Category Archives: Food

June 3, 2012

ANP’s Silver Tiangge Coffee Table Book: A Negrense Must Have

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Inset: Foreword page of ANP’s coffee table book “Silver Tiangge”

The foreword Carmen Guerrero Nakpil in the coffee table book Silver Tiangge must have been by itself an ample introduction to the Negros Trade Fair and the Association of Negros Producers. Last year, I was given a privilege through ANP Vice-President for Media Jojo Vito to be part of the 26th Negros Trade Fair held in the semi-permanent location at Rockwell Tent. The event resulted to eight blog entries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), new friends and new experiences. Too bad I was not able to join the 25th Negros Trade Fair which was the best one so far but the essence of the celebration is captured in Silver Tiangge.

Inset: Featured is the kitchen exhibit at the Balay Negrense Museum

What is Silver Tiangge? That is the coffee table book produced by the Association of Negros Producers for the occassion of the 25th Year of Negros Trade Fair in Manila. You see, Negros Trade Fair is the longest provincial trade fair that has been running consistently that has breached a decade and an amazing feat it would that it would soon breach third decade. “Tiangge” in Silver Tiangge does not come from the Tagalog term but rather from the Hiligaynon term which means a “sari-sari“ or variety store. Indeed, from a small series of booths in SM Megamall, it expanded to include over fifty enterprises now.

Inset: Silver Tiangge’s Table of Contents

While the 25th Negros Trade Fair has long passed, the  Silver Tiangge is still in publication. Ms. Teena Gacho Rodriguez from the Association of Negros Producers reached me last week that there are more stocks available. This coffee table book is actually a must have for Negrense homes since it details not only details the products from ANP Showroom and the Negros Trade Fair but the evolution of Negrense industry that was forced to diversify due to the fall of the sugar industry in the Marcos regime. What was then as a means of extra income for sacadas has become a multi-million dollar export industry.

Inset: Various kakanin, sweets and coffee from Negros Island

Even with sugar‘s dominance since the late Spanish Era leading to the short-lived Republic of Negros, these industries found their roots in the countryside with Negrenses utilizing whatever resources they have to produce new products for consumption. A few of them like furniture-making dates back to the time when hacienderos would commission copies of furniture designs they have come across palaces of Europe, while foods like Bas-oy and Cansi were Negrense food innovations at a time when the poor was limited to scrap meats and innards. Soon enough, even the hacienderos caught on the taste and ate them too.

Inset: More food articles inside the coffee table book Silver Tiangge

Interesting, isn’t it? Association of Negros Producers has slashed down prices of the coffee table book to P1,500 which is very much affordable for a piece of Negrense history that every Negrense home in Negros Island and Beyond must have. The book is available in the ANP Negros Showroom Main at Lourdes Center in 9th cor. Lacson Streets, Bacolod City or at their branch at Central Citywalk in Robinson’s Bacolod, just look for Teena Gacho-Rodriguez or staff to purchase one.

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March 15, 2012

Kuppa Coffee and Tea: Meet the Director

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Kuppa Fort Bonifacio Barista and Cashier Counter

Last February, I had the privilege of setting an informal interview for a pre-screening interview of Direk Jay Abello, the director of PUREZA The Story of Negros Sugar. We initially just thought of meeting up somewhere in Ayala Center but I remembered Kuppa just opened their branch in Bonifacio Global City so I asked him to meet me there instead. I have been before to Kuppa in Global City but that was for a teaser feature of the café when the owner, Ms. Karen Lo-Tsai showed me around when it was still in its finishing touches. This time, I saw Kuppa Fort Bonifacio once again and it was fully operational. The baristas and the manager immediately recognized me and got me a comfortable seat by the window, just as I would prefer sitting in a café.

Kuppa's Push Button to Call for Orders and Needs

If you wish to order, you just have to press the order button usually located on the corner of the table. While waiting, the café has a complete set magazines and newspapers out in the market for one to read. The simple but elegant minimalist design sits well with the ambience that is deliberately casual and calm.

Reading materials available for the waiting ones at Kuppa

Nestled in the quite corner of Bonifacio Global City near St. Luke’s Medical Center, its a perfect place for casual conversations and for informal meetings with clients or just simply to relax. While reading a newspaper, Ms. Karen saw me and approached to greet me, asking how was my experience in Kuppa so far.

