FOOD TRAVELOGUE

hard labor)."

AETA FOREST FOOD (CAPAS, TARLAC)

"In terms of forest food, we learned that
Aetas primarily plant mountain rice, wild
bananas, corn, and root crops like ube (a
form of taro), kamoteng kahoy (cassava)
and kamoteng baging (mountain yams).
Wild bananas called amukaw have lots of
tiny black seeds, which are strained
before the edible part of the banana is
made into a refreshing juice. The extract
is believed to cure 'pasma' (trembling
hands and sweaty palms that occur after

PINOY FIESTA PLATE

"Rule of thumb is to load up your plate
with a sampling of food. 1. White rice- the
foundation of any Filipino plate 2. Lechonroast pork 3. Binagoongan- pork in shrimp
paste with steamed vegetables 4. Sago't
Gulaman- caramelized sugar drink with
gelatin 5. Kaldereta- goat in tomato and
liver paste 6. Dinuguan - blood pudding
stew 7. Lumpia- pork or vegetable spring
rolls"

ALAGAO ANTIPOLO
"As its signature appetizer, one
makes his own rolls using an
alagao leaf and stuffing it with
various spices. Theres fried garlic,
minced onions, green chili for the
brave ones, alamang fried to a crisp,
cut up basil leaves, cubed mangoes,
ginger and some nuts. You choose
your fillings, lay them on the leaf,
smear it with some sweet dark
sauce, and then wrap the leaf like
you would a lumpia. Voila! The
sweet, salty, sour and spicy all

compete for attention and make out a sensation that is not quite the same as any other.
What do you know, I actually like it!"

FROG LEGS
"Then, as we entered Kainan sa Estero
(Eatery in Estero, 'Estero' meaning canal,
correct me if Im wrong), I was already
having doubts. I was just too chicken to
back out on my co-bloggers who were all
excited
now
to
eat
frogs.
It was slimy, with legs all over the place,
dipped in some kind of yellowish or
murky sauce, and within their bodies I
spotted a silver thread that looked
somewhat like metal 'Oh my gawd, is
that its backbone?' my immediate thoughts had been."

PAKASKAS (Batangas)
"When we were on our way to Isla Verde,
one of the passengers was carrying a
nice tube packaging. Luckily, she sat
right next to us and we were able to ask
regarding the packaging, she said it was
Pakaskas. Its a snack made in the
island and its made from Buri palm
sugar molds. I had the chance to buy
this in Brgy. San Agapito. It was sold at
20 pesos per tube. Each tube had 5
segments and each segment (is) further
divided into 2 sub-segments."

BIBINGKA(BOAC, MARINDUQUE)
"The Best Bibingka. My visit (to)
Marinduque last April 2011 was my most
memorable trip ever, not only because it

was my very first solo travel but also (because) of the awesome foods I experienced there.
Among the foods I've tasted in Marinduque, their bibingka is my most favorite. This special
bibingka is found only in Boac, the province's capital. Boac's Bibingka is the largest and
the best (I've) ever tasted. Its rich coconut taste blends well with its other ingredients.
Definitely, my taste buds loved it at first bite."

BIBINGKANG ABNOY ( PATEROS)

"The Strangest Bibingka. Just this morning,
(I) tasted the strangest bibingka. Far
different from other bibingkas, Pateros'
Bibingkang Abnoy tastes weird and smells
awful. Surely, the picky eaters would never
dare to taste or even get near this strange
food. Its main ingredient is Pateros' very
own abnoy egg (undeveloped duck eggs). But
I'm not a picky eater (medyo lang), so I
bravely ate a slice of Bibingkang Abnoy
dipped in vinegar. It actually tastes nicer
when dipped in vinegar. Its texture is more
like a scrambled egg than a bibingka."

PINIKPIKAN (BANAWE)
"His kids started to build (a) fire while Kuya
emerged from his cabin with the chicken in
one hand and a stick on the other. He told
us he would prepare Pinikpikan, and before
I could (murmur) another question, he
started beating the live chicken until it was
dark and blue before throwing it into the
open fire. Apparently, the dish derives its
flavor from the coagulated blood, the burned
feathers and skin, and the Etag, which is a
cured meat, aged underground in earthen
jars."

OH MY GULAY (BAGUIO)
"The food arrived and it lasted a few
minutes before the waiter was taking our
empty plates away. I felt my starvation
has gone to another dimension and was

close to committing mass farting, but since it was all veggie, I never felt bloated
unlike when I eat pork, chicken of any of these fastfood meals. I guess that's the
upside of eating vegetables, it doesn't make you feel heavy but it gives a lighter
feeling, making you think you're just about ready to do all sorts of stuff, including
yoga and some breakdance moves."

POQUI POQUI (VIGAN)

"Ilocanos have a penchant for
something fetid and stinky, like the
ever-gratifying bagoong (shrimp
paste and halubaybay). They love
fermented rice (burong kanin) on
their fried fish or boiled eggplant.
They just love to munch fresh
shallots with their tomatoes or
chopped radish (which has an
equally unpleasant smell). Tuyo
(dried fish) is their breakfast
staple. They delight at the
stomach-churning
warek-warek.
The real warek-warek, which my late uncle loves, is actually a concoction of an offensively
bitter juice of half-digested grass meal which can be found in the stomach of a goat, mixed
with either the half-cooked and grilled goat's testicles or goat skin and other spices like
shallots. So what does this have something to do with an Ilocano dish called poquipoqui? ...
Having been to Vigan one time made me experience the real Ilocano cuisine--of course one
of them is poqui-poqui. It is just actually commonly known as ensaladang talong (eggplant
salad). "