Native Delicacies

Filipino are artistic and very good in making food experiment. Some of the food made became the town specialty that when you visit the place, they will surely offer you their unique delicacies. Here are some of the yummy and very popular delicacies:

Tibok - tibok (carabao's milk pudding) - a native pudding recipe made from carabao's milk instead of the usual coconut milk.
Cebuano Corn Pudding - a native delicacy pudding made by cebuanos made from young corn kernels, buko meat and milk.
Budbud Pilipit - a glutinous rice delicacy cooked with coconut milk. Similar to suman, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.
Ginataang Pinipig - a delicious native dessert of fresh green pinipig cooked in coconut cream and mixed with cubed gabi or taro root, sweet potatoes, jackfruit and saba bananas.

Milk Puto Recipe - a rich tasting puto loaded with milk, corn and buko. Perfect for any occasion.
Sinabalo (Suman) - this suman recipe is from Cagayan Region II. Instead of wrapping the malagkit in banana leaves, it is broiled in fresh bamboo tubes.
Butse - butse - this native dessert is from central visayas region VII. Composed of mashed sweet potato formed into balls and stuffed with grated cassava inside.
Binu-Hang Gabi- this stuffed taro root recipe is an authentic native dessert from central visayas region VII.
Baye-baye - A Western Visayas Region VI dessert delicacy made from toasted pinipig, coconut water and grated young coconut.
Binaki - this delicacy is from Northern Mindanao Region 10
Bocarillo - an eastern visayas sweet made from sweetened grated coconut with eggs and milk.
Maja Blanca - a real version of maja blanca with additon of milk to make it more tastier and creamier.
Putong Bigas (Putong Puti) - steamed puto made from ordinary rice.
Minatamis na Saging na Saba - procedure on how to make a sweetened bananas ( saba ) boiled with lemongrass and ginger with ice cream.
Bibingka Cassava ( Kamoteng Kahoy )- bibingka made from grated cassava, coconut milk, eggs and sugar.
Puto With Cheese- is an all-time favorite kakanin or native delicacies.
Bibingkang Galapong (picture below) - a rice cake made out of rice flour,coconut milk, eggs.
Bibingkang Malagkit- a rice cake made out of glutinous rice,coconut milk, brown sugar etc.
Corn Maja- a cake made out of rice flour,coconut milk, grated young coconut .
Champorado - native gruel made out glutinous rice, cocoa, milk and sugar.
Simple Kutsinta ( Cuchinta ) - a steamed cake made out of rice flour, sugar, water.

Espasol - native dessert made out of glutinous rice, coconut milk, shredded coocnut, rice flour.
Ube Halaya - dessert made of mashed purple yam and condensed milk.
Puto Biñan Special - a native steamed cake made out of brownie mix, eggs, cheese.
Ginataang Munggo- a sweet thick gruel made of glutinous rice, toasted monggo beans, coconut milk.
Nilupak - made from unripe cooked bananas ( saba variety ), young coconut meat, brown sugar.
Palitaw - famous native delicacy made from ground glutinous rice, sugar and shredded coconut.
Polvoron - a powdery dessert made out of flour, powdered milk, sugar and butter.
Maruyang Saba - fried saba bananas coated with batter with eggs and milk.
Cassava Cake - tasty cassava cake for any occasion.
Suman sa Ibos(picture below) - famous suman wrap in buli leaves.
Pichi-Pichi Espesyal- a steamed cake made out of grated casava, sugar, water, coconuts.
Puto Bumbong(picture below)- a steamed malagkit rice mixture.
Guinataang Halo-Halo- saba bananas,camote,ube,langka boiled in coconut milk.
Biko- a steamed malagkit rice mixture.
Sapin-Sapin(picture below)- a native dessert consists of coconut milk,ube powder,gelatin,corn kernels.
Bukayo with Pandan (picture below) - a sweetened grated coconut, a famous delicacy with a slight variation.
Binignit - a sweet delicacy made out of gabi,ubi,tapioca,bananas boiled in coconut milk.
Puto (Steamed Muffins With Anise Seed) - steamed muffins made of flour,coconut milk and cream,anise seeds.
Puto Caramba - deep fried puto made from flour,shrimp,pinipig.
Pastillas De Gabi ( Taro Root ) - made out of young gabi or taro root,condensed milk sugar.
Sapin-Sapin Palitaw Espesyal - made from ground rice,nestle cream,macapuno,langka floating on syrup.
Suman Sa Lihia - made from glutinous or malagkit rice, lihia or lye, salt and wrap in banana leaves.
Suman Sa Moron - made from glutinous or malagkit rice,ordinay rice,coconut milk,peanuts.
Ube Kalamay - made ube, mochico(sweet rice flour),coconut milk, latik and baked.
Banana Pastillas - pastillas made from saba bananas, sugar and butter.
Umaalab Na Mangga ( Flaming Mango ) - pancake with specially prepared syrup(bignay brandy , passion fruit concentraste) and garnished with sweetened mangoes and sago.
Kamote Pie (Sweet Potato Pie)- our very own kamote or sweet potato made and baked into a delicious pie.
Sticky Turron Saba ( picture below) - turn your over ripe saba bananas to a gourmet dessert, sitcky turron saba caramelised, crispy and sticky.
Maruyang Saging In Rum Butter Sauce - a variety of maruyang saba (fried banana patties), mixed with special batter, fried and poured with rum butter sauce.
Ginataan Mais (picture below) - glutinous rice or malagkit rice and scraped corn from a cob then cooked in coconut milk. Buko Pie - the all time favorite original buko pie !

