with a variety of offal cuts and a generous sprinkling of fresh sliced scallions. Their lomi has a strong full flavored broth and also quite liberal on the topping with whole chunks of chicharon and eggs. This lomi, I believe, is best eaten with chili, patis, and calamansi which highlights the powerful caldo base for its soup stock.

Jhorjanes - There are two outlets, one at the very end of the Batangas exit of the Star Tollway, and the other in front of the Batangas Sports Complex. The dark shiny lomi has quail eggs and homemade meatballs with slivers of pork and also a generous topping of chicharon. The flavors are balanced and subtle in style rather than their more up front competitors."

In Ibaan, Batangas, there's reportedly a lomihan serving lomi with pigeon meat adding unique twist to lomi caldo (stock)

Tutubi will be back in Batangas for sure and will definitely try to sample these best batangas lomi in the future in addition to the quest for the best batangas goto and best batangas bulalo. :P


---
list of recommended lomi house, lomihan and eateries/restaurants (mostly frugal) in Batangas (to be updated when Tutubi finds time to access his GPS where he stored the coordinates)

LBN Lomi House
J.P. Laurel Highway, Lipa City (between Startoll Malvar Exit and Lipa City proper)
Coordinates: 13°58'14"N 121°10'0"E

Labels: Batangas, Batangas Restaurants, Calabarzon, Filipino Food, Food Trip, Frugal Food Find, Southern Tagalog

Right after visiting Doot Poktoy Surfing beach and Marine Park Sanctuary, he was taken by his friends to Lanuza's recommended halo-halo joint: Friz Halo-halo.

What makes this different (in its own right) from other halo-halo concoctions is the actual number of ingredients used to make it: Nata de coco, cornflakes, papaya, pineapple, corn, gelatin, macapuno, kaong, mango, beans and probably others that Tutubi wasn't able to spot. And it's located at an unassuming corner in Lanuza, Surigao del Sur.

Price: PhP65.00 (yeah, pricey due to lots of ingredients but creamy and great snack).

It's a nice refreshment in summer or after watching the Doot Poktoy Surfing Festival.

Labels: Filipino Food

Just sharing a nice "place to eat" at in Palawan visited by Tutubi in his return trip there a few months ago where they served freshly-caught seafood at unbelievable price.

the "pre-ordered" food on the table:

steamed okra (ladyfingers) and eggplant

various grilled fishes, freshly-caught

buttered prawns, fresh as usual





Are you wondering what made this "restaurant" the best so far for Tutubi? It's not actually a restaurant but home cooking of friends of his friend somewhere near Inagawan, Puerto Princesa. Tinola native chicken not shown.



Tutubi and his friends ate at the place, in a backyard surrounded by trees, kamayan-style with great food, lutong bahay at a homey ambiance.

Such hospitality of Palaweños accorded to Tutubi and his friends. For Tutubi, this is the best seafood restaurant there is in Palawan!

Labels: Filipino Food, Mimaropa, Palawan, Puerto Princesa

There's the usual pancit canton, bihon, miki, lomi, chami, the regional pansit variations like pancit bato of Bicol particularly from Bato, Camarines Sur, Pancit hab-hab of Lucban, Quezon, pancit cabagan of Cagayan Valley from Cabagan town, and batil patung in Tuguegarao.

then there's a not-so-common pancit recipe where buko (young coconut) strips are used instead of noodles made from rice, wheat or what-have-yous...

Tutubi knows about pancit buko for a long time but was able sample it only recently through the information from a friend working at Cocobank (UCPB) head office on Makati Avenue (in front of Mandarin Hotel)

pancit buko is just that, young coconut in place of noodles using typical pancit recipes

The pancit buko at Cocobank's cafeteria on the 11th floor of UCPB Building merely costs PhP24.00/order, a true frugal food find in the country's financial district. The price though is too cheap for the tasty and flavorful pancit that looks like chop suey or stir-fried vegetables (guisado) at first glance.

If you want, you can make your own pancit buko with inexpensive buko at public markets or try to sample it first at UCPB in Makati i.e. if you know someone working there as it's only for Cocobank employees. (Tutubi also recommends Cocobank sandwich, something like french toast, ham and...uh-hmm...buko strips)

Should you know of canteens, restaurants, eateries offering this dish, please hit the Post a comment button below.

