Category Archives: Cuisine

Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm (Bulusan, Sorsogon)

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Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm

Part of Sorsogon Countryside Tour

After our visit to Bulusan Lake Eco-Tourism Center, we proceeded, on a short 2.8-km. (7-min.) drive, via Bulusan Lake Rd., to the secluded Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm for lunch. The 3-hectare Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm (literally meaning “house of farm life”), a combination of a resort, bee farm and restaurant, is located on the slopes of the 1,565 m. high Mt. Bulusan in a verdant area in Sorsogon.

Check out “Bulusan Lake Eco-Tourism Center”

The ornately designed gate, a backdrop for group picture taking, welcomed us. Upon arrival, we walk through the trellis lined pathway planted with summer blooms of hyacinth and bougainvillea.

Dining Pavilion

After a good 10 minute walk, we arrived at a small pavilion (open till 5 PM) built with bamboo, wood and other native materials, where a well laid lunch buffet table featuring local Bicolano food was served.

The author (left) at the Dining Pavilion (photo: Mr. Marlon Atun)

 

Fare included healthy options consisting of Bicol dishes such as adobadong suso (boiled edible freshwater snails in coconut milk), tinolang manok, deep-fried tilapia, pork belly salad (lechon kawali with salted egg), enseladang pako and pipino plus fruits in season, all washed down by melon juice.

Pork belly salad

Adobadong Suso

Deep-fried tilapia

A good, very attractive, relaxing, refreshing and colorful place to stay, there’s no internet, no TV, just peace and quiet.  Its garden has so many plants, trees and flowers, as well as fish ponds.

For those who want to swim or escape the summer heat, there’s Batis sa Uma, a very refreshing and nice, mountain fed cold water swimming area located at the farther end of the bee farm.

The author at Batis sa Uma (photo: Mr. Marlon Atun)

Batis sa Uma

Picnic huts beside Batis sa Uma

Along the way, we passed through the scenic view of the bee hives located on both sides of the trail.

Bee colonies

As its name implies, the place has an amazing 2,400 colonies of stingless ligwan (Apis cerana) and pukyutan (Apis dorsata) bees.  The bee farm started in 2003 with 38 colonies of European honey bees (Alis mellifera) which did not do well in this climate. In 2004, they shifted to 5 colonies of indigenous stingless bees brought by slash and burn farmers.

During the December 2015 Typhoon Nona, many colonies were lost.  From these colonies, they harvest pollen (about 230 kgs. each year), propolis (about 180 kgs. each year) and honey (about 750 kgs. each year packed in 25 kg. containers).

To harvest pollen, they remove a coconut shell and take out the contents.  From the bee pots made of cerumen, they then take out the yellow-brown lumps of pollen.  In partial shade, they scatter the contents.

Red button ginger (Costus woodsonii)

The bees come, collect the cerumen (but not the pollen) and take it back to their hive. The pollen is dried for three days and then packaged in bags and sold to wholesale buyers.  The propolis, on the other hand, is just washed with water and dried.

Aside from swimming, other activities you can do here are fish feeding, gardening and honey tasting.

Orange Bauhinia (Kock’s Bauhinia)

Philippine Catmon (Palali)

Easter Lily Vine (Herald’s Trumpet)

The DOT-accredited agri-tourism farmsite also sells a lot of organic products such as wild honey, honey-based products (soap, lotion, shampoo, etc.), turmeric tea and even pili oil, all produced by the farm.

Native-style cottages

For those who want to stay overnight, there are small, quite nice, native-style cottage with balcony. The air is cool so you don’t even need to use the fan.

The farm resort also has a reception area where you can hold wedding banquets or seminars.

Salon de Floren

Salon de Ligwan – serves hot and cold coffee, pasta and fries

The author (left) at Salon de Ligwan

Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm: Purok Bacolod, Brgy, San Roque Bulusan, 4704 Sorsogon.  Tel: (02) 8986 4355.  E-mail: balaybuhaybeefarm@gmail.com. Website: www.balaybuhaysauma.com. Mobile number: (0910) 918-8599.  Open daily, 8 AM – 5 PM.  Entrance fee: Php50 (if buying food) and Php100 (if touring). GPS coordinates: 12.73943,124.09711.

How to Get There: Bulusan is located 557.3 kms. (a 13-hr. drive  via Pan Philippine Highway/AH26) from Manila and 44.5 kms. (a 55-min. drive) via the Junction Abuyog-Gubat-Ariman Rd., from Sorsogon City.

Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Culture and Arts Office: Ground Floor, Capitol Building, 4700 Sorsogon City. Mobile number: (0968) 624-6279. E-mail: tourism@sorsogon.gov.ph.  Facebook: www.facebook.com/sorsogonprovincialtourismoffice.

Bulusan Municipal Tourism Office: www.facebook.com/ExploreBulusan. 

Ur Place Travel & Tours: OLV Pangpang, Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.  Mobile number (Viber): (0927) 950-3927 (Ms. Annie Gueb).  Facebook: www.facebook.com/urplacetravel.

The Iconic Pansit of Cabagan (Isabela)

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The iconic Pancit Cabagan

Prior to our return to the City of Ilagan from Cabagan, we took time out to observe the making of the festive, hearty and mouth watering Pancit Cabagan (a must try if you are in Cabagan) at Mariloi’s Panciteria and Restaurant, one the well known pansiterias in the town.  Here, we were welcomed by owner Ms. Marivic Tagao who would demonstrate how this unique, saucy pansit dish variety is prepared.

Mariloi’s Restaurant

But first, the history of the origin of the uniquely delicious Pancit Cabagan (or Pansi Cabagan, pansi being the Ybanag term for pansit), considered as one of the most popular food in the province and the Cagayan Vallley and a symbol of the town’s culture and heritage.

Just like any other noodle dish in the country, Pancit Cabagan is of Chinese origin. In 1887, according to a research conducted, a group of Chinese traders, originally from Amoy (now Xiamen), China, landed in Aparri (Cagayan). Among them was Sia Liang (also known as Diangga) who married Augustina Deray Laddaran, a Filipina, and established a panciteria in Cabagan during the pre-war period, using ingredients that were locally available at that time.

