When
I hear of Negros, especially Bacolod, delicacies that come to my mind are inasal and napoleones. First one is due to being commercialized by a fastfood
chain and spread all over the country. The latter one is because my officemate
lives in the nearby Talisay City where he brings boxes from Pendy’s everytime
he gets back to Manila. With sugar plantations abound the island, no wonder
they offer the sweetest treats and as we landed in Sugarlandia, we listed our
must-eats. It was a food trip indeed and exclaimed “Namit gid!” Here are some of the delicacies we’ve tasted:
1. Napoleones
This
sweet treat is a version of French mille-feuille, made up of layers of puff pastry
and filled with custard. The recipe was brought here in Negros and soon made in
the kitchens of rich sugar barons. Now, you have different brands to choose
from. Among those napoleones I’ve tried, I prefer Pendy’s due to its custardy
filling.
2. Piaya
You
can buy this in different sizes and flavors, too. The original filling is muscovado
tucked in a crisp flaky flat bread. When I first time heard of mango flavored-piaya,
I immediately bought few packs and took back home. You can taste the sweet
mango filling and best eaten when hot.
3. Inasal na Manok
I’ve
tasted commercialized inasal but when if want authentic one in Bacolod, head to
Manokan country to taste their chicken offerings. We went to Aida’s as
recommended by TripAdvisor as one of top-rated restaurants in the vicinity.
Price of dishes are below Php100. We ordered pechopak (chicken breast with wing), tina-e (intestines) and some isol
(chicken butt). Taste was utterly different and since I’m a chicken lover, I
devoured all the meat until the inedible bone is left. Sarap to the bones!
4. Bicho-bicho
The
bicho-bicho I know is a sponge-like elongated donut sprinkled with sugar and eaten
hot, until we went to Talisay City public market to grab some breakfast. I
looked into little sugar-coated treat and asked what’s called: bicho-bicho. We
ordered few pieces and I ate one. At first, it reminded me of carioca but
sweeter and rich in coconut meat fillings. The sesame seeds add crunch to every
bite.
5. Bingka Pie
Another
must-try that we bought in market is this pie. It is a round fluffy pie with
coconut meat strands inside, topped with cheese and baked to perfection. We
bought a piece for sharing at it was very fulfilling. Our hungry tummies were
satisfied as this breakfast gave us energy for our itinerary for that day.
6. Guapple Pie
The
heritage El Ideal bakery stands along the highway so it was perfect for our
morning arrival at Bacolod-Silay airport to grab some breakfast. This pie is
similar to apple caramel crumble pie like from Banapple’s, only the core is
made up of tart guapple (large variety of guava) slices. The lightly sweetened
crumbs at the top complements with the rich pie filling. I ate it with order of
unlimited brewed coffee and milk for sweetness.
7. Baye-baye
I
would call this “naked espasol” as this bar is made of pound malagkit (glutinous rice) and sweetened
with absence of flour, where espasol
is rolled into prior to packaging.
8. Kansi
It
was time for lunch that we decided to grab it at Sharyn’s in Bacolod City. We
got lost at first but after asking the locals of the vicinity, we found it and
saw people lining up for orders. We got our table and ordered a bowl for sharing.
The aroma of the dish engulfs this hole-in-the-wall eatery and we’re famished
already. This Ilonggo dish is a cross between bulalo (beef stew) and sinigang
(sour stew). The souring agent used is called batuan, a local fruit used in their home-cooked dishes.
9. Half-Moon
Pendy's
bestseller is a light and fluffy sponge cake that is topped with a creamy
bright yellow egg custard. Being cut
into crescent shaped—hand sized snack, they called it half-moon. The custard
was smooth and creamy and served as a nice foil to the airy chiffon cake.
10. Grilled Ensaymada
Another
Pendy’s offering is their ensaymada that was grilled on top, making the color
burnt brown. The taste of butter complements with fluffy brioche, and really
melts in your mouth
11. Cakes from Calea
I
would say that the flagship Bacolod pastry shop is Calea. Their cakes and
pastries are must eats especially the bestsellers Chocolate Mud Pie, Blueberry
Cheesecake and White Chocolate Cheesecake. Conveniently located along the
national highway, some tourists even take out cakes to be brought back to
Manila and other places.
12. Snacks from 21 Bar and
Restaurant
After
basking on a rainy afternoon, we sought refuge and dinner at 21 Bar and Restaurant. We would like to
order their bestseller batchoy but
because it was out-of-stock then, we opted for Chicken Oriental Salad, Pancit Molo and Mushroom Cheeseburger. They have hefty servings and we even shared as they can’t finish it
all.
 |
| Chicken Oriental Salad |
 |
| Pancit Molo |
 |
| Mushroom Cheeseburger |
13. Paluto at Hyksos
Tulahan
It
was dinner time when we checked the paluto restaurant at Bacolod City. We
bought first the ingredients at neary market good for 3: fish for tula (clear soup with scallions) and
shrimps for halabos (pan-cooked with
little oil). I love the comfort soup of tinolang
isda and crunchiness of hipong
halabos. Perfect to end the tiring day.
 |
| Tinolang Isda |
 |
| Hipong Halabos |
14. Homecooked meals
Our
dear friend brought us to Victorias City to have a day tour. Then after a
tiring day tour, we were served Ilonggo dishes such as linaga (beef stew), KBL
or kadyos-baboy-langka
(pork stew with pigeon peas and raw jackfruit), chicken adobo with pineapple
tidbits, and grilled meats. I got curious and asked our host the ingredients of
each dish.
What
a great Ilonggo hospitality! Madamo gid nga salamat! Namit gid sang
ginluto. J
I
wanna try other delicacies but due to limited budget, for sure when I get back,
I’ll try more of what I missed. Before departure, make sure to take home sweet
treats from Sugarlandia! Stores below are just in the airport. J
 |
| From Bacolod to Manila with love! |