Labels: Filipino Food, Pancit

Tutubi has this post in Drafts for quite some time since summer then simply forgot about it. He remembered this post when a friend of his commented in an email that ayungin (silver perch) paired with paho as sawsawan [dip]. Instead of waiting again for next summer to post this, herewith are those delectable, mouth-watering little mangoes called pajo in tune with Tutubi's series on food recently (something like Laguna Food Trip).

a bunch of paho from Batangas costs about P30.00

Pajo can be eaten raw with rock salt or made into an ensalada (enchilada) with onions, tomatoes and perfect as appetizer to liven up whatever dish, fried or not, seasoned with patis (fish sauce).

paho enchilada with tomatoes and patis

Where to buy Paho? Tutubi requests an officemate every year to buy him paho in Batangas whenever he sees them. Price is around PhP for a small bunch (tumpok) at Tanauan Public Market but you can buy them in Manila. Paho season is around February to April so be on lookout always or you may have to wait another summer to sample it's heavenly sourness craved for by many.

paho with a 5 peso coin to add scale

If any reader can leave information on the scientific name of paho, it'll be gladly appreciated. Tutubi will remind you again about this small wonder of an appetizer/dip the next time he gets of them.

Labels: Filipino Food, Fruits

A visit or a drive-by Pangasinan won't ever be complete without noticing stalls and stalls of various Pangasinan pasalubong in bottles called bagoong and patis, but it's more enlightening if a short visit to a bagoong factory, particularly in Lingayen, would be made for a short cultural tour of bagoong making.

How to make Bagoong?

Bagoong's ingredients are just fish (usually galunggong (round scad), dilis (anchovy) and tirong (similar to dilis)), solar salt (naturally evaporated salt from seawater sourced mainly from the towns of Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan) and water, mixed together and left to ferment for a few months in earthen pots called burnay in Ilocos. It's a process where patis is also created.

a room full of earthen pots, called burnay in the vernacular, where bagoong fermentation process takes place for a few months
burnay jar with bagoong up close
a motion-blurred picture of a bagoong maker stirring the stinking concoction of fermented fish, salt and water
patis (fish sauce) and bagoong for sale at a roadside stall selling pasalubong on the national highway in Lingayen, Pangasinan

With the mixture of fish, salt and water fermenting inside the clay pots (the burnay) for a few months resulting in the exotic aroma loved by many, hated by some, combine it with calamansi for a truly Filipino dip for almost everything or an ulam by itself to underprivileged Filipinos.

Bagoong is loved so much by Filipinos that it's not uncommon to see them at airports trying to "smuggle" bottles hand-carried only to be intercepted at destination airports abroad by customs and quarantine people (e.g. Australia and the US).

Bagoong, the stinking fish sauce of Pangasinan: Smells like hell yet tastes like heaven.


Related Post:
Rufina Patis Factory, Malabon

Labels: Filipino Food, Ilocos Region, Pangasinan, Pasalubong

Food trips are inextricably tied to travel where Tutubi tries to sample unique specialties and delicacies of all places he visits. Take kilawin for instance, a truly Filipino dish, simple and devoid of foreign incluences, even if similar to cerviche except the use of vinegar and not lemon.

This post features two versions of kilawin recipes with meat or fish replaced with ingredients from under the sea: seaweeds.

There are five seaweed species in the Philippines: Guso (Eucheuma), Lato (Caulerpa), Sargassum, Gelidiella and Gracilaria of which the first two are the most popular. They're now cultivated in shore communities and exported raw or processed with a little salt.

The seaweed salad now quite common in Metro Manila restaurants and known as lato. It's just unusual that Tutubi was able to sample lato on his second trip to Cebu (yeah, that whirlwind backpacking tour that took him around Cebu, Bohol, CDO, Camiguin and Bukidnon in 9 days of 2003)

Lato resembles small green grapes, translucent with smooth texture and bursts with mild salty flavor once eaten then glides down your mouth. It's mostly prepared kilaw-style i.e. mixed with vinegar and usual kinilaw ingredients used in the particular place.

fresh lato (seaweed) available at Munoz Market, ready for simple seaweed salad recipe (old lato picture taken with Canon Ixus 30)

Kinilaw na Guso, first encountered by Tutubi in Leyte, is actually agar-agar (scientific name: Eucheuma denticulatam) the source of carageenan used in food processing and other products such as toothpaste.