There are many more other kinds of native delicacies that you will surely love to taste from any part of the Philippines

Rice

Rice is most common cereal grain in Philippines and is always present in everday Filipino meal. The table is not complete without a plate of rice serve. Many farmers are planting rice, specially in land that is near to water source and the have a moist area. The love for rice of Filipino people results this wonderful rice terraces in Banaue, Philippines. This terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the country by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the " Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside. They are fed by an ancien irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe.

Philippines Seafood

Seafood is popular as a result of the bodies of water surrounding the Philippines archipelago. In any part of the country you can see and surely will love to taste the delicious seafood that everybody will offer. Seafood is cheaper in area that is near on shores and also is more fresh because it does not need to be travelled far to sell. Popular catches include tilapia,catfish(hito), (bangus), grouper (lapu-lapu), shrimp(hipon), prawns (sugpo), mackerel(galunggong), swordfish, oysters (talaba), mussels (tahong), clams (tulya), large and small crabs(alimango and alimasag respectively), game fish, gindara or sablefish, tuna, cod, blue marlin, and squid/cuttlefish (both called pusit). Equally popular catches include seaweeds, abalone and eel. There are many more kinds of seafood in market area we can see that are sold in a very affordable prices.

Public Market

I think all of us know what is market place. It is where people buy and sell things, usually with profit as the objective. Some markets have a physical location like the fruit markets and the stockmarket. In the Philippines, usually every city, mucipality or town have their own public markets. This market is not like the market at the mall where you can see all the products are organized and place at the right area which you can easily find. In public market, all the products can be found in different part of the market which sometimes not the same in prices. In public market also you can see where the farmers or fishermans deliver their products so it's expected to be cheaper then the others because they not adding profit on each product, is still on its original prices. You can also see the wholesale buyers for those products. Some vendors in a public market went out the place and sometimes display their products right near the street sides so they can have more customers and their products will be sold sooner. Though this is againts the government rules still some did not obey. Here are some photos i took in one of the market Iligan City.

Philippines Church Wedding

Philippines wedding in catholic church is known to be so strict in their requirements and policies. It is also more difficult if one of the couple is not a catholic, they have more documents to need. I and my american boyfriend are both catholic and we're planning for a church wedding so we found the following requirements for catholic church wedding: 1. Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates - required for both the bride and the groom. These documents must be new, be annotated: "FOR MARRIAGE PURPOSES ONLY", and have been obtained not more than three (3) months before the date of marriage; For mixed marriage (different religions) -- a dispensation must be secured from the Parish Office which will be released after the canonical interview with the parish priest or his assistant. These have to be presented one week before the wedding. 2. Marriage License For those who are first married in a civil ceremony, a certified true photocopy of the Marriage Contract with the registry number of the city or town where the marriage was performed must be submitted one week before the wedding date. 3. Canonical Interview - The parish priest or his assistant will conduct an interview with the bride and the groom one month before the wedding date. The interview will be scheduled upon the signing of the application form. 4. Pre-Marriage Seminar - The seminar will be scheduled during the canonical interview or you may inquire at the parish office. Some churches will allow you to attend other pre-wedding seminars such as the Discovery Weekend or Catholic Engaged Encounter. 5. Permission - The bride must receive permission to marry from her parish, if the venue is in another parish. 6. Wedding Banns - The couple must post the schedule of their wedding in their respective parishes. These will be provided during the canonical interview and have to be immediately brought to the respective parishes of the bride and the groom for posting. These have to be returned to the office after three Sundays. (The respective parishes may ask some requirements for the posting of the banns i.e. a picture each from the bride and the couple.) 7. List of names and addresses of principal sponsors (Ninongs and Ninangs) - The list has to be submitted to the parish office one week before the wedding date. Church policy requires at least a pair of sponsors and, ideally, a maximum of six sponsors. 8. For widow or widower - A copy of the death certificate of the former spouse must be presented to the parish office. 9. For renewal of vows - remember to bring a copy of the Catholic Marriage Contract.

