Category Archives: Cottage Industries

The Biscocho of Pasuquin (Ilocos Norte)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓
Pasuquin Bakery

After breakfast at the Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center, our Lakbay Norte 2 media group proceeded to Pasuquin, a farming (rice, onions, garlic) and fishing town, to observe making of biscocho and salt.  Joining us on the bus was local historian Rene Gluatco and our first stop was the Pasuquin Bakery.  My idea of biscocho is the crunchy and sugar-sweet pastry made from stale leftover bread.  Pasuquin biscocho is different, making use of freshly-baked bread specially made to be toasted. It is also soft and not sweet, being flavored with anise.

The immensely popular biscocho

The couple Sixto and Estefania Salmon, the assistants of the late Timot Josue who was trained in one of the Spanish style panaderias in Manila, were said to have been able to deduce, through careful observation and measurements, both the ingredients and the process of making this biscocho.  After World War II, Sixto, who served as a baker to the American forces temporarily stationed at Victory Road, south of the town proper, established Pasuquin Bakery with his savings. His only child, Esperanza Alvarez, better known as Manang Pansing, currently manages the bakery. Nowadays, the immensely popular, freshly-baked soft biscocho of Pasuquin Bakery is a must buy. It is perfect with cheese, condensed milk or Spanish-style sardines.

Pasuquin Bakery: Brgy. Poblacion 3, Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte.  Tel: (077) 775-0198.

Return to Adams (Ilocos Norte)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

I finally made it back to Adams town proper, one of the last to make it.  My other companions were already feasting on a late lunch at a picnic shed by the river, dining, kamayan-style, on aba (a local version of laing minus the coconut milk), kiwet (a Yapayao term for palos or freshwater eel), shrimps, a green salad of lightly blanched young string beans mixed with fresh tomatoes on bagoong and lasuna (sibuyas tagalog), itlog ti abu-os (fire ant eggs), igado (stewed pork entrails), breaded fried frogs (tokak) and red highland rice.   

Lunch: Better late than never

After this delicious lunch, we proceeded to a souvenir shop with walls of inch-thick hardwood planks and a roof of gabut grass.  Here, we did some free wine tasting, sampling tapuey (Kankana-ey rice wine similar to Japanese sake) and tropical wines made from bugnay (wild blackberry), pineapple, cherry, santol, passion fruit, duhat and malubeg, manufactured from 40 local wineries, all backyard operations, within the town.   The list of locally-produced wines could go on as the people of Adams are constantly experimenting on other fruity combinations for their wine industry.

Souvenir and wine store

Totally sated and a bit tipsy, we now returned to our dump truck for the hour-long trip back to the National Highway (and, from there, to Laoag City) with the injured me now conveniently seated beside the driver together along with cramp-afflicted cameraman Roland Fontilla, Jr. and the foot-blistered Sheryl Songsong.  The allergy-afflicted Kenneth del Rosario still rode at the back, now provided with PVC chairs for our riding comfort. 

Locally-made wine

Mayor’s Office:  Municipal Hall, Brgy. Adams Proper, Adams, Ilocos Norte.  Mobile numbers: (0927) 668-1128 & (0921) 286-3470

Buguey: The "Crab Capital of the North" (Cagayan)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
El Presidente Beach Resort

After breakfast at Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort, we next headed west, to Ilocos Norte, with stopovers at Buguey and Claveria. We arrived at Buguey by 10 AM and were dropped off at the El Presidente Beach Resort where we were welcomed by town officials led by Mayor Licerio Antiporda III and his wife. The skies were overcast and it was very windy.  Before entering the conference hall, we were given a welcome drink of fresh buko juice, still in its shell, plus crab sandwiches.  While waiting for the start of the press conference, some sampled the Lamba Sparkle Berry Delight, a cocktail consisting of a 1/3 cup each of the following: native Buguey lambanog (nipa palm wine), sparkle and red berry juice, plus half a teaspoon of sugar; then garnished with lime and cherry and, finally, all the ingredients are shaken, strained and poured into a cocktail glass.

Lamba Sparkle Berry Delight

In his speech at the presscon, Mayor Antiporda enumerated his efforts to further boost the town’s tourism potential as well as to fortify its claim to being the “Crab Capital of the North.”  He also informed us that the local government-run El Presidente Beach Resort will soon be undergoing a total makeover, thanks to a PhP32 million loan from Land Bank, and will be turned into a U-shaped, bungalow-type hotel with 15 guestrooms and two dorms and will be renamed as the Buguey Crab Hotel.

Crab claws anyone….?

