The Quarantined Life: Missing Silay City's Kakanin!

(Yummy delicacies galore!😍)

One morning, a month before this awful pandemic, I got up early just as the sun was peeping through the eastern horizon of Negros Island here in the Philippines.

And my reason for waking up early?

(Purple-colored puto lanson and 

kalamay-hati wrapped in banana leaves)

To visit Silay City, the home of my favorite delicacies ever since my palate learned how to savor and enjoy dulce gatas, salab, fresh lumpia, puto lanson, bitso-bitso and other yummy snacks that Tia Bodók carried on her wide winnowing basket! 

Silay is a charming city in Negros Occidental in the Philippines that proudly celebrates its own gastronomic heritage!

When I was still in grade school, Tia Bodók was the vendor from Silay City who roamed my neighborhood in Victorias and singlehandedly introduced the flavors of Silay when she came to town during weekdays. 

(Colored puttu, or puto)

Schools and offices were open during the week and it was during these days that her delicacies sold out before lunch time and she could go back home to Silay to probably nap the whole afternoon.😄 

It was a long time ago; dear Tia Bodók must have passed since. It's sad I never knew her real name. I guess, as a kid, my attention was always on her yummy snacks all the time.😭

 (Combô or banana slices fried in batter, leftmost,

 turon in the middle and bitso-bitso on the right)

(Turon is golden banana slices, wrapped and then bathed in caramelized brown sugar!)

On that day when I made the trip, I thought of Tia Bodók and the daily bus rides she made to get to Victorias along with the delicacies that were prepared by Silaynons for the enjoyment of their neighbors, the Victoriahanons. 

 (White and purple puttu!)

(Bitso-bitso!)

And during this quarantine period, I have been deprived of those delicacies as vendors could not source kakanin from the Silay City Public Market as people from other towns could not get into the market. There was no public transport available, too.

           (A tourist eyeing his favorite delicacies)

(Out-of-towners visiting the kakanin stalls 
inside Silay City Public Market)

But hopefully, when the restrictions are lifted and I am able to travel to Silay City with my face mask, hand sanitizers and excitement, I could get inside the Silay City Public Market again and get myself those yummy Silaynon delicacies to enjoy! 😀

Let the countdown begin!😎

#itsmorefuninthePhilippines : Silay's Kansilayan Festival & Street Dancing Competition 😍

It is called the Paris of Negros because of its charm, heritage, and being home to famous artisans and artists, according to an article at Reader's Digest I read when I was in grade school. 

Well, Reader's Digest forgot to mention that, more than just a treasure of heritage homes and culture, for me, Silay City is my center of gastronomic delights on the Negros island here in the Philippines!

From fresh lumpia to panara, to dulce gatas and Monsignor Gaston's adobong milyonaryo! One lunch break or an afternoon wouldn't be enough to squeeze in these culinary treasures into one enjoyable meal time! That's why during the City's festivities, there's Kaon Ta Festival at the Balay Negrense grounds along the Cinco de Noviembre Street every June during the Kansilayan days. If it were not for this awful pandemic, I would have been there again myself!😃

Photographs of well-preserved heritage homes you'd see online couldn't even compare to the festival of flavors on your palate when you savor the native delicacies from recipes of old Silaynon families. And the one stop you can enjoy these goodies is El Ideal Restaurant which is just about five minutes from the Bacolod-Silay Airport. Whether you're arriving or departing from that airport, an enjoyable visit to El Ideal is a must!😄

On June 12 every year, Silay City celebrates the anniversary of its being declared a Chartered City, and it is one of the top 25 tourist destinations in the Philippines with its role as a center for the arts, culture, and ecotourism in this part of the country.

And to bring color, fun, and artistry to the streets of Silay City, the Kansilayan Festival holds its street dancing and arena competition, where creativity and showmanship of local Silaynon performers entertain and impress locals and tourists alike.

I am glad I was able to enjoy the street dancing competition last year. But with positivity and prayers, we will all celebrate the Kansilayan Festival again once this pandemic blows over.