Freshly-roasted coffee beans at Kuppa Fort Bonifacio

Ms. Karen is the only certified coffee Q-grader in the country hence you can assure that your coffee is always of the premium quality. Coffee beans are sourced either globally from countries producing premium coffee or locally among the highland coffee plantations of Cordillera, Batangas and Negros Occidental. To maintain freshness, the coffee beans are roasted inside the store using machines directly imported from Italy, the gourmet coffee capital of the world, so that the aroma is captured and stays longer. The coffee beans are ground and used on the same day, never stays overnight.

Kuppa's Imported Coffee Grinder from Italy

French pressed coffee at the counter

Since I was in the mood for dark coffee, I opted to order one French pressed. That made me interested where I could buy one of those since I regularly brew native ground coffee at home. The aroma of brewed coffee got me excited and certainly did favor my coffee-drinker senses. I usually drink coffee with sugar and milk but great coffee would have me drink black and I did! For those who love or maybe have been addicted to coffee, this would be a good find for you.

Mini-cakes and other pastry selections at Kuppa Fort Bonifacio.

Kuppa's Blueberry Muffin

When drinking coffee, its good to have some cakes and pastries with you to munch on. They have good selection of cakes, mini-cakes, shortcakes and muffins to choose from. Choosing pastries was hard since they were all yummy but at the same time, was full from eating lunch in a previous event. Usually my benchmark for café pastries would be their cupcakes or muffins so I decided to order a blueberry muffin. I was not wrong in deciding to since the muffin was moist with chunks of blueberry mixed with the muffin, unlike other blueberry muffins sold that are merely flavored by artificial flavoring.

Angel Food Cake inside a dome cover at Kuppa

Kuppa's Gelatto selections also available at their Fort Bonifacio branch

If you wish for something not coffee-related, Kuppa Fort Bonifacio offers a good selection of gelatto which one may get from the counter. What I usually notice is that gelatto offered in Negrénse café‘s are always good, not too sweet with a bit emphasis on the flavor itself than the sweetness. Kuppa also offers thin crust pizza at your convenience but unfortunately, since I had an event to go to, I was not able to order this time but do try that one.

Butter Thins and other cookie treats for sale at Kuppa Fort Bonifacio.

For those on the go, you may buy some butter thins and other cookie treats in a tin can for your liking. Want to experience the taste of Kuppa Coffee at home? They also sell coffee beans for you to grind or for those without grinders, they also have ground coffee for an affordable price. From what I heard from a Korean who visited the café, Kuppa is beginning to be a hit among the resident Koreans there for its affordable price and nice quiet ambience. If you are in Bonifacio Global City, do visit Kuppa and savor good coffee with tasty food selections. Kuppa Fort Bonifacio is located in Commerce Center, 31st cor 4th Avenue, just a block away from St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City.

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Beyond the Island, Food, Food, Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

March 7, 2012

Pascua sa Bacólod: Hasta Luego Negros

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Town Plaza of Pontevedra, Negros Occidental

After a long day at Hinigaran, we decided to wind down back to Bacólod City for us to cap off the Christmas tour of Negros. In the bus, I was able to sleep but arouse just in time to see the town plaza of Pontevedra. This sleepy little town is my family’s ancestral town where the family patriarch, a Spaniard, settled here and ran a farm. That town plaza was a witness to the bloody end of his life when he was shot there after being found guilty of sedition by the Spanish military court in a trial after a heated and enraged debate with the town friar. What could they have been debating? No one could remember and was not mentioned in the family annals but that gave me a sense of connection with this town. Some of my relatives still own the patriarch’s farm here.

Kalkag or dried small shrimps sold in the Bacólod Central Market

After a little segway at the Airphil Express office in the Old Bacólod Airport to pay for additional baggage allowance, he asked where he could buy some dried fish. I took him to the dried fish section of the Bacólod Central Market to do some pasalubong shopping. The Gatuslao Street portion of the Bacólod Central Market is where the most pasalubong shops are. Before even the pasalubong shops like Bongbong’s and Merci Pasalubong opened, Bacoleños did their pasalubong shopping here and some still do to buy quality pasalubong at bargain prices. Aside from dried fish, sweets like piaya, pinasugbo, baye-baye, kalamayhati sa paya, and processed foods like chorizo Bacólod, chorizo pudpud and uncut guinamos or bagoong blocks can also be found here.