Today, many roadside eateries and restaurants in this town offer their own take on this very filling noodle recipe. This pansit version makes use of miki noodles (made with wheat, flour, lihiya and eggs) and eggs similar to that of Tuguegarao’s Pancit Batil Patung (translated as “beat the egg” and “place on top”).

The pancit’s toppings – veggies, lumpiang shanghai, lechon carajay, meatballs, quail eggs

However, the eggs are boiled and not poached. Quail eggs (pugo) are commonly used to make this dish.  This pansit version also has more sauce (sweet and salty) compared to the others. The noodles are not submerged in sauce or broth, so this cannot be categorized as mami (noodle soup).

Ms. Marivic Tagao

Marivic showed us how the miki noodles were cooked in oil in a wok, Upon draining, the already prepared toppings that make this pancit truly delicious are were generously added – bite-sized slices of lechon carajay (crispy pork belly boiled with spices and deep fried), lumpia shanghai (fried egg roll), meatballs, quail eggs, a medley of veggies  and cooked igado (stewed pork liver).  This was served with calamansi (Philippine lemon).  We all took turns trying out this iconic dish.

The restaurant also serves delicious bulalo (soup with bone-in beef shank), beef mami, chicken mami, pares (braised beef stew), lomi, dinuguan (Filipino version of blood stew) and papaitan (a bitter soup made from cow’s innards). The flourishing noodle industry of the town has spawned the annual Pansi Festival (every January 16-25, the patronal Feast of St. Vincent Ferrer) that includes events such as a noodle contest, beauty pageants and cultural and sports competitions.

Mariloi’s Pancieria and Restarant: Maharlika Highway, Brgy. Cubag, 3328 Cabagan (near Isabela State University-Cabagan Campus and beside 4J Hotel), Isabela. Mobile number: (0917) 505-1269.  E-mail: marlontagao@yahoo.com. Open daily, 7 AM – 10:30 PM. Coordinates: 17.41936,121.79452.

How to Get There: Cabagan is located 458.1 kms. (a 10-hr. drive), via the Pan Philippine Highway/AH26, from Manila and 45.4 kms. (a 1-hr. drive) from the City of Ilagan.

Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center (City of Ilagan, Isabela)

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Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center

On the afternoon of our second day in Isabela, we were driven to the Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center which is run by the Department of Agriculture-Cagayan Valley Research Center (DA-CVRC)   Employees Multi-purpose Cooperative.  Mangi is the Ybanag word for “corn.”

Ms. Elizabet Allam

Located just adjacent to the Isabela Police Provincial Office and the Ilagan Public Market, the food house is an innovative breakthrough of the DA-CVRC, promoting corn and its products.  The City of Ilagan is the country’s Corn Capital (with 80% of the population being corn farmers) and this restaurant offers corn fare such as corn coffee, energy ball, puto, nachos, inandappel,  corn shake, pansi de mangi, pastillas de mangi, all made with corn.

Corn-based food products

Here, we were welcomed by its manager Ms. Elizabeth S. Allam.  Ms. Allam has developed various corn recipes such as creamy cornbonara (with flat noodles made of purple corn), pinataro (its take on ginatan where the galapong is corn-based), cornganisa (a vegan sausage composed of mushrooms, malunggay, tofu and, of course, corn), and creamy corn pizza (corn is used for the topping, sauce and dough).

During our visit, Elizabeth introduced to us their decadent soft-serve ice cream – cornbetes. This corn-based product was launched by DA-CVRC Chairman William Contillo on October 12, 2019, the second day of the “Kain Na” Food and Travel Festival, North Luzon Edition at the Ayala Technohub in Baguio City. We each tasted the pure flavors of corn with crunchy corn kernels.

Cornbetes

Mangi Food Hauz and Pasalubong Center: Acacia St., Brgy. Baligatan, 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela.  Mobile number: (0977) 213-1136, (0915)902-5266 and (0939) 115-6879.  E-mail: dacviarcempc@yahoo.com.

Julio’s Bed and Breakfast (Loay, Bohol)

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Julio’s Bed and Breakfast

Our final stop in our Bohol culinary tour was at Julio’s Bed and Breakfast, a stone’s throw away from an exquisite shoreline, pristine waters and calming sunset view of Loay Bay.

Loay Bay

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by its eponymous proprietor, Mr. Pio Araneta and his wife Dra. Grace. The restaurant here is the highlight of our visit.

Mr. Pio Araneta explaining how a pasgong (traditional bamboo trap) works

At the restaurant’s kitchen, we first experienced how the popular siakoy (also spelled as syakoy, siyakoy and shakoy) snack, also known as lubid-lubid (“little rope”), was made.

Siakoy making demonstration

This long, braided, soft, puffy and airy pastry, with a similar taste to the sugary doughnuts sold on streetside bakeries, is traditionally made with flour, sugar, salt, and yeast and deep-fried and then sprinkled with white sugar.

Ready-to-eat, deep-fried siakoy

It was best paired with tableya sikwate, native hot chocolate made using the traditional batirol (wooden whisk), and latik (coconut caramel).

Siakoy is best paired with sikwate (hot native chocolate drink)

Pio then demonstrated how generations of locals in the area prepared nilubihang or ginataang kagang (land crab with niyog), an heirloom recipe which incorporated the fat of native land crabs (kagang) with fresh coconut meat and water plus herbs, vegetables and spices.

Nilubihang kagang ingredients

Pio cooking nilubihang kagang

While waiting for the kagang to cook, Ms. Lily Busano (president of the Albur Calamay Makers Association) showed us how kalamay, Bohol’s most popular  pasalubong, was prepared and cooked.

Ms. Lily Busano (president of the Albur Calamay Makers Association) with finishe kalamay products

This sticky, sweet delicacy is made with grated coconut, coconut milk, brown sugar, muscovado sugar, peanuts and pilit (ground glutinous rice).