These photographs remind me how fun it was, even under the heat of the noontime sun.😎

See you next time, Silay!😍

One Of The Philippines' Yummiest: El Ideal's Fresh Lumpia!

Do you know it's always a torture for me to write about food, especially when it's midnight and I'm too lazy to take a few steps to the refrigerator? Ha-ha-ha!

I am salivating as I try to finish this blog about one of the best fresh lumpia in the Philippines! El Ideal's fresh lumpia!

El Ideal is an old family restaurant in Silay City in the Negros Island in the Philippines, and both locals and tourists travel to visit and enjoy the local delicacies of the restaurant. 

And if you ask my mom, their most popular delicacy is their fresh lumpia, and I wholeheartedly agree!

El Ideal's fresh lumpia is always the first one to get sold out! 

Made with coconut pulp, or the core of a young coconut (or ubod in Ilonggo), that is mixed with boiled egg and other local ingredients, and then rolled together in the thinnest homemade wrap, the lumpia gives off a onion-ish scented filling with a crunch.

When I was a kid, I didn't appreciate this kind of wrapped delight. Back then, I only knew how to enjoy the fried lumpia variations. But I guess people and their taste change!

So, when you're in the Negros Island, or if you're landing at Silay-Bacolod International Airport, do swing by Silay City, so you'll also enjoy the yummiest fresh lumpia there is!

Now, time to enjoy fresh lumpia...in my dreams!

Zzzzz.....

#food #silaycity #silay #freshlumpia #pinoyfood

Negros Tourism: Silay City's San Diego Pro-Cathedral

Whenever I am in Silay City, I always make sure to visit its famous landmark: a cathedral. Even when you're just passing through, you won't miss this huge, imposing structure right along the national highway and in front of the public plaza.

The most historic and most beautiful city in Negros Occidental, Silay has been called the Paris of Negros because it was the center of the arts in the province during the early 20th century.

This city is also the birthplace of the province's revolution against the Spanish colonizers. The historic day, named Cinco de Noviembre, is celebrated as a holiday every year (read blog here).

   
Its famous children included historical figures, opera singers, architects, and artists, and it has a lot of well-preserved ancestral houses, whose architecture reminds us of how it was in the 1900s. 

About 30 houses have been declared by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines as part of the Silay National Historical Landmark, one of which is the famous Balay Negrense (read blog here).

Going back to the Cathedral.😀

The San Diego Pro-Cathedral was actually just made of bamboos and local materials when it was built in 1776 when it was still a parish. Today, it is one of a few pro-cathedrals in the Philippines. A pro-cathedral is a parish church that functions as a cathedral.

And from its bamboo and wooden structure, the church got an upgrade. In 1925, a sugar baron, Don Jose Ledesma, donated funds (along with the donations of Silaynons) to built a bigger church worthy of being part of Silay's rich heritage. 

Don Jose Ledesma hired an Italian architect, Lucio Bernasconi, who took inspiration from the huge cathedrals in Italy. That's why, from afar, anyone can recognize the cathedral because of its copula, its huge dome that's seen from any plane landing or taking off from the Bacolod-Silay International Airport (read blog here).

But during World War II, the war planes actually didn't recognize the dome. Why? The locals had the  Cathedral's dome painted black so as to avoid being seen from the air and getting bombed by the Japanese forces. 😱 

I was in Alcala de Henares in Spain a few years back (read blog here), and I didn't know then that the Cathedral was named after a saint who died in that historic Spanish city.

San Diego de Alcala, also known as St. Didacus from his medieval Spanish name, was a Spanish missionary who was sent to the Canary Islands to spread the faith. He was born in the Kingdom of Seville in the 1400s, and died in Alcala de Henares on November 12, 1463.

His feast day is November 13. And along with the Silaynon community, we pay our reverence to his sainthood and ask San Diego to pray for us in these difficult times. 🙏

So, if you're visiting Negros Occidental, do spend a day in Silay and discover its heritage houses and beautiful Cathedral. 😍 Also make sure you drop by my favorite El Ideal Restaurant and enjoy Silay's native delicacies. 😎