When I hear of
Leyte, delicacies that come to my mind are moron
and binagol. I’m familiar with moron because my office friends always
bring back some when they had a vacation from Leyte and Biliran. Since now I have
the chance to land at their home province, I took this opportunity to taste
other native delicacies and curiosity on the taste of binagol. What I know
initially is that it uses halved coconut shell like kalamay-hati from Jagna, Bohol. Here are some of the delicacies I’ve
tasted:
1. Sagmani
It looks like a
heavy suman for me, as it is packed with mixture of cassava and taro. The
texture is smooth like binagol and sticky when it gets to your palate. It was
my breakfast when I watched the Pintados parade on my last day in Tacloban.
2. Moron
One of my
favorite Leyteño delicacies and one piece is not enough. Suman smothered with
chocolate makes me wanna consume the whole bunch! I shared this with my
housemates when I got back to Manila. The moron from Abuyog has a good blend of
glutinous rice as the cocoa complements. For me, it tastes good when chilled.
3. Binagol
Don’t confuse
it with binakol, a coconut-based chicken
soup. Bagol or half-coconut shell (in
Waray) is used to make binagol, where
a vanilla mixed with syrup is put within the shell, topped with talyan root
crop or taro pudding (similar to sagmani). Marasa!
I can’t believe that plain-looking pudding would have its secret unravel as you
consume the contents. It’s like digging a treasure over a pile of mud (just a
simile). I’m very full after I ate this as my dessert after having dinner at Jo’s
Chicken Inato. This delicacy is a specialty of Dagami town.
4. Pastilas De Leche
This crumbly candy
made from pure carabao’s milk is a bit hard to eat. Due to its dry texture, you
can eat the whole candy and just chew. Pastillas making is a cottage industry
in Carigara, Leyte.
5. Bibingka
A fluffy baked rice
cake that resembles puto. The difference is the burnt mark on top and its smoky
flavor taken from hot charcoals. I bought this from junction in Mahaplag, when
I went back to Tacloban. Peddlers would rush into your van for stopover and
sell these, piping hot!
6. Salvaro
I mistook this
for an otap, a type of flaky biscuit.
When I took a closer look, you can see bits of coconut in its very thin piece.
The taste is nutty, and I ate the whole pack after dinner in Maasin City.
7. Suman Tinambiran
I got famished
while waiting for a van in Baybay City bound to Hilongos. I searched the nearby
public market to check native delicacies section and I found stalls selling rice
cakes. The lady showed me a piece and I noticed a symphony of black and white
glutinous rice in a roll. I bought 3 pieces for just 20 pesos. The taste:
heavenly! I wished I bought some more. Maybe next time!
8. Hopia Malitboganon
This rather unusual
delicacy was bought from Maasin City Terminal. While I’m waiting for a van
bound to Baybay City, peddlers selling crackers and mineral water approached
our van. I noticed that she was carrying packs of flat round bread (about a
foot in diameter) with tag “Hopia Malitboganon”. I wanted to buy one but I
thought it was too big to handle (may crack during travel) so I opted for a
smaller one. Three pieces per pack costs Php35. At first look, it may look like
a piaya (flaky pastry with mung bean
filling), but when I took a bite, it was hard but crunchy. A delicacy from
Malitbog, Southern Leyte, the filling was simply made of caramelized muscovado
sugar. I bought two packs and brought the other one at office for sharing.
Hoping to add
more delicacies soon and you’ll have a taste of these, too. Marasa hin duro!
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