Afterwards, we were all invited to partake of the feast prepared for us: steamed shrimps; brackish water crabs, both steamed and cooked in the half shell; breaded prawns; seaweed, oysters, fresh fruits (mangoes, bananas) and bocayo (coconut candy). Some, foregoing the use of spoons, forks and knives, decided to dine kamayan style. While we were doing so, we were regaled with a bevy of native dances performed by schoolchildren and young adults.

Driftwood by the beach

After dining, some of us slipped out the conference hall to burn the excess calories gained as well as to check out the windswept black sand beach, observe people harvesting shells or children playing and to admire the high, turbulent waves breaking on the shore, a consequence of the converging waters of the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Cagayan River.  Prior to our leaving for Claveria, everyone in the media group was gifted with a bottle of Buguey lambanog to take home (I was given two).

The Patupat of Pozorrubio (Pangasinan)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Panutsa in sursur (coconut shells)

We had just finished an adrenalin-filled morning zip lining and driving ATVs at Pugad Pugo Adventure Park in Pugo, La Union and we were all tired and taking catnaps when we arrived at Pozorrubio, Pangasinan for a less tiring, quieter and more educational cottage industry observation tour as guests of Mayor Artemio Chan and Pangasinan Visitors Bureau (PVB) representatives Ms. Marion Puzon and Ms. Montserrat Escano.  This time we were to observe the making of  patupat, a uniquely Ilocano delicacy made from sticky rice called malagkit and wrapped in coconut or banana leaves.  The patupat of Pozorrubio is reportedly the best in the country. The factory, located in a large, open G.I.-roofed shack, was located right in the midst of a sugar plantation which was a short but quite muddy hike from the road where our special media bus was parked.

The  now motor-driven dadapilan (sugar cane mill)

The traditional method for making patupat starts with the dadapilan, the sugar cane mill.  For years, the mills were driven by carabaos but now they use motors.   Here, sugar cane is fed into the mill and pressed by its big iron rollers to extract sugar cane juice. At the same time, uncooked glutinous rice is poured into intricately designed, rectangular baskets or bags of different sizes made from banana or coconut palm leaves cut into even widths, then tied up and sealed.  The weaving of this basket is an art by itself. Using young coconut leaves with the midribs removed and knotted at both ends, the baskets are woven  with one leave overlapping the other, ending with two corners.  After the knots are removed, they are then joined to complete the basket. The baskets with the glutinous rice are then cooked and caramelized for at least 30 mins. in a large kawa or taliasi (cauldron) filled with a mixture of boiling and bubbling sugar cane juice and coconut milk, over a fire fueled by pressed sugar cane stalks. After boiling, the patupat are then tied together and hanged to drip. Soon, they would be ready to be served, cold or hot, and will be good for 3 days. On the other hand, the boiled sugar cane juice and coconut milk concoction, once thoroughly cooked and sticky, is poured into sursur (cut coconut bowls) then dried to be sold as panutsa or matamis na bao (brown sugarcane).  Thus, very little is wasted in the process.  The patupat has made Pozorrubio proud and is the star of the Patupat Festival, held annually in the town since 1999.

Boiling a concoction of sugar cane juice 
and coconut milk

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, Pozorrubio, Pangasinan. Tel: (075) 566-7015 and 566-7020. 

Pangasinan Visitors Bureau (PVB): 33 Gov. Antonio Sison St., Lingayen, Pangasinan. Mobile number: (0928) 733-4798. Email: marionpuzon@yahoo.com.

Tam-awan Village: A Showcase of Cordillera Life (Baguio City, Benguet)

Posted on by — Leave a reply
Tam-awan Village

The first leg of our Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC)/North Philippines Visitor’s Bureau (NPVB)-sponsored Lakbay Norte 2 Tour brought us to Baguio City, the country’s “Summer Capital,” where we were to check out the city’s art scene inspired by Baguio’s lovely natural environment and the rich Cordillera cultural heritage.  Our first stop was, fittingly, Tam-awan Village in Pinsao Proper where we were welcomed by Baguio City Visitors Bureau (BCVB) representatives Eric Pangilinan, Matt Roncal and Claire Iniong. This model village is laid out just like a traditional Cordillera village, making it accessible for those who have not had the opportunity to explore the different parts of the vast Cordillera region in the Philippines.  This recreated village, uniquely blending indigenous aesthetics and exquisite Cordilleran craftsmanship, has a charming collection of 9 authentic knock down huts built by clever mortise makers without nails or hardware Seven of these are compact and deceptively simple Ifugao huts transported from Bangaan, (Ifugao ).  The other two are more spacious Kalinga huts made of hand-hewn pine wood.  Some huts are over a hundred years old but have new cogon roofs which are periodically re-roofed from time to time.  All huts are named after the areas where they come from.