A dried fish stall at the Bacólod Central Market

Unfortunately for us, it was a lean season and stocks have not arrived from fish-producing areas of Negros or those from nearby Bantayan Island of Cebú so we have to go through every stall and find stocks of dried fish in bargain prices. After a few minutes of walking, we did find the stall with the price we were looking for. My guest bought a box of dried fishes like kalkag or dried small shrimp, dried beluga, danggit, dried squid, dilis and another batch of small dried fishes. I just bought one for my family, our favorite fish tocino. Since we bought a lot, they gave us “paaman” or a little bit extra to bring home. I wish I could have bought more but I still have to buy pasalubong from both Bongbong’s and Merci Pasalubong for folks back in Manila to enjoy as a treat.

Front façade of La Planta Centro Hotel, the site of the former Ice Plant

Since I will be taking the same Airphil Express flight to Manila as my guest, I decided to move in to my guest’s suite so that we can together to Bacólod-Silay International Airport at four in the morning. He checked in at La Planta Centro Hotel, one of the most beautiful hotels in Bacólod City along Araneta Street. As we entered the grand lobby of the hotel, beautiful receptionists greeted us. We just left our bags in the room and accompanied my guest to buy some lechon since the hotel was near the famed lechon alley. We chose native pig for lechon since the taste was awesome which we brought to Chicken House for dinner with chicken inasal. What a tasty end to my year-ender tour of Negros but more adventure awaits for me as I go back again this 2012.

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March 6, 2012

Panaad sa Negros ’12: Schedule of Activities

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Summer season has come once again to the Philippines and in my hometown of Bacólod City, this means that the much awaited Panaad sa Negros Festival is just a month away. Preparations are now in full swing and the pavilions are being renovated for the upcoming festival. I have been always been loyal in going to Panaad during festival since I used to live nearby until I moved to Manila. In my previous blog post, you may have read my teaser blog about the sights and sounds around Panaad. Now, its time for you to go to Bacólod City and to Panaad Park to experience Negrénse hospitality. Here is the Panaad Schedule of Activities:

DAY I, APRIL 9 (MONDAY)

06:00 a.m. Hataw sa Panaad w/ Ching’s Group (Panaad Football Field)
07:30 a.m. The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Panaad Swimming Complex)
08:00 a.m. Panaad Thanksgiving Mass (2F Panaad Stadium)
09:00 a.m. Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies for:

Panaad Tourism & Trade Fair @ LGU Pavilions*
Negros’ Best Products Display, NOTLDC (2F Panaad Stadium, North Wing)*
Organic na Negros Agri-Fest (GF Panaad Stadium, North Wing)*
Livestock & Dairy Products Fair (GF Panaad Stadium North Wing Grounds)*
Festival Costumes Exhibit & Competition (GF Panaad Stadium, South Wing)*
Eco-Garden & Wellness Show (South area across Candoni Booth)*
Environmental Information Advocacy (2F Panaad Stadium)*

02:00 p.m. Motorcade & LGU Floats Competition (Provincial Capitol to Panaad Park)
04:00 p.m.

Opening Ceremony & Festival Dance Competition (Panaad Stadium)
Fireworks Display

8:00 p.m. GMA “Kapuso” Show (Stadium)

DAY II, APRIL 10 (TUESDAY)

06:00 a.m. Hataw sa Panaad w/ Panaad Hot Bodies (Panaad Football Field)
07:30 a.m.

The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Panaad Swimming Complex)
Athletics (Panaad Field)

08:00 a.m. Chess (Stadium VIP Room)
10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
01:00 p.m. Drum & Bugle Competition, Secondary Level (Panaad Football Field)
02:00 p.m. Boxing (2nd Level South Wing, Panaad Stadium – weigh-in @ 7:30-10am)
07:00 p.m. Negros Pop Music Festival – Composo/Pop Song Writing Competition (Panaad Stadium)
08:00 p.m. NOPSSCEA Cultural Show (Panaad Park Stage)

DAY III, APRIL 11 (WEDNESDAY)

06:00 a.m. Hataw sa Panaad w/ Panaad Hot Bodies (Panaad Football Field)
07:30 a.m.

