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!😎

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

A Pinoy in Binondo: The Best Lumpia In (China)Town!

From where I grew up, in the province of Negros Occidental, fresh lumpia must be eaten within a day it's made because the ingredients don't allow it to stay long. But since the Ilonggo-style fresh lumpia is specially yummy, they usually don't actually stay on the table for long. Ha-ha-ha! The last time I had fresh lumpia Ilonggo-style was at El Ideal Bakery in Silay City in Negros Occidental, when I bought a dozen to Manila for Tita Sylvia. And that was more than a year ago.

                                   (Spacious and airy!)

But this time, during my tour of Binondo, courtesy of my friends Diana and Marlu, it's a different style of fresh lumpia I discovered!

The fresh veggies, peanut powder and a few more ingredients which were all squeezed into the fresh lumpia wrapper like a rolled fat, white blanket, and laid out on a plate. A whole fresh lumpia would be lunch for me, but since this was like an up-sized fresh lumpia, it has to be cut into two and shared.

                           (Tourists waiting for their fresh lumpia!)

I wasn't surprised I have not been to this hidden restaurant, New Po-Heng Lumpia House along Quintin Paredes St. in Binondo, Manila. It was really hidden!  One has to know where to find it because its entrance wasn't obvious from the sidewalk. You have to know where to find it, and lucky for us, our friend Diana, a Binondo native, was there to introduce us to the best lumpia not just in Chinatown, but on this side of Metro Manila!

                        (A courtyard in a lumpia house!)

Aside from their fresh lumpia, they also serve maki, which is a thick, dark saucy broth. And both go well together! Add a soda to the duo and it's perfect for me! And all of their dishes have unbelievably reasonable prices!

                                            (A halved fresh lumpia!)

                                            (Maki!)
Not only is their fresh lumpia is the best for me this side of town, their restaurant is also unique with a mini-courtyard right in the middle of an old building. If you want to visit them, just Google them. They're in Facebook, too! 

Aside from the Salazar Bakery, this New Po-Heng Lumpia House should also be in everyone's list when visiting Binondo!

Philippine Travelblog: Silay City's El Ideal Restaurant and Native Delicacies

When I was a kid I remember reading a feature of Silay City (in Negros Occidental, Philippines) in Reader's Digest describing this city as the Paris of Negros because of its numerous artists and artisans. But what Reader's Digest failed to mention was that Silay City is also a haven of native Negrense delicacies which everyone loves until today. 

Well, I stopped reading Reader's Digest, but I haven't stopped craving for these delicacies. 

   (That's my favorite salab - the brown-colored                              delicacy wrapped in plastic.) 

         (Bitso-bitso is another favorite - cruller made of
         ground sticky rice and brown-sugar coating.)

Growing up in Negros Island in the Philippines, I remember an old lady vendor from Silay City, whom we called Tía Bodók (unfortunately, we didn't get to know her real name). 

During the week, she would travel from Silay City and roam around my hometown, Victorias City, selling native delicacies. 

My two favorites from her wide basket were salab and dulce gatas! Salab is a fried pancake made with coconut strips with a gravy-colored spread with garlicky and semi-sweet flavor, while dulce gatas (also known as dulce de leche) is a very sweet dessert made from fresh carabao's milk. 😊

She would sell the delicacies by walking around the town center throughout the morning, balancing her wide, winnowing basket full of yummy goodies on her head. The basket was covered by a white, muslin cloth that she opened only when someone wanted to buy. By noon, all her goodies would have been sold out and she would go back home to Silay City.😍

But now, Tia Bodok is no longer around, and I miss all the salab and dulce gatas. Luckily, there are some shops which still sell dulce gatas but I hardly had seen one selling salab, until I dropped by one time at El Ideal in Silay City!

              (Cassave cake and buko pie, too!)

It's not just a store where you can buy all those barquillos, puto, and other baked goodies to bring home.

And you can enjoy their yummy salab, fresh lumpia and bitso-bitso sitting down (read blog here)!

And whenever I was flying to Manila from Silay and I had time, I would always drop by El Ideal to get some salab. And one time, I happily finished one inside the pre-departure area of Bacolod-Silay Airport, and another one in the plane (read blog here)! It was the best domestic in-flight meal I ever had!😃

                           (Ube-flavored puto!)

But one late afternoon, I dropped by El Ideal to get some salab, but unfortunately, walâ na! Salab was all sold out for the day!😢

But I cried not! There will be salab tomorrow and the next day...and the next! And perhaps, when I drop by again this week, I would finally get some while I am home in Negros Occidental. 😀 

        (They also have my mom's favorite, fresh lumpia!                         And sandwiches!)

And when that moment comes, I will offer the first bite as a tribute to Tía Bodók, wherever she may be. So, thank you, El Ideal, for letting me enjoy all those memories again of Tía Bodók, her salab, and other native delicacies.😍

(El Ideal Restaurant)

El Ideal is just next to the Silay City plaza, near the intersection of the road going to the Silay-Bacolod Airport. 

So, if you happen to land at that airport, or if you're catching a flight, you can always swing by El Ideal. Those yummy snacks and delicacies are just a few minutes away! 😀