The thick sugary mix being stirred continuously in a giant wok

To create the smooth, sticky consistency, the thick sugary mix was stirred continuously in a giant wok for up to 8 hours. Upon cooling, the kalamay is then transferred, preserved and sold in a type of packaging is known as kalamay-hati,  inside signature halved smooth mesocarp of coconuts, locally known as bagul or paya which are then sealed shut with a characteristic red papel de japon (crepe paper).

It can be eaten on its own or turned into a spread for bread or siakoy. The sikwate, siakoy and kalamay are perfect for breakfast, merienda and dessert.

Kagang (Land Crab)

Before we ate the nilubihang kagang, Pio checked out the pasgong, traditional handmade bamboo traps used for catching kagang.  The mouths of the traps were previously poised outside the crab holes and left overnight.

Pasgong, a traditional bamboo trap used to trap kagang

Sure enough, two of the traps we observed had crabs caught inside them. There’s no need for bait for this quick and efficient process but each trap could fit only one crab.

Media colleagues try their hand at weaving pouches for puso (hanging rice)

Nilubihang Kagang

While waiting, cocktails were also served. Others also tried their hand in weaving a pouch of palm leaves for puso or tamu (hanging rice).  Soon, the nilubihang kagang was done and this was eaten with puso and pork barbecue.  Dessert consisted of  turon (banana spring rolls).

Media group (L-R): the author, Mr. John Paul Dacuycuy, Mr. Nickie Wang (Entertainment and Lifestyle Editor, Manila Standard), Mr. Anton Delos Reyes (Writer, Malaya Business Insight). Ms. Raye Sanchez (Lifestyle and Entertainment Writer, Daily Tribune), Ms. Christine Alpad (Senior Reporter, Manila Times Lifestyle and Entertainment Desk), Mr. Alvin Alcantara (www.thediarist.ph), Ms. Lourdes Sultan (Travel Village Tours and Travel), Mr. Mario Alvaro Limos (Features Editor, Esquire Philippines), Ms. Roxanne M. Gochuico (Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Cebu Pacific), Mr. Pete Dacuycuy (Publicist) and Mr. Pio Araneta 

Julio’s Bead and Breakfast: Del Carmen St., Villalimpia 303, Loay.  Mobile number: (0922) 515-7594.

Bohol Provincial Tourism Office: G/F, New Provincial Capitol Bldg., C. Marapao St, Tagbilaran City, 6300.  Tel: (038) 411 3666.  Email: inquire@boholtourismph.com.  Website: www.bohol.ph.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII:  G/F, L.D.M Building, Legaspi St, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu.  Tel: (032) 254 6650 and(032) 254 2811. E-mail: dotregion7@gmail.com.  Website: dot7@tourism.gov.ph.

Bluewater Panglao Resort: Bluewater Rd, Sitio Daurong, Brgy. Danao, Panglao, 6340 Bohol.  Tel: (038) 416-0702 and (038) 416-0695 to 96. Fax: (038) 416-0697.  Mobile numbers: (0998) 843-0262, (0998) 964-1868 (Ms. Margie Munsayac – VP-Sales and Marketing), (0998) 962-8277 (Ms. Louee Garcia), (0919) 912-9663 (Mr. Manuel Sandagaon) and (0908) 890-9013 (Ms. Kate Biol).   Email: panglao@bluewater.com.ph, resrvations.panglao@bluwater.com.ph, margie.munsayac@bluewater.com.ph, louee.garcia@bluewater.com.ph, manuel.sandagon@bluewater.com.ph and kate.biol@bluwater.com.ph.  Website: www.bluewaterpanglao.com.ph.  Manila sales office: Rm. 704, Cityland Herrera Tower, Rufino cor. Valera Sts., Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 817-5751 and (632) 887-1348.  Fax: (632) 893-5391.

Cebu Pacific Air currently flies seven times daily from Manila and thrice weekly from Davao City (every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) to Bohol’s Panglao International Airport.  Visist www.cebupacificair.com to learn about their latest offerings, safety protocols and travel reminders.

Fox & Firefly Cottages (Loboc, Bohol)

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Fox and Firefly Cottages

Lunch during our Bohol Food Trip was to be at Fox & Firefly Cottages, a bed and breakfast place located in the forest areas of Loboc. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with organic, homemade kombucha, an effervescent, sweetened black or green tea commonly consumed for its purported health benefits.

Also on hand to welcome us was owner Ms. Joan Christine Soupart, one-half of the husband-and-wife team (the other is avid Belgian paddle boarder Frederic “Fred” Soupart) behind this quaint inn and its SUP Tours Philippines Sports Center.  Joan is a registered Sivananda yoga teacher and ASI SUP yoga flow (Vinyasa) instructor.

Fred and Joan fell in love with the riverside town of Loboc, seeing it as an ideal place to exercise their passion for sports and adventure as well as to live with nature.  They built a three-bungalow inn (initially called Paddle’s Up Guesthouse) beside the ever flowing Loboc River in 2013.

Front Desk

Here, they could operate stand-up paddling (SUP) tours.  Now it is a favorite destination for adventure seekers, backpackers and nature lovers.  According to Joan, the place was renamed (in 2014) after their beloved Pomeranian-Japanese Spitz dog Fox as well as the occasional firefly that flutter around amid the trees along the Loboc River at night.

Fox and Fable Restaurant (second floor)

Lunch was served at their in-house Fox and Fables (also named after their dog Fables) Restaurant along the banks of the Loboc River.

Vegan fare at Fox and Fables Restaurant

Here, they serve traditional, Western, vegetarian and vegan meals anytime of the day. We feasted on healthy meals and vegan dishes such as monggo soup, avocado salad, somtom (Thai papaya salad), talong salad, G-chili shrimps, maranding manok (dry coconut chicken curry), chicken halang-halang soup (a Visayan version of tinola with coconut leaves and moringa leaves) and their vegan kare-kare which was paired with a bagoong alternative made from locally sourced mushrooms.

Author (foreground) at Fox and Fables Restaurant

They also offer specialty beverages such as organic drinks and shakes, cocktails, wines and authentic Belgian beer.

