Leyte Island: Foodtrip and Pasalubong

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!

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.