The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Panaad Swimming Complex)
Athletics (Panaad Field)

08:00 a.m.

TESDA Livelihood Skills Olympics (Panaad Covered Court)
Chess (Panaad Stadium VIP Room)
UPLBAA Annual Panaad Seminar (venue TBA)

10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
01:00 p.m. Taekwondo (2nd Level North Wing, Panaad Stadium, weigh in @ 9-11am)
02:00 p.m. Boxing (2nd Level South Wing, Panaad Stadium – weigh-in @ 7:30-10am)
03:00 p.m. Latin Dance Sport – Adult, Senior & Juvenile Categories (NOMPAC Gym)
07:00 p.m. RMN Panaad Hip Hop Challenge (Panaad Park Stage)
08:00 p.m. UNILEVER “Pop Fiesta” (Panaad Stadium)

DAY IV, APRIL 12 (THURSDAY)

06:00 a.m.

Hataw sa Panaad w/ Panaad Hot Bodies (Panaad Football Field)
3K & 5K Road Race (Panaad Stadium)

07:30 a.m.

The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Panaad Swimming Complex)
Athletics (Panaad Field)

08:00 a.m.

Chess (Panaad Stadium VIP Room)
Taekwondo (2nd Level North Wing, Panaad Stadium)

10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
02:00 p.m. Boxing (2nd Level South Wing, Panaad Stadium – weigh-in @ 7:30-10am)
03:00 p.m.

Environmental Activity – PEMO (2F Panaad Stadium)
Provincial Capitol Employees’ Day (Panaad Park Stage)

05:00 p.m. Visayan Folk Dances Competition (Panaad Stadium)
09:00 p.m. Technical Rehearsal, Lin-ay sang Negros Pageant (Panaad Stadium)

DAY V, APRIL 13 (FRIDAY)

06:00 a.m. Hataw sa Panaad w/ Panaad Hot Bodies (Panaad Football Field)
07:30 a.m. The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Sipalay City)
08:00 a.m. Swimming (Panaad Swimming Pool)
10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
02:00 p.m. Boxing (2nd Level South Wing, Panaad Stadium)
08:00 p.m.

MOR Local Stock – Ilonggo Music Fest (Panaad Park Stage)
Lin-ay sang Negros Pageant & Coronation Night (Panaad Stadium)

DAY VI, APRIL 14 (SATURDAY)

06:00 a.m.

Hataw sa Panaad w/ Panaad Hot Bodies (Panaad Football Field)
Murcia – Panaad Run

07:30 a.m.

Governor’s Cup Panaad National Golf Tournament, Vice Mayor’s League (NOGCC)
The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Sipalay City)

08:00 a.m.

Swimming (Panaad Swimming Pool)
Farmers Day Celebration & Farmers Forum (venue TBA)

10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
02:00 p.m.

Panaad Derby Opening (Panaad Covered Court)
Boxing (2nd Level South Wing, Panaad Stadium – weigh-in @ 7:30-10am)

07:00 p.m. Outstanding Farmers & Firsherfolk Awards – OPA/PVO w/ ABS-CBN (Panaad Stadium)
09:00 p.m. ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Fiesta Caravan (Panaad Stadium)

DAY VII, APRIL 15 (SUNDAY)

06:00 a.m. Hataw sa Panaad w/ Ching’s Group (Panaad Football Field)
07:30 a.m.

Governor’s Cup Panaad National Golf Tournament, Vice Mayor’s League (NOGCC)
The Great Titan Lifesaving Sports Festival (Sipalay City)

10:00 a.m. Daily Trade Fair & Exhibits @ various venues (refer to Day 1)
02:00 p.m. Panaad Derby (Panaad Covered Court)
03:00 p.m. Closing Ceremony w/ Awarding & Presentation of Winners (Panaad Stadium)
07:00 p.m.