Jordan Mang-osan with one of his works  

Upon entering the compound, our media group, consisting of travel writers, bloggers and photographers, all explored the grounds including its art works at the art gallery and gazebo (across which is a stone-paved dap-ay where rituals and dances are performed) and the areas used for conferences, seminars and workshops.  Workshops here offer livelihood and crafts demonstrations on woodcarving, bamboo crafts, papermaking, weaving, printmaking, rice wine making and solar drawing, all envisioned to foster a deeper understanding, respect and pride in the cultural heritage of the Cordillera people.  The latter, a specialty of  Mr. Mang-osan, is an ancient Ifugao technique wherein a wooden surface  is burned using the sun’s rays to create an image.  

Portrait Sketching Session with local artistsA highlight of our visit was having our portraits sketched (for a fee of PhP100 per sketch), using charcoal pencil, by one of the many well-known artists who have their artwork on display. Other members of our group tried a hot cup of aromatic native Arabica coffee or sipped a glass of Winers tapuy (made from rice) or bugnay (made from Benguet strawberries) wine. Come lunchtime, we were served native pinikpikan, kintuman (brown rice), a salad of Baguio veggies and strawberry crepes for dessert.   Pinikpikan is prepared by beating a live chicken with a stick prior to cooking. The beating bruises the chicken’s flesh, bringing blood to its surface, which is said to improve the flavor after cooking.   
Tam-awan Village: 366-C Pinsao Proper, Baguio City, Benguet.  Tel: (074) 446-2949.  Fax: (074) 442-5553.  Website: www.tam-awanvillage.com. Admission: PhP50 (adults), PhP30 (students and senior citizens), and PhP20 (children).
Baguio Convention Visitors Bureau: 2/F Philippine Tourism Authority Bldg., Abad Santos Drive, Burnham Park, Baguio City, Benguet.  Tel: (074) 442-4315.  E-mail: baguio.cvb@gmail.com.

Return to Banaue (Ifugao)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓
The narrow streets of Banaue

My first trip to Banaue, Ifugao and its showpiece, the stupendous Batad Rice Terraces (the “Eighth Wonder of the World”), was way back in April of 1998 (http://firingyourimagination.blogspot.com/2011/08/ifugao-day-tour-of-batad-rice-terraces.html) with my then 11-year old son Jandy. Back then there were no celphone signals (making my celphone useless) and the camera I brought with me was an instamatic Canon Sureshot Joy using now rarely-used roll film.  Since then, I have been pining for a return. Well, wishes do come true and I have returned. Though now without Jandy (he had a cold) or my daughter Cheska (she had commitments), I was traveling with seasoned professional photographers –  Mr. Steve Albano, Mr. Jun Bagaindoc, Mr. Jules Capucion, Mr. Nonie Castillo, Ms. Mel Dimapilis, Mr. Rene Enriquez, Mr. Bebet Gaudinez, Mr. Lawrence Bryan Lee and my good friend and frequent travel companion Ms. Rosevie Sevilla; all members of the Ayala Alabang Camera Club.  Our group also included master guide Mr. Lester Susi plus sisters Pearl Giselle and Phoebe Uno, Ms. Ivy Belimac and Mr. Arvic Camua.  To put on some professional air, I brought with me my daughter’s Canon EOS 500D digital SLR which I recently bought in Singapore. However, this was mostly for show as it was set in automatic.

View of the town from People’s Lodge

We left Manila on January 26, 9:30 PM via an airconditioned GV Florida bus at its terminal along Lacson St, near Espana Ave. (near U.S.T.).  One thing nice about this bus was it had its own toilet, convenient for this long-haul  341-km./10-hour trip which including stopovers.  As soon as the bus left the terminal, we all tried to grab some shuteye.  Our trip was uneventful and our bus arrived in Banaue 7 AM the next day.  Our group was picked up by a hired AUV which brought us to People’s Lodge and Restaurant for breakfast. Nostalgically, this inn was the same place me and my son Jandy stayed in during our first visit.  While waiting for our food, we tried out its balcony.  Here, we had a panoramic view of the town, its backdrop of rice terraces and the winding Ibulao River which was traversed by a hanging steel bridge (which, in the past, I tried to cross but chickened out half way).

Ifugao woodcarving

Once done with breakfast, Mel, Rosevie and I explored the nearby handicraft stores for some souvenir shopping.  The shopping options include different kinds of traditional fabric like the woven bark cloth and dyed ikat cloth, wooden objets d’art  such as bowls, trays, oversized spoons and forks, antiques, entirely alien statues of American Indian chiefs and smiling, pot-bellied Chinese gods, and the traditional bul-ols (statues of rice gods).  Curio souvenirs include handwoven wall hangings, crocheted bedroom slippers and pfu-ong (traditional jewelry) representing good luck in hunting or prosperity of children.   Once done, we returned to our group and the AUV for our trip to the jump-off point for our hike to Batad Rice Terraces.