The place also suffered during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) and, after repairs and renovation, reopened again on May 1, 2022.

We checked out one of the simply furnished, clean and comfortable cottages, one of 11, of this riverside accommodation facing a rice field.

Suite

Designed in the Filipino traditional architecture, with a modern but cozy feel, it featured a queen-size bed, a spacious patio with hammock, bamboo furnishings, fan (the cool, riverside breeze passes through naturally), mosquito nets and a private, nature-inspired outdoor bathroom.

Outdoor bathroom

Other facilities include a common lounge. They offer mountain biking tours and stand-up paddleboard activities. You may also practice yoga, join a class or meditate at their Santosha Yoga Shala.

Paddle boards for rent

Mountain bikes for rent

The inn also exhibit and sell artworks, inspired by nature and Boholano surroundings, by young Boholano artists.  Proceeds from the sale go to a village livelihood program called “Build a Boat, Build a Barangay.”

Artwork of Boholano artists for sale along the hallway

Fox and Firefly Cottages: Barangay Rd., Brgy. Valladolid, Loboc 6316.  Tel: (038) 537-9011.  Mobile number: (0917) 713-7577, (0947) 893-3022 and (0917) 703-9979. E-mail: info@suptoursphilippines.com. Website: www.foxandthefireflycottages.com and www.suptoursphilippines.com.

Bohol Provincial Tourism Office: G/F, New Provincial Capitol Bldg., C. Marapao St, Tagbilaran City, 6300.  Tel: (038) 411 3666.  Email: inquire@boholtourismph.com.  Website: www.bohol.ph.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII:  G/F, L.D.M Building, Legaspi St, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu.  Tel: (032) 254 6650 and(032) 254 2811. E-mail: dotregion7@gmail.com.  Website: dot7@tourism.gov.ph.

Bluewater Panglao Resort: Bluewater Rd, Sitio Daurong, Brgy. Danao, Panglao, 6340 Bohol.  Tel: (038) 416-0702 and (038) 416-0695 to 96. Fax: (038) 416-0697.  Mobile numbers: (0998) 843-0262, (0998) 964-1868 (Ms. Margie Munsayac – VP-Sales and Marketing), (0998) 962-8277 (Ms. Louee Garcia), (0919) 912-9663 (Mr. Manuel Sandagaon) and (0908) 890-9013 (Ms. Kate Biol).   Email: panglao@bluewater.com.ph, resrvations.panglao@bluwater.com.ph, margie.munsayac@bluewater.com.ph, louee.garcia@bluewater.com.ph, manuel.sandagon@bluewater.com.ph and kate.biol@bluwater.com.ph.  Website: www.bluewaterpanglao.com.ph.  Manila sales office: Rm. 704, Cityland Herrera Tower, Rufino cor. Valera Sts., Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 817-5751 and (632) 887-1348.  Fax: (632) 893-5391.

Cebu Pacific Air currently flies seven times daily from Manila and thrice weekly from Davao City (every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) to Bohol’s Panglao International Airport.  Visist www.cebupacificair.com to learn about their latest offerings, safety protocols and travel reminders.

Lakbay Museo (Pasay City, Metro Manila)

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Lakbay Museo entrance emulating Mayon Volcano’s silhouette and perfect cone

For those who want to travel and experience 11 regions of the Philippines without having to leave Manila, then you should visit the IG-worthy Lakbay Museo.  Prior to its official opening to the public on July 12, we were allowed a sneak preview of this unique and new destination in the Metro. Describing itself as the “first PH interactive millennial museum,” it is sort of a Nayong Pilipino for the Instagram generation.

A project of The Millennial Concept Factory Inc., headed by President Lawrence Li Tan, Lakbay Museo offers, in one massive space, a chance for young Filipino millennials to travel across the Philippines, within 2 hours inside the museum, discovering and revisiting many of the Philippines’s best vacation spots, and know more of the country’s unique history, food, music, arts and culture by immersing themselves its festivals, fashion and food, all without having to spend days of traveling and a lot of money to Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

At the entrance, we were welcomed by staff wearing traditional Filipino attire. Before we entered the museum, we were dressed up, in original Pinoy fashion, with authentic handwoven fabrics with colorful designs.  A display on the museum lobby asks “Paano ka maglalakbay?”

L-R: the author, Ms. Maria “Nini” Ravanilla (former Regional Director of DOT Bicol Region), Mr. Lawrence Li Tan (President of Millenial Concept Factory, Inc.) and Ms. Karla Del Castillo (Lakbay Museo Manager). Behind is the jeepney and at right is the stairs leading up to the airplane and its slide.

To enter the museum, we were given the choice of entering via a vinta, hopping on a distinctly Filipino jeepney (with all its vibrant colors, airbrushed designs and all sorts of décor), or climbing a unique airplane display (where you slide down to enter the gallery), a reminder of the many options for traveling around the Philippines —by land, water or air.

The iconic, distinctly Filipino and colorful jeepney

The museum, boasting 1,000 square meters, is filled with interesting portals, displays and interactive stations which you can explore and experience through different senses.

Magellan’s Shrine, Sinulog mannequins and Cebu’s famous lechon at the Central Visayas Exhibit

They are adorned with eye-catching installations and shining in vibrant lights that draw attention across the floor, highlighting the best destinations in the Philippines (Mayon Volcano in Albay, Magellan’s Cross in Cebu, etc.), all worthy of the very 21st-century practice called Instagram.

A miniature Barasoain Church facade at the Central Luzon Exhibit

Stage with Sto. Nino Shrine backdrop at Eastern Visayas Exhibit.  Check out the suman-shaped seating

The well-trained guides, found all over the museum, are always ready to talk to and entertain you as you go around, offering a myriad of interesting facts about the country.

Ilocos Region Exhibit

The museum is divided into 11 areas – Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region II), Central Luzon (Region III), National Capital Region, Southern Tagalog (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA), Bicol Region (Region V), Western Visayas (Region VI), Central Visayas (Region VII), Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), Cordillera Administrative Region, and the whole island of Mindanao.