Kinilaw na guso seaweed salad at Ocho Bar and Grill in Tacloban City (Olympus Stylus 850SW)

Appearing like tree branches, guso, also has green color and texture different from lato. Tutubi prefers this over lato.

The third interesting "seaweed" recently featured on GMA7's Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, that Tutubi has really yet to taste, is called lukot and actually not a seaweed at all. Lukot are excretions of the dongsul or sea hare and resembles green spaghetti, gathered by people near beaches where the sea hares live.

Tutubi hopes to see and taste lukot one of these days in future trips down south. Should any reader knows where to buy lukot in Metro Manila, please lead Tutubi there. It may be another exotic food trip in the offing.

Labels: Filipino Food, Philippine Cuisine

The questions most asked by Tutubi to locals of various places he's visited try to uncover a place's native delicacies and specialties, where to find them and how to make them.

This time, he has yet to ask the question to his hosts in Gubat, Sorsogon and yet his question have been answered when they served him two of Gubat's delicacies that turned his ordinary lunch into a Gubat food trip.

First, besides usual dishes known to Tutubi, was a serving a fried small fish, locally called kuyog or cuyog, probably some sort of anchovy, whose taste reminds Tutubi of bangayngay of his childhood in Paete, Laguna. One of his hosts cautioned though that catching the kuyog fish, still small fries, is illegal but people are so fond of the fish they continue to catch them. Fermented kuyog fish is usually paired with cooked pili fruits as side dishes/appetizers/dips.

crispy fried kuyog.cuyog fish

Tutubi's host narrated how the side dish of cooked pili fruit and cuyog is made from boiled ripe pili fruit. The dark skin of the boiled pili fruit is peeled off and the dipped in fermented cuyog sauce, similar to bagoong, accentuated with a dash of calamansi juice. The pungent flavor of the pili combined with the sour and salty kuyog sauce is heavenly to the locals (peninsular Bicolanos and even those from Catanduanes) but is an acquired taste for others. It's very popularly paired with angol fish in coconut milk.

Next was a serving of brown cake made of rice called Hinagum (or hinagom). The rice dessert is also popular in nearby Samar Island, home of the Warays, where the Bicol Peninsula is separated by San Bernandino Strait. Hinagom recipe is simple, it's made from freshly harvested rice that's pounded, roasted in a pan, then pounded again in a mortar mixed with coconut meat and sugar before wrapping in leaves. It tastes quite similar to espasol of Laguna.

home-made hinagom served to Tutubi by his gracious hosts

Other Gubat delicacies that can be tried there for a Gubat food trip is binut-ong, a simple recipe of glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk and anise seeds, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled over low fire for about an hour and a half.

The timitim, is some sort of cassava cake made from grated cassava, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and pili nuts. The video below, a clip fro m ABS-CBN travel show "Trip na Trip" where they demonstrated how to make the various Gubat, Sorsogon delicacies (shot at Veramaris Resort).



Kinagang, a unique Gubat delicacy made of crayfish. How to make kinagang: remove the shell of the crayfish, mash the meat and mix with strips of coconut meat and leaves of herba buena (a mint variety). Wrap the mixture in higikhik leaves (it's one of the secret of the delicacy or else it will taste differently) then steam.

Too bad, Tutubi wasn't able to taste timitim, binut-ong and kinagang but he hopes to be back in Gubat, Sorsogon someday for this

The worst part about Tutubi's stay in Gubat, Sorsogon was that there's really no restaurant where you can sample their gastronomic treats and culinary treasures except from the home of a Gubatnon. People of Gubat, like most other Filipinos, should really showcase their own native delicacies and unique cuisine as well as develop various tourist attractions to improve tourism in their town.

Most people still think Gubat, is a forest, as the name in Filipino means, but Gubat is actually a progressive town in Sorsogon, now with an ATM of her own by Gubat St. Anthony Cooperative (GSAC), and a lovely Rizal beach that can be developed as a surfing, skimboarding, kitesurfing/kiteboarding, and windsurfing beach if the locals and government officials get their acts together.

Combine culinary treasures with natural attractions and pride of place and you'll have a tourism success story!

Related Posts:

Rizal Beach Resort
Veramaris Resort, Gubat, Sorsogon

Labels: Bicol Cuisine, Bicol Region, Delicacies, Filipino Food, Sorsogon

With the slopes of the Sierra Madre boondocks, the lake shore of Laguna de Bay and the green ricefields in between as his childhood playground, Tutubi was able to experience so many things many kids these days won't even bother with malls in their minds and computers, cellphones and PSPs in their hands.