Drumbeating Showcase/Fireworks Display
Silka Sponsored Show (Park Stage)

08:00 p.m. Corporate Show/Concert (Panaad Stadium)

For those who have not been to Panaad and are interested to go, Panaad is just 30 minutes from the City Center, in the suburbs of Mansilingan. Taking a cab is the easiest way to the area but there are also two routes for commuters. The jeepney route Alijis (RPHS)-Central Market with the terminal beside Gaisano Bacólod Main takes you to the main entrance while the Mansilingan-Libertad route with the terminal at Acebedo Building, Gatuslao Street takes you to the back entrance. If you are planning to go on a trip around Island, start off here so that you can know what to expect with the wonders that is the Sugarlandia, Negros Island.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Arts, Culture, Events, Fashion, Food, Interior Design, Lifestyle, Negros Occidental, The Bread Rolls

March 6, 2012

Panaad sa Negros ’12: Festival Teaser Tour

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Panaad Main Stadium and Football Field

Football fans in the country would always remember that first major win of the Philippines against Mongolia and that I remember very well. I was not able to see the game but I have a close personal connection with the place where it was held, Panaad Park and Stadium. The almost decade and a half stadium was built just in time for Palarong Pambansa in 2000 the at dawn of the new millenium. Since then, it has hosted local, regional, national and international events with the Southeast Asian Games as this  Stadium’s highlight, and was adopted as home stadium of the Philippine National Football Team or Team Azkals.

Main Entrance to the Panaad Park and Stadium

Aside from being host to a number of football games and sporting events, Panaad Park and Stadium is also home to theme booths of the Negros Occidental’s thirteen cities, including Bacólod City, and nineteen towns. Once a year on the second week of April, the booths come alive as week-long Panaad sa Negros Festival is celebrated in the Park Grounds. Cities and towns in full prep up of their booths showcase the products and that they can offer. In some of booths, they even serve local cuisine to hungry visitors who want to experience the food that one may expect to see when they visit these towns or cities in Negros.

Negros Occidental Tourism Office Pavilion

Panaad Park is a lovely refreshing place full of eucalyptus trees and I do remember the place as a eucalyptus grove before it was developed. It was part of my routine to jog in the area amidst the cool fresh air or walk to the house of my grandmother in another village. Panaad sa Negros Festivals are always fun days when people from all over Negros with tourists suddenly flock the area by the thousands. Cars stream to the area and making the two-lane streets jampacked. Since there are activities everyday, I would go there to check out the native items up for sale or try out every free tastes that city or town booths offer.

Decommissioned Steam Locomotive from the Sugar Mills

Last December, I did not pass the chance to go around the area to cool off and relive wonderdul childhood memories. A lot has changed but it is still the same refreshing park. The booths are grouped by their respective legislative districts on a large block bordered by the Entrance Road, Exit Road, and the Stadium Road. The booths nearest the stadium are those from District I and District VI which from the District I booths, the sequence traverses the Entrance Road and terminates back at the Main Stadium Road with District VI. A tour around Panaad is liking touring around Negros Occidental already minus the hours-long travel.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT I:

San Carlos City

Calatrava

Toboso

Escalante City

Don Salvador Benedicto

Composed of the cities of San Carlos and Escalante with the towns of Calatrava, Toboso and Don Salvador Benedicto, District I is a dynamic mix of mountain greens and blue seas. By the seaside, you have the ports in San Carlos and Escalante as the province’s gateway from Cebú and by the mountains, you have Don Salvador Benedicto touted as the Summer Capital of Negros Occidental with its cool environment with organic greens and the sweetest pineapples. San Carlos City nipped the international scene by winning as a world-class city with a big thanks to the city’s green sustainable industrial and urban planning programs.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT II:

Sagay City

Manapla

Cadiz City

The District II is composed of a dynamic trio, the cities of Sagay and Cadiz with the town of Manapla. Sagay and Cadiz are port cities but the busiest one is the Port of Cadiz being the Seafood Capital of Negros Occidental and a jump-off point to the Island of Bantayan in Cebú. Both cities are tourist destinations as well with the white sand Lakawon Island a major drawer while nearby Sagay on the other hand is known for its marine biodiversity being the home of Carbin Reef. Manapla is the home of the famous Manapla puto. Its major attraction is the Gaston Mansion with the Chapel of Cartwheels as represented in their Panaad pavilion.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT III:

Victorias City

Enrique B. Magalona

Murcia

Talisay City

Silay City

District III, composed of the cities of Talisay, Silay and Victorias with towns of Enrique B. Magalona and Murcia, is the richest of all districts in Negros Occidental. It is an industrial and commercial center with two of its cities, Talisay and Silay, being part of Metro Bacólod, host to Bacólod-Silay International Airport and home of Victorias Milling Company, the largest sugar mill in the Island. Silay City is the cultural center being host to thirty ancestral homes while Talisay also hosts a few notably the house of Negros Republic President Aniceto Lacson and The Ruins, the skeleton of the former mansion of his brother Mariano Lacson.