Bicol Region Exhibit

Lakbay Museo also offers 14 unique experiences including balancing a stack of rubber palayoks on top of your head or swimming in a giant rice bowl; plus 10 freebies for tasting experiences such as sampling native delicacies and tasting lambanog and fruit wine (for adults only).

Free lambanog tasting

At the Luzon Exhibit, you’ll find Luzon’s gorgeous traditional houses (Batanes’ Ivatan house, the Ifugao bale made with zero nails, etc.) and festivals.

Strawberries inside an Ifugao bale house

The life-size display of the gorgeous Pahiyas Festival, a colorful celebration in Quezon Province of the region’s bountiful harvest, features kiping (colorful decorations made from dried rice paste) used for decorating the houses alongside various fruits, vegetables and flowers.

The gorgeous Pahiyas Festival

The miniature display of a replica of Mayon Volcano, beside the equally famous miniature of the Cagsawa Ruins, is one of the highlights in the museum.   A small tunnel, under the volcano, is filled with mirrors and lights you can play with, perfect for photo experiments and extraordinary shots (including doing an iconic “lava walk”).

Mayon Voolcano and Cagsawa Ruins

The Visayas region, known for its beaches and seas brimming with life (we’re in the Coral Triangle, the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity), showcases the Philippines’ one-of-a-kind underwater world.

Coral Triangle

Hovering above this coral wonderland are strands of plastic waste

Looking like it came out of Wonderland, a display of plastic waste, right above the underwater station, shows us that if we continue to pollute our waters, this natural wonder may soon be gone.

Colorfully attired guides at Mindanao Exhibit

The amazingly vibrant and colorful Mindanao Exhibit display depicts the island’s dances, traditional instruments and local cuisines.

The author at Mindanao Exhibit

A section of Lakbay Museo is dedicated to a fabric collection of traditional textiles and original tapestries that comes with local stories and whose textures you can touch.

Colorful fabrics you can touch to appreciate

An array of banig (woven mats) and carpets

Created by actual ethnic and indigenous groups from all over the Philippines, it presents an artistic take on the colorful fabric of our country which includes the t’nalak from Lake Sebu and inabel from Northern Luzon.  There are also over 120 synthetic mannequins wearing authentic Filipino fashion.

The Arraquio of Penaranda, Nueva Ecija (Central Luzon Exhibit)

A full-blown production, the museum holds cultural performances, hourly all throughout the day, of traditional dances from Luzon to Mindanao, with dance troupes performing on the big stage (with a Sto. Nino Shrine backdrop) at the Eastern Visayas area.

They entertained us with familiar and unusual moves from many Filipino fiestas and celebrations with a live performance of the Pandanggo sa Ilaw, Tinikling, Cariñosa, Sayaw sa Bangko, Ifugao Kaloob dance and Maguindanao’s Sagayan.

The Lakbay Museo staff also surprised us as they randomly burst into dance.  A puppet show also educates children on Philippine heritage.

Learning about Philippine culture is, of course, not complete without learning about the variety of dishes in the country, tasting the sour, sweet, salty, spicy, bitter and its other flavors by taking your taste buds on a journey with different Pinoy food and drinks.

Lakbay Museo, housing a large collection of Philippine staples has, literally on exhibit, over 600 known Filipino dishes in the collection.

Taboan Public Market

A replica of Cebu’s famous Taboan Public Market displays an array of local fruits and dried fishes (palad from Samar, bisugo from Ilocos, labahita from Batangas, etc.). However, since what they have on display are just life-like replicas, you won’t end up smelling like tinapa.

An array of dried fish

For the full experience, you can smell the real deal inside sealed jars on shelves.  They include different kinds of local vinegar with different strength levels (sukang Iloco, sukang paombong,etc.); delicious bagoong or shrimp paste (bagoong alamang, bagoong sisi, etc.); coffee beans and roasts (kapeng barako, kapeng alamid, etc.) and rice grain varieties (from the Ifugao’s Minaangan to the Mountain Province’s Ominio).

Bottles of bagoong, coffee and rice grain varieties on shelves

While most of the displays are replicas, you can also try some snacks using the 12 tokens that come free with the admission fee. Goodies normally cost from 1 -4 tokens each.

A sari-sari store

These, you can use to buy full meals (chicken adobo, arroz caldo, pancit lucban, sinigang, tinola, ginataang mais, etc.) and Pinoy street food (fish balls, quek quek, kakanin, sago gulaman, halo-halo, etc.) from the carinderia and chips, candies (Orange Swits, Stay Fresh, Haw Haw, Tarzan bubble gum, etc.), native treats and more from the sari-sari store. As Filipinos love sawsawan, you can try the local vinegar with their fish crackers.

Maskara Festival of Negros Occidental

Museo Lakbay, built on the foundation of environment conservation, aims to raise environmental awareness.  Most of its displays were made from recycled materials such as 4,560 old and used rubber slippers, 328 old tires, 453 old car mats, plastic bottles, and a variety of other recyclable waste products and scrap materials.

Gaily decorated carabao of Panagbenga Festival (Cordillera Administrative Region Exhibit)

The museum also provides job opportunities to the  marginalized sectors of the society – out-of-school youth, non-professionals, disabled persons (PWDs) and senior citizens.

Moriones Festival of Marinduque costumes

Local artists also lovingly handcrafted the thousands of realistic, life-size and perfectly flatlayed replicas of various market produce, multitude of fish species and a variety of vegetables and fruits on display. The quirky props, seemingly designed to appeal to social media users, include cute chairs around the stage that look like puto with cheese as well as benches that look like suman sa lehiya.

Museum shop

We ended our tour and exited the museum at the museum shop which sells local products and unique souvenir items (traditional toys, well-designed t-shirts, totes, etc.), in partnership with 189 micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the country.

Ati-Atihan costumed mannequins (Western Visayas Exhibit)

Lakbay Museo, a perfect place to rediscover our Filipino identity in a fun learning environment, is unlike most museums (where you can’t touch anything) and lots of fun.