The Strawberry Fields of La Trinidad (Benguet)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Bernard and Rodel again joined Jandy and I as we proceeded to the Benguet provincial capitol of La Trinidad, where we visited the Strawberry Farms.  The Trinidad Valley is home, aside from vegetable farms and flower plantations, to strawberry fields that are in full bloom between November and May.  We headed for Km. 6, the easiest place to visit. 

Ibaloi farmers hard at work at the fields

Tourist usually go here to pick strawberries, either to bring home or consume while on vacation, alongside hardworking Ibaloi farmers.  Strangely though, the strawberries you pick here cost twice the market value.  The other half is for the activity itself.  Still, its cheaper than the ones sold in Manila. We weren’t into this fun activity though.  Besides, the best time to do this is early in the morning and we arrived late in the afternoon when the best strawberries have already been picked. 

Souvenir stalls

Rather, we were going for the finished products sold at souvenir stalls, selling strawberry products and other Baguio delicacies and souvenir items, within the farm ground, just across the road from the fields.  We bought a couple of jars of strawberry jam, some sweaters and, from an ambulant vendor,  a snakeskin wallet.  Still, the strawberry fields were still a sight to behold, producing the best, disease-free (due to a process of tissue culture pioneered by Benguet State University) strawberries in the country. 

Bambusetum (Gloria, Mindoro Oriental)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

After lunch,  my guide Gorett and Tess Magdalita (with husband Efren as our driver) toured me to the town’s Bambusetum, a 1-hectare bamboo reforestation project.  Bamboo, locally called kawayan, has about 150 varieties worldwide and here, 22 of these varieties are propagated and cared for by the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) and the municipal government.   The complex aims to propagate new and improved varieties of bamboo.

Tess and Gorett at the Bambusetum

Under the energetic stewardship of town Mayor  Romeo Alvarez and, with the support of TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), the versatility of bamboo was put to good use as a source of livelihood for the town’s 27 barangays. Started only January, these barangays have profited immensely from the manufacture of furniture, home decor and food products made with labong (bamboo shoots).  It was even made into artificial reefs.  As a tribute to the unheralded kawayan, the town has adopted it as the theme of its unique Kawayanan Festival, the only one in the country to do so.  They hope that  it will be included in the Calendar of Activities of the Department of Tourism.

Bambusetum: Sitio Balagbag, Brgy. Maligaya, Gloria, Mindoro Oriental

The Pineapples of Kananga (Leyte)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

The following day, Jandy and I woke up at 7 A.M..  Mr. Roy Perez, a medical representative of Astra Zeneca and an Ormoc resident,  picked us up at 9 A.M. and we traveled on board an open-sided AUV.  First item on our itinerary was a tour of Mr. Sabin Larrazabal’s 60-hectare pineapple plantation in Brgy. Toril in nearby Kananga town. 

Rows of pineapples

Kananga, as well as Ormoc City, is famous for its pineapples, its leading fruit product.  Not just any pineapple, but the distinct queen or formosa variety, acclaimed as the sweetest pineapple in the land and grown only here and the Bicol province of Camarines Norte. Ranging from 0.45 to 1.3 kilograms in weight, it has deep eyes and a yellow to deep yellow flesh color.  The plantation grows one crop in 15 months and our arrival was timely as some of the pineapples were being harvested.

Roy, Jandy and I trying some pineapples
Our driver chose about five pieces for us to sample. After returning to the caretaker’s house, one fruit was pared and divided for me and Roy.  It was indeed sweet and succulent and so crispy that even the core could be eaten.  According to Roy, canning these pineapples is not feasible as less juice can be derived from one fruit unlike the other variety.  It is best eaten in its natural state, without preservatives.  Fruits here are sold around Leyte and Samar as well as shipped to nearby Cebu.

HME Embroidery Store (Taal, Batangas)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

From the Leon Apacible Museum and Library, Jandy and I proceeded to the HME Embroidery Store, one of the town’s pioneers in the now dying art of fine needlework of hand-embroidered, semitransparent pina (made from pineapple fibers) cloth which is usually done by women in their homes and sundried around the market.    

HME Embroidery Store

The store is located within the Art Deco-style ancestral house (also called the “Pink House”) of Ramon and Jovita Estacio, built in 1918 with narra and molave shipped all the way from Mindoro.  We were shown around the second floor by Mrs. Ofelia Estacio, the wife of Honesto Estacio, the current owners, where we appreciated its antique furniture. I bought barong cloth for PhP600 at the ground floor store.

HME Embroidery Store: J.P. Rizal St., Brgy. Poblacion 13, Taal, Batangas