Jollibee in Philippines

If you are thinking for a fast food chain when you are in Philippines, i am sure someone would tell you about Jollibee. It is an American-style fast-food restaurant with Filipino-influenced dishes specializing in burgers. They do value their customers a lot and although Jollibee does have an American-style fast food, you can still feel the Filipino legacy. They especially value their loyal customers by having occasional promos and discounts. They also prioritize the children and they offer kiddie meals, parties, mascot appearances and some facilities such as a playground. The Jollibee stores are conveniently placed around the city. Kids love it especially my cousins, if you will mention the name "Jollibee" you can surely see the smile on their faces. Jollibee quickly grew as one of the top companies all over Asia and the most admired fast food chain in the country.

Christmas Start

When the month of August comes to end, Filipino people will already start there Christmas countdown. Some radio stations will play christmas carols every now and then. Every department stores are all making space to display christmas decorations. People also start making and shopping christmas trees and decors for it will be much lesser when buying earlier before the month of December comes. Everyone is excited for Christmas day. Houses will be filled of christmas lights when the months that ends "ber" will come. So i wanna say advance merry christmas to all!

November Holiday In Philippines

Usually when the last week of October comes, Filipino families are already getting ready to what to do on the first day of November which is All Saints Day and on the second day, the All Souls Day. On the first day, some families already troop to the cemetery to prepare the grave sites of their loved one, instead of doing it on the All Souls day, a lot prefer visit the cemetery ahead of time.
The Filipino citizens treat the 1st and 2nd day of November as an almost festive event and has more of a "family reunion" atmosphere. It is said to be an "opportunity to be with" the departed and is done in a somewhat solemn way. When November 1 hits the calendar, the “Araw ng mga Patay” for the Filipinos start, as a celebration of the solemn and collective remembrance of the Day of the Dead. The almost festive movements are not short, for in fact lasts till the next day, which is the All Souls Day. Catholics in the Philippines have a tradition of setting aside their days to wind down and remember their dead loved ones. Since the Philippines have the most number of catholic citizens in the whole of Asia, a lot of people celebrate the fact that the whole of the state has a mandatory two day vacation for the whole country. People who are asked to work on those days need to be receiving a special rate of wage. This is a luxury that is granted to the Filipinos to commemorate for all the passed away souls of those who died and the saints. Although it would seem queer to some people that the Filipinos celebrate the solemn All Saints Day and All Souls Day in a joyous way, what they do not understand is that the Filipinos are naturally happy people. They truly respect their passed away loved ones very much, but they want to remember the good times with their ancestors instead of the bad.
There are some beliefs that Filipino people are still doing. Aside from bringing flowers and candles to offer on the graves. Some are also bringing foods to serve on their loved ones grave site. Those foods and drink that they think was the favorite of the one who passed away. At home prayer for the souls are also done. But aside from the praying, preparing foods or like offering foods are also done. The one who are leading for the prayer in sometimes will call the deads name as if they are invited to eat and drinks.
The onset of All Soul's Day in places where the inhabitants are mostly Catholics suggests a deluging in the local markets of assorted candles of colors, shapes and scents and of a variety of flowers freshly picked from a native farm. The hullabaloos in the flea markets reached as far as the super marts and department stores where people can be seen hurrying to and fro, doing a last minute buying of the things they will need in preparing for the occasion. Such a typical Filipino setting indeed and so much like Christmas Eve, the difference is it's not Christmas and it's not for the living. It is All Soul's Day and it's for the dead.