Water from a coconut husk pouring into a palayok

Here, we can climb up and play in the exhibits and there were lots of photogenic spots and areas, standing across many of the prominent tourist spots in the Philippines for photo ops.

It presents a showcase of unique experiences, from walking through replicas of iconic landmarks, tasting samples of regional cuisine, touching handwoven textiles, and taking part in traditional folk dances as you visit various portals and IG-ready stalls and learn about our roots and appreciate the richness and diversity of Philippine culture.

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Exhibit

Lakbay Museo: Level 1, S Maison, Marina Way, Conrad Manila, Mall of Asia Complex, 1300 Pasay City.   Open daily, 10 AM -10 PM (9 PM last tour).  Admission: Php 799 (You get a P100 discount if you book online).  Some sites (like MetroDeal) offer discounted rates. E-mail: mabuhay@lakbaymuseo.ph.  Website: www.lakbaymuseo.ph.  Facebook: Lakbay Museo PH. Instagram: @LakbayMuseoPH.  S Maison is connected, via a covered walkway, to Mall of Asia. Tour starts every 15 minutes.

Nakamise-Dori (Tokyo, Japan)

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Nakamise-Dori

After our visit to Senso-ji Temple, we proceeded to the approximately 250 m. (880-ft.) long Nakamise-dōri (仲見世通り), the best place in Tokyo to buy souvenirs.  One of Japan’s oldest streets, this shopping street leads, from the gorgeous Kaminarimon (“Thunder Gate”), to Sensō-ji temple itself.  Items sold here range from outrageously cheesy items to authentic and useful souvenirs.  For centuries, Japanese pilgrims and tourists who visit Sensō-ji every year flock here to shop at its small stores.   This stone-paved pedestrian street, retaining the feeling of old downtown Edo and the cultural florescence of the Meiji era, started during the Genroku and Tempo periods of the Edo era when horse carriage operators were granted the right to set up shops next to the east side of Niomon as compensation for cleaning the temple compound through forced labor.

Shops near the Kaminarimon Gate of Senso-ji Temple

In the early 18th century, Nakamise-dōri (translated as “inside street”) was said to have come about when neighbors of Sensō-ji were granted permission to set up shops on the approach to the temple. However, on May 1885, the government of Tokyo ordered all shop owners to leave but, on December of that same year, the area was reconstructed in Western-style brick. During the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, many of the shops were destroyed.  In 1925, the shops were rebuilt using concrete, only to be destroyed again during the bombings of World War II.

The surrounding area had around 89 small traditional shops, many of them run by the same family for many generations.  I admired the shutters painted with different seasonal vistas. Stores sold traditional Japanese items such as chopsticks, yukata, geta, wooden combs, maneki neko cat statuettes (a traditional good luck charm), hair accessories, elegant fans of all colors and sizes; handmade umbrellas; geta (traditional footwear), masks, folding fans, ukiyo-e (woodblock prints); kimono and other robes; samurai swords; and Buddhist scrolls.  You can also shop here for Godzilla toys, t-shirts and mobile phone straps. The shops at both sides of the last stretch near the temple sell official Senso-ji merchandise – omamori amulets, scrolls, incense to burn at the huge burner in front of the temple’s stairs, books about the temple (in Japanese) and o-mikuji fortunes.

 

Nakamise-Dori is a good place for visitors to try tabearuki (“walk-and-eat”) and enjoy Japanese street food such as tempting traditional kibi dango (sweet and soft rice cakes in a stick covered with millet flour), oden, (a winter snack), imo yokan (sweet potato jelly), odango (a sweet snack), kaminari okoshi (sweet puff rice crackers), colorful candies sold in beautiful traditional patterned cases; ningyo yaki (little sponge cakes filled with red bean paste and shaped like dolls, birds and the famous Kaminarimon, Asakusa’s symbolic lantern), deep-fried manju (a bun stuffed with red-bean paste), kibidango (a millet dumpling), freshly toasted sembei crackers, juicy fried meat croquettes, sweet melon pan bread, cooling matcha green tea ice cream and other green tea-flavored treats.

Trying out vanilla ice cream in a melonpan at Asakusa Sakura

Vanilla ice cream in a melonpan bun

There are also eating places that feature traditional dishes (hand-made noodles, sushi, tempura, etc.). For lunch, we dined at Tatsumiya Restaurant. Here, we were seated in a traditional Japanese setting – no shoes and on low tables with mats.

Check out “Restaurant Review: Tatsumiya Asakusa“

Dining, Japanese style, at Tatsumiya Restaurant

During the holidays, the arcade is decorated with seasonal trappings – silk plum blossoms and kites during New Year’s Day, bright foliage during fall and cherry blossoms in spring. Running perpendicular to Nakamise-Dori is Shin-Nakamise (“New Nakamise”), a covered shopping arcade lined by various shops and restaurants.

Shin-Nakamise (New Nakamise)

Nakamise-Dori: 1 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Open daily, typically from 10 AM to 7 PM but hours depend on the individual shops.

How to Get There: Nakamise-Dori, a 2 minute walk from Asakusa Station, is served by the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Toei Asakusa Line and Tobu railway lines. It is also a 10-min. walk from Tawaramachi Station on the Ginza Line. Take A3~A5 exit for Nakamise. This shopping street is traditionally approached via the Thunder Gate.

 

Pungko-Pungko sa Fuente (Cebu City, Cebu)

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Pungko Pungko sa Fuente

Upon checking in our rooms in Bluewater Maribago Resort and resting a bit, we were scheduled to experience the Old Cebu Walks of Mr.  Balbino “Ka Bino” Guerrero Jr., the curator of the Cebu City Museum.  Ka Bino’s tour draws inspiration from the popular Manila tours such as Ivan Man Dy’s Binondo Food Tour and Carlos Celdran’s “Walk This Way” tour of Intramuros. It was raining on the afternoon of our first day so Ka Bino brought us to Fuente area for a unique dining experience called pungko pungko.