On Laguna de Bay's lake shore, locals call wawa, he learned to swim. He experienced waking up early at dawn to harvest shrimps from fish and shrimp traps called baklad, catch fish using nets and sometimes with his hands for biya (goby fish), pauton (sometimes bangayngay), ayungin, tilapia, tinikan, gurami, dalag (mudfish), hito (catfish) fishes, dive to gather tulya (clams) and paros (freshwater mussel) and duhol (freshwater sea snake) that once thrived in the lake before the janitor fish invaded the once beautiful, now moribund, lake. The lake also once provided lotus seeds, called kalabanga, that's eaten by locals.

On the slopes of Sierra Madre, he learned to climb trees or harvest fruits e.g. lanzones (langsat), santol (wild mangosteen), aratilis (muntingia), mami and dambo (malay apple) and catch spiders for spider-fighting (spider wrestling) and sometimes trek up to the Tatlong Krus (Three Crosses) on top of the hill fronting his hometown and the waterfall down to the cold water of the creek feeding the river.

In the ricefields, he used to gather cherry tomatoes, and other vegetables grown alongside rice, run after field mice in muddy fields, gather suso (snails) and kuhol (escargot for the French) and lastly, the subject of this post, catch and eat edible frogs, called palakang kabakab, by following farmers preparing the rice field for planting by mowing it with a carabao or hand tractor called kuliglig or kubota or people using some sort of DIY gizmo for electrofishing. Some frog hunters hunt the edible amphibians at night using flashlights where frog eyes can be easily spotted.

Chinese Edible Frog, East Asian Bullfrog, or Taiwanese Frog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) found in East Asia particularly Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It's an introduced species in the Philippines and Sabah/Borneo.

The frogs he caught were decapitated by chopping off the head and maimed by cutting the limbs (at least the webbed part). The frogs are skinned alive using ash on his hands to peel off the slippery (and icky) skin, then eviscerated to remove the entrails. The lean meat was cooked by deep frying, the only cooking style he knew at that time.

This time, years after he saw and ate icky, exotic creatures he used to catch and eat, Tutubi saw live frogs for sale at the Lung Center Sunday Market that quickly brought back childhood memories of "Tutubi the Hunter" days. He bought half kilo of the leaping amphibians, six pieces in all, that he had decapitated, maimed and skinned by the frog vendor, unlike in those days when he used to do the "barbaric" task himself.

meet the vendor and butcher, from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija doing the dirty job of preparing the frog

grenouilles Filipino style: adobong palaka, frogs simmering marinade of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and bay leaf

People of Pampanga, with the evident culinary prowess of Kapampangans, are proud of their betute, recipe of frogs stuffed with meat (a la relleno) and marinated in cane vinegar and soy sauce.

In France, people also eat frog legs, called "les cuisses de grenouilles" in French, cooked using a simple recipe with the legs dipped in flour before frying eggs, lemon juice, parsley sprigs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper.

So, how would Tutubi describe the taste of frogs? It actually has the texture and taste of chicken unless your mind wants to reject the delicacy from your mouth thinking it's a frog bone tickling your palate.

Adobong Palaka, anyone?

---

Notes:

Where to buy edible frogs:

A kilogram of live frogs, locally called palakang kabakab in Laguna, costs P250.00 (about US$5.50) at the Lung Center Sunday Market. There are cheaper ones sold at stalls on the highway of Laguna, particularly on the stretch of Bay, Calauan and Victoria towns (an area dominated by gardens selling plants, seedlings and flowers).

Labels: Exotic Food, Filipino Food, Philippine Cuisine

Once upon a time, the wind blew towards the road leading to the touristy tiangge of Tiendesitas in Pasig City that took Tutubi to the stalls of the place. One particular stall at the Delicacies Village caught his attention, Ifugao Rice Depot, it's a sight that brought back memories of his 2005 trip to the mountains, caves and waterfalls of Sagada, Mountain Province and the awesome sight of the Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao.

