NEGROS OCCIDENTAL: Foodtrip and Pasalubong

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!

BULACAN: Food Trip and Pasalubong

Bulacan is known for their sweet delicacies and other homemade offerings. That's why when I had an opportunity to visit this province north of Manila, I finally embarked on a journey to visit the stores offering these products.

1. Ensaymada Malolos

This is one of the two most popular products of Eurobake, a well-known bakeshop located at MacArthur highway near the boundary arch of Malolos-Guiguinto towns.Its difference from Ensaymada Kapampangan is that the Malolos versions has added salted egg and ham on larger version. The pastry has a creamy cheesy taste with added kick of salted egg.

2. Inipit de Leche

The other offering and flagship product of Eurobake is still the inipit. This pastry is made from two flat chiffon cakes, pressed and laden with custard in between. Hence, inipit or "pressed". It's like eating a mamon with leche flan inside. Tough a bit pricey compared to its size, the quality of the product is still there, as they say.

3. Pastillas

San Miguel town at north of Bulacan is known for their pastillas made from carabao's milk. A pasalubong shop at highway near a bus stopover leads you to Sevilla's sweets. They also sell different kinds of sweets but the best seller is the Pastillas de Leche. I bought an assorted box and tasted each one: the purple one is ube-flavored, yellow for yema, orange for keso, green for langka, and white one for milk flavor (leche). For me, the white one is the best tasting pastillas.

4. Minasa

After visiting the Bustos Town Hall, I saw a little store selling minasa, the flagship product of this municipality. They even have a festival for it. I bought a small jar and upon looking at the contents, it reminded me of uraro that I used to buy from Samal, Bataan and Liliw, Laguna. The difference between the uraro and the minasa is that, the latter one has coconut milk. Still, both have chalky texture and I munched more of these in one sitting.

5. Barquillos

On the same store where I bought minasa, their version of barquillos has a coconut milk ingredient, too. I'm not used to eat cookies and wafer with coconut milk flavor, but I can't help finishing a part of its jar, because of light wafers. These rolls are best paired with ice cream.

6. Crispy Mushroom Flakes and Bits

After alighting from a jeep at Plaridel crossing, I started walking to the town center to visit St. James Church. I noticed a stall near an academy selling mushroom products. When I saw that they're selling mushroom chips, I got curious on how would it taste like munching these. Finaly, I bought one with original flavor. After unsealing the foil pack, what made me surprise is that these mushrooms taste like chicharon! I resisted eating only few of these, but I can't help to finish all the contents. It's very addicting! Hoping to buy other flavors when I had a chance to see these nearby.

7. Putok Pandesal de Baliuag

Before crossing the bridge leading to Bustos town, I searched for a bakery selling "putok Baliuag". I got curious on what is its form and taste. After walking from the town plaza and passing by the old town hall (now a museum), I saw this bakery called Lin-Mers. At their countertop, I noticed these little buns labeled "Putok Special". I knew this is what I'm looking for. The appearance is just like your ordinary pandesal bought at local bakeries, but the taste is milky, reminding me of pinagong from Sariaya, but still pandesal dough was used. I'd say this pandesal version is milky and heavy in tummy. A piece can make you full and no spread needed.

8. Chicharon

Santa Maria town is best known for poultry products as well as chicharon-making industry. I've seen Jennie's brand in several TV shows and luckily, my officemate bought this product for our team building. I happily exclaimed that this snack is what I sought for. The seasoned crackling is addictive. There are other variants and flavors available, but I prefer the classic one.