Check out “Walk This Way With Carlos Celdran“

A tray filled with fried street food

Not your normal, everyday fine-dining experience, this literally is what I call “street food.” Taken from the Cebuano word pungko, which means “to squat” in English, it is a term used to describe a manner of dining or can also refer to small self-service eateries along the road selling these all time-favorite fried foods.

Mr. Balbino Pada “Ka Bino” Guerrero Jr.

Among the cheap but fairly, gastronomically satisfying Cebuano pungko-pungko favorites are ginabot or chicharon bulaklak (crispy, deep-fried pork innards), lumpiang ngohiong (long or short spring rolls), bola-bola (fried meat balls), hotdogs, hard-boiled eggs, longganisa, taugi (munggo bean sprouts), fried chicken, pork chops, crab meat, fried brains, fried fat, fried spleen, okoy (shrimp cake), buwad nokso (dried fish)  and  chorizo.

Puso (hanging rice)

We sat on small, low benches that can occupy about 2 to 3 people, with a container or several trays containing a wide array of dishes displayed on tables in front of us. According to Ka Bino, for less than PhP50, customers can just pick at least 2 viands they like to eat, a soft drink and 3 to 4 pieces of puso (hanging rice), paired with a to die for vinegar mix with chili and sliced onions, without waiting for the vendors to serve them.

Members of media listening to Ka BIno

In the past, their customers were taxi and jeepney drivers, construction workers and students. Now, they include call center agents in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry and bank employees.  They also cater to hospitals and even families. Pungko-pungko vendors mostly depend on their customers to tell them what they ate and some are not honest enough to count their orders correctly.

So, if you want to get a quick meal in Cebu City, you don’t have to go far! Eat the pungko-pungko way! It might not be the healthiest among recommended Cebuano dishes but they are everywhere and they cater to anyone.

The dining area

Pungko-Pungko sa Fuente: 52-A J. Llorente St., Cebu City 6000. Mobile number: (0922) 699-6888

The Original Sachertorte (Austria)

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There are three Cs most closely associated with Vienna – Classical music, coffee and cake.  For the latter, the No.1 in the cake rankings is the Sachertorte, a chocolate cake (or torte) of Austrian origin which is, denser than your usual sponge cake, with one or more layers of jam (usually apricot) and coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides.

The original Sachertorte

One of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties, it was originally invented by Franz Sacher, supposedly in 1832 for Prince Metternich, Austria’s top diplomat, in Vienna.  The court of the prince had requested an especially delicious dessert for a special occasion but, as the maître Chambellier was ill at the time, 16-year-old apprentice Franz Sacher filled in and the cake he created could not have been more delicious so much so that Metternich was said to have remarked “Oh, that he may not discredit me tonight!” Franz’s son, Eduard, who opened Hotel Sacher Wien in 1876, fine-tuned the recipe.

Today, Sachertorte’s fame has gone global, with Franz Sacher, on his 200th birthday in 2016, getting a Google Doodle. In the USA, December 5 is National Sachertorte Day.

A slice of sachertorte at the airport

This classic, world-famous cake is pretty much available as a staple food, in many variations on a common theme, in Viennese coffee houses, Konditoreien (confectioneries), patisseries and many restaurants (where it lurks innocently in the cake vitrine) but the two most traditional sources are Hotel Sacher Wien and Demel.  The “original” Sacher Torte, of Hotel Sacher Wien, has two layers of apricot jam between the outer layer of chocolate icing and the sponge base. Demel’s “Eduard-Sacher-Torte,” on the other hand, has only one layer and is denser and smoother.

The cake’s wooden box

I tried a slice of this cake, prior to our departure back to Manila, at an F&B outlet at the Vienna International Airport.  Plus, inside my luggage is a wooden box, with four golden corners, the inside of the lid with the wood engraving of the Hotel Sacher Wien as well as “Das Original” and “Hotel Sacher Wien” in writing and Bordeaux red wrapping paper, with a Biedermeier motif, enclosing the Piccolo size (12 cm. diameter,0.4 kg.) of the “original” version of Sachertorte, a take home gift from Marivic “Vicky” Dionela, our Vienna host and Grace’s first cousin. Vienna’s Hotel Sacher was opened by Franz Sacher’s son Eduard in 1876

Check out “Vienna International Airport“

The still hand-made, original Sachertorte, still using Franz Sacher’s original, closely guarded recipe to this day, is a refined, elegant combination of chocolate flavors with a simple apricot jam filling (which becomes absorbed into the cake and forms a slightly sweet moist layer in the center), a decadent bittersweet glaze complemented by a compulsory mound of Schlag.

Hotel’s Sacher’s logo at the box’s lid

Every bit of Sachertorte is supposed to be dipped with a dollop of traditional unsweetened whipped cream which is an important part of the picture as it moistens the frankly firm cake layers.  Their icing is said to consist of three special types of chocolate which, for this sole purpose, are exclusively produced by different manufacturers. Sacher Hotel obtains these products from Lübeck in Germany and from Belgium. It is sold at Hotel Sacher in Vienna and Salzburg, at Cafe Sacher branches in Innsbruck and Graz, at the Sacher Shop in Bolzano, in the Duty Free area of Vienna airport, and via the Hotel Sacher’s online shop.

This chocolate cake, both light and rich at the same time was, quite simply, delicious though the layer of icing overdoes the sweetness.

Hotel Sacher: Philharmoniker Str. 4, 1010 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 1 514560.  Website: www.sacher.com › original-sacher-torte.

The Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show (Austria)

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The Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show

For our first night in Salzburg, Grace, Manny, Jandy, Cheska, Kyle and I proceeded to Sternbrau Restaurant, at the old heart of the city (next to the famous “Getreidegasse” shopping street), to watch the amazing “Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show,” (Check out video here) a daily show & dinner event with 74 seats available.

Sternbrau Restaurant

The most successful dinner show in Salzburg, it has, for 24 consecutive years, been mesmerizing and entertaining Salzburg visitors from all around the world with its harmonic blending of songs from The Sound of Music movie, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, operettas and other excerpts of Salzburg’s musical past.