Near the entrace of Delicacies Village is where Ifugao Rice Depot is located, a stall selling mountain rice varieties from the Igorot farmers tending the centuries old rice terraces. Upland rice varieties are endemic and only grow there, unlike the aroma, C4, sinandomeng, wagwag, dinorado, burdagol, diket and other rice varieties that lowland Filipinos are familiar with.

brown rice for sale at P40/kilo and P2000 per sack (kaban). Tutubi nearly bought a 50 kilogram sack, can still fit inside the trunk of his car, but only held back when he learned he has not enough money. (Pictures taken using iPhone 3G since his Canon Ixus's battery lost all its "juice."


There were at least 5 varieties on display that day, Tutubi inquired about the prices of several others and aslo asked the stall attendant about the local names of the rice varieties for the tags only say brown rice and black rice. She mentioned tinawon and another name she couldn't remember, but later said pirurutong. Pirurutong, as Tutubi remembered, is the sticky violet rice used in the puto bumbong, a Filipino delicacy during the Christmas season. Other rice varieties Tutubi has heard of are balatinao, and inuruban.

is this the pirurutong? a return trip to Tiendesitas, Market! Market! or other places where "exotic" rice varieties are sold can verify this. With price at P100/kilo, is quite expensive for the peso-pinching Tutubi ever on the lookout to save on costs, but splurging once in a while while thinking of the social impact of buying authentic organic rice has its reward.

Upland rice varieties, whether brown, black, red, or violet, are rich in fiber, and organically farmed i.e. fertilizer and chemical free, by ancient farmers for centuries, long before commercial fertilizers and pesticides inundated the markets and hybrid rice was born. There also is the holok, an effective indigenous pest control system practiced in Ifugao using certain plants effective in killing traditional rice pests. Well-milled rice, the shiny clean rice is less nutritious than those where the rice bran, called darak in Filipino, are still attached to the grain. Darak is nutritious and yet lowland Filipinos, averse to brown-colored rice, feed it to pigs.

Tutubi recommends buying and eating rice cultivated in the rice terraces of the Cordilleras, not only for the health benefits, but only for the people of the Cordilleras, the hardy Igorots, be they Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga or Kankana-ey, to tend the rice fields carved out of the mountains, and not migrate to the city to find work, thereby restoring the grandeur of the rice terraces supplied with water through an ingenious and sustainable irrigation system modern engineers regard as marvelous engineering feats of ancient people believed to be made using bare hands.

The Banaue Rice Terraces, where some of the indigenous rice varieties are cultivated, is an inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site as a Continuing Cultural Landscape where the unique rituals and traditions are inextricably tied to the rice terraces. It's also one of the three National Cultural Treasures on the P1000 bill together with the langgal and Manunggul jar. Other rice terraces present in Ifugao include those in Batad, Mayoyao and Hapao.

Tutubi was able to sample the long-grained Basmati rice variety in India but he prefers the round, soft-textured and glutinous Japanese rice varietiy. He's also particularly interested in the Jasponica rice, a cross between the aromatic, long-grained and thin Thai jasmine rice and Japanese rice.( If there's anybody here who can point to Tutubi where to buy Jasponica rice, he'll be be thankful.) There's also GMO rice or genetically modified organism, but not recommended due to lack of conclusive medical studies of its effects on humans).

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) where the Banaue Rice Terraces is located, is comprised of the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao and Abra. Baguio City, being a highly-urbanized city is not a part of CAR and does not fall politically under Benguet province.

Labels: Cordillera Administrative Region, Filipino Food

Mention Calasiao to many people and they will automatically say puto, rice cakes, that is produced by the town using a simple yet famous recipe. Tutubi had a chance to re-visit the place after doing his usual work in Malasiqui town of Pangasinan.

Tutubi's main reason for passing by the town is to sample the famous puto, sold at the so called Calasiao Puto Produce, a market lines with stalls in front of the municipal hall.

Calasiao Puto Produce stalls selling puto and kutsinta (cuchinta) by the kilo (photo taken through a car windshield)
puto on a plate, a quick picture before munching the delectable dessert/delicacy.

After buying his pasalubong at one stall, Tutubi noticed the old church of Calasiao with a facade made of red bricks and officially called Saints Peter & Paul Church (same name as the old church in Makati on Burgos St.)

The old church of Calasiao, Pangasinan, constructed in 1621. (note to photogrpahers: church is facing west, this photo was taken around 11am)

a quick picture of the interiors with fairly recent look.

All this took only a few minutes as Tutubi had to rush to Dagupan to again check on something plus a re-visit to his favorite restaurant in Dagupan.

Labels: Churches, Filipino Food, Ilocos Region, Pangasinan