My Southern Tagalog Food Tour - Part 1

So there we were, a group of foodies aboard a toyota coaster, who's primary objective was to learn authentic southern tagalog regional cuisine. It was a two-day activity, and we were all psyched up and ready to eat whatever looked perfectly edible during this trip.



Buko Pie, Chicken Pie
First stop was El Mare Buko Pie and pasalubong in San Pablo City. Pre-arranged by our tour guide, our stomachs were warmed by a generous serving of Arroz Caldo, Chicken Empanada and Coconut Macaroons in their quaint cafeteria. El Mare is known for its buko pie and chicken empanada.






As if not sinful enough, the arroz caldo had slices of chewy ox tripe and was served with tokwa't baboy in soy-vinegar sauce. The chicken pie, which i thought looked like hopia was surprisingly good, with its really meaty filling complete with raisins and bell peppers.




We were treated to a brief cooking demonstration afterwards. We found out that they use chicken breast meat for the empanada. The flaky dough is actually a combination of flour, salt, water and shortening and comes out very white, thus, to address this, they brush it with eggwash which provides a yellowish finish similar to hopia after baking.

Kusina Ni Salud
Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves in Kusina Salud, Patis Tesoro's vacation abode featuring various antique furniture and decor reminiscent of our grandparent's times. Here, you will truly marvel at the magnificent collection of pottery, woodwork and even classic doll collections. Be sure to have your cameras working, since the place is a nice spot for souvenir photos.


Da Coconut NutAs if we haven't just eaten, we were treated to a coconut lunch festival featuring the delightful ways and dishes that can be made with coconut. Soup was chicken binacol, a light soup of diced chicken, young coconut meat, coconut (buko)juice, tomato and ginger. It actually resembles our usual tinolang manok, with its distinct ginger flavor, but is further enhanced by the natural sweetness of the buko broth.

We were off to a good start, but the entrees were even better - Kulawo (boiled banana heart with smoked coconut cream sauce) with calamares; Adobo Antigo (braised pork in rhum), Laing (taro leaves in coconut cream sauce) with Lechon Kawali; Lumpiang Ubod (crisp fried spring rolls with coconut palm stuffing) and finally, Saba turon (Caramelized spring rolls stuffed with bananas)for dessert. After all the solids, we were also treated to a tall glass of lemongrass and pandan tea, really refreshing.





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Because the area is rich with edible fiddlehead ferns, the in-house chef demonstrated a simple salad recipe of fern, salted egg and various vegetables with honey-mustard and fish sauce-calamansi (Philippine lemon) dressing













Sariaya Delicacies
Next stop was Sariaya Quezon, where a local demonstrated to the group how to make Tamales, Espasol and local dishes which I've personally never heard of - Pirijil and Higote. The first two, uses ground rice as its base are two of the more popular pasalubong favorites in the area.


Made with steamed galapong (ground rice paste), it is blended with coconut milk or evaporated milk and cooked until very thick. It is rolled in ground and toasted rice, espasol is served in thin cylinders or sometimes cut into thin round cakes and packed in greaseproof paper or in boxes.


Tamales, on the other hand is made from raw galapong, then mixed with salt, pepper, ground peanuts and "caldo" (chicken/pork stock)and steamed with hard cooked eggs, boiled chicken or ham while wrapped in banana leaves.
Quezon has its own version of the sisig in the form of Pirijil and Higote. Using the esophagus of pork plus other innards like liver and lungs, these variety meats are boiled and then coarsely chopped. Our local then proceeded in sauteing these in garlic and onions and seasoning it with calamansi and soy sauce. The two are quite similar, although Higote would also incorporate finely chopped chicken neck as well - yup, complete with bones and skin, absolutely no waste.

Flavorwise, both had a more mellow flavor than the spicy sisig one is accustomed to. Our guide mentioned that the Tagalogs are fond of serving the best during special occasions, and to maximize the whole carcass of hogs they purposively slaughter for a special occasion, they utilize the innards in the form of these dishes.