Cheska, Kyle and Grace at the entrance of the restaurant

In 1991, three entrepreneurs – Franz Langer (music director), Martin Uitz (former CEO of Salzburg Land Tourism) and Stefan Herzl (CEO of Panorama Tours) – created the Sound of Music Dinner Show (as it was called back then), a dinner concert with live on-stage performance of The Sound of Music compositions combined with an Austrian dinner. It was staged daily, from May till October, in the big hall of the Salzburger Stieglkeller underneath the famous Hohensalzburg Castle.

In 2000, the dinner concert moved, from the Stieglkeller, to the Sternbräu with Franz Langer updating the program, featuring more compositions of W.A. Mozart and Salzburg‘s operettas, and renaming the daily event to “The Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show.”  Even a stepdaughter of Maria von Trapp, also called Maria, used to visit the show several times.

In 2014, Roman Forisch took over from Franz Langer (since 1997 sole owner of the show) as new manager and relocated “The Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show” to the Festungssaal (Fortress Hall) on the first floor of the K+K Restaurants am Waagplatz, a historical landmarked building next to the famous Salzburg Cathedral and right in the middle of the historic district of Salzburg.

Festungssaal (Fortress Hall)

The building, one of the oldest sites in Salzburg, was a brewery in the Middle Ages first mentioned in 1542.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart liked to come here regularly, especially in 1777. At the beginning of 2013, the building was restored, modernized and, after almost two years, re-opened as a restaurant in 2014.

Soup of the Day

Viennese-style Schnitzel with Noodles

The move to this historical building added a final piece to the cultural tourism highlight, providing the makings of a truly wonderful evening with its ideal combination of a splendid, high class culinary experience and a comfortable and atmospheric  Medieval location.

Roast Pork with Dumpling and Cabbage Salad with Bacon

Before the show, a dinner is served at 7.30 PM (Doors open at 7 PM).  We enjoyed a traditional Viennese 3-course meal, in a candlelit setting, prepared by chef de cuisine Michael Pratter and his team.  It featured a starter (Soup of the Day), a choice of white or red meat (Roast Pork with dumpling and cabbage salad with bacon or Vienna-style Schnitzel with Noodles) and their famous homemade Grandma’s Apple Strudel with Whipped Cream for dessert.

Grandma’s Apple Strudel with Whipped Cream

The one-and-a-half-hour show began at 8.30 PM at a stage with an area of about 10 square meters, right in front of the dinner tables. The “Sound of Salzburg Show” features a group of 4 singers (2 female and 2 male), all trained artists from all over the world, and 1 female pianist.

The four performers and the pianist (at right)

On stage, they performed a program which includes the greatest hits of the aforementioned The Sound of Music musical (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein) and  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as Salzburg‘s operettas.   For the Sound of Music, they performed “The Sound of Music (song),” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Do-Re-Mi (Reprise),” “Do-Re-Mi (Fuge),” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Maria,” “My Favorite Things,” “Lonely Goatherd,” “Laendler Tanz,” “Edelweiss” and “So Long, Farewell.”

The two lady performers dressed up as nuns

The Mozart repertoire consisted of “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” “Ronda Alla Turca,” “Papageno Arie (Zauberflöte),” “Pa-Pa Duett (Zauberflöte),” “Vedrai Carino Arie (Don Giovanni)” and a “Minuet from Don Giovanni.”

Salzburg operettas featured, with live piano accompaniment, were Ralph Benatzky’s “Regenlied (Im weißen Rößl),” “Im Salzkammergut, da kammer gut (Im weißen Rößl)” and “Im weißen Rößl am Wolfgangsee (Im weißen Rößl); Fred Raymond’s “Saison in Salzburg (Saison in Salzburg)” and  Franz Lehar’s “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Das Land des Lächelns)” and “Lippen Schweigen (Die lustige Witwe).”  A folk song, Und jetzt gang i ans Petersbruennele, was also featured. 

Cheska dancing with a male performer

The show thus featured 5 different composers who each have their own style and lived in various parts of the musical history.  Thus, the job of the singers (who perform in 15 countries around the world as musical ambassadors for Austria) of the Sound of Salzburg show wasn’t easy as every single song they sang was supposed to be sung in the right way, in the way the composer intended.

They also needed to have a broad understanding of music to perform every one of them, know what the songs were actually about as well as to learn them by heart. In short, they have to live the song.

The real Maria von Trapp

The show also included an 8-minute, really interesting film clip of an interview from the real Maria von Trapp. The video, not the best quality, was from the 1980’s but you can see and hear everything you need to understand the real von Trapp story behind the movie.

Manny, on stage, serenaded by a lady performer

The dinner side of the show was great and the show itself was very entertaining.  The show was in English so we didn’t have to worry about not understanding anything. There were a couple of songs sung in German but we didn’t need to understand German to enjoy the tunes.  The performers also did a little audience participation.  Manny was pulled on stage, seated and serenaded by a lady singer.

Kyle (center) on stage with performers and other members of the audience

The male singers also grabbed a few ladies from the crowd (including my daughter Cheska) and taught them how to dance a traditional Viennese dance. Some kids (including my grandson Kyle) also joined the performers on stage. If you love “The Sound of Music” or simply just love Austrian music and culture, you would have a great night at the “Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show.” I definitely would recommend it. 

Kyle (second from right) with the performers

Sound of Salzburg Dinner Show: Sternbräu Restaurant, Griesgasse 23 5020 Salzburg. Tel: +43 660 5020520 and +43 699 10248666.  E-mail: office@soundofsalzburg.info . Website: www.soundofsalzburg.info. Daily show times (from mid May to mid October): 7 – 10 PM (dinner & show) and 8:30 – 10 PM (show only). Admission: € 39 (adults), € 32 (Salzburg Card & Students), € 20 (children 7-14 years of age) and free for children under the age of 7 (accompanied by an adult). Click here to book tickets online)

Guests can choose between three different 3-course menus (drinks not included) or our deluxe 4-course menu with premier seating (with drinks, the show and a CD). Menu choices for vegetarians and seafood lovers are available on request.  Food and beverages must be paid directly at the restaurant.