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!😎

Dreaming Of Dolor And Her Kakanin!

'Kakanin' is a collective term to describe yummy Philippine delicacies which either serve as a snack or a dessert. Or in my case, it's dinner in itself!

The Philippine kakanin is colorful, sweet and mostly made from rice, usually glutinous. That's why for me, it's a meal! A meal and a dessert!

And one of my favorites is the sapin-sapin, which literally means 'layer-layer'. It is made of colored layers of sweet, ground glutinous rice, cooked with coconut milk, sugar and coloring to make these sticky delicacy more attractive...to the eyes and palate!

The day after our Christmas party with friends in Manila last December, I was able to swing by the Landmark foodcourt in Makati City, and got me a box of Dolor's Kakanin's sapin-sapin, which I brought (and definitely enjoyed!) with me to my hometown, Victorias City!

And this summer, when I fly to Manila for a break, getting one or two boxes of this special delicacy to bring back to my other hometown, Seoul, is definitely in my itinerary! But in the meantime, as I write this blog, tasting that kakanin remains, well, a dream...