THE THEMED PAVILION FOR BACÓLOD CITY:

Front Portion of the Bacólod City Panaad Pavilion

Back Portion of the Bacólod City Panaad Pavilion

Constituting a single legislative district, Bacólod City is the capital of Negros Occidental and the heartland of the Sugarlandia. This is my hometown, loving all its developments yet keeping natural greens into the picture. Moneysense Magazine featued it as the country’s most liveable city. A trip to Bacólod is an ultimate foodtrip and heritage foods like the original and authentic chicken inasal is a must try in Manokan Country or seafood treats at Pala-Pala. Desserts are good at Calea, Felicia’s, Bob’s and many more cake shops. The new City Hall and the Plaza Bandstand are iconic structures blended in the City’s Panaad Pavilion.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT IV:

Bago City

La Carlota City

Pontevedra

San Enrique

Valladolid

Pulupandan

District IV comprised of the cities of Bago and La Carlota with the towns of Pulupandan, Pontevedra, Valladolid and San Enrique are curious mix of industries. Just crossing from Bacólod, big industrial facilities can be seen at Bago City but after passing by the city center, the Rice Belt of Negros that supplies the province’s rice supply starts here. The main port of jurisdiction for the province is in Pulupandan that includes BREDCO Port in Bacólod. Pontevedra is the ancestral town of my family and home to Conjuangco’s ECJ Farms while diwal and other shellfishes are must tries in the towns of Valladolid and notably San Enrique.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT V:

Himamaylan City

Isabela

Moises Padilla

Binalbagan

Hinigaran

La Castellana

The Rice Belt of Negros continues and terminates here at District V, a historical district. Composed of the towns of Isabela, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Hinigaran and Binalbagan with Himamaylan City, it is what we can call the cradle of Negros for the settlements first started here. Brgy. Payao is one of the oldest Spanish settlements while Himamaylan was the second capital of Negros before Bacólod. The crops planted in this town is mostly rice with sugarcane but town of La Castellana has been the Coffee Capital of Negros while Hinigaran is known for oysters. This was the district of the late Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” T. Arroyo.

THE THEMED PAVILIONS FOR DISTRICT VI:

Cauayan

Hinobaan

Ilog

Candoni

Kabankalan City

Sipalay City

The CHICKS Area, the informal common name for District VI is the last district of the province. CHICKS stands for the towns and cities that composes it namely Candoni, Hinobaan, Ilog, Cauayan, Kabankalan City and Sipalay City. This district is better known for its beautiful white sand beaches which are foreign tourist drawers of the province, especially that of Sipalay City that has earned its monicker as the Jewel of Negros. CHICKS Area was the scene of bloody insurgency and poverty but its rise from a backwater to an economic power second only to that of Metro Bacólod is an administrative miracle due to good leadership.

Spanish Themed Lamps in the Talisay City Panaad Pavilion

Just to add to your information overload, Panaad means “promise” in Hiligaynon and Panaad sa Negros means “promise in Negros”. Indeed a promise fulfilled indeed since the province has risen our from the sugar crisis that has hit it in the 1980′s during the height of the Martial Law Era. Learned a lot about Negros from our photo tour? You’ll learn more and to know the locals better if you go to Panaad sa Negros Festival. This year’s weeklong Festival will start on April 9 with the highlight on April 13 for the Lin-ay sa Negros Pageant and will end on April 15, 2012. The full schedule will be posted in this blog after this post soon.

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March 1, 2012

Museum Café: Simple Treats to Brighten Up Your Week

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Food has been one of my favorite topics in conversation and writing blog reviews. I am more inspired currently with food since I am finishing up Hell’s Kitchen series from Season 1 and currently Season 9. Never mind that foul mouth I constantly hear, just love the  foods I see. When it comes to good food, I always remember the Museum Café and all my dining experiences there. This is probably the n-th time since I have featured Museum Café and I sometimes wonder why I am not tired of doing so. The reason? It is because I have seen there quality food, great ambience and wonderful service. Those are the three things I look for good restaurants or cafés.

Number one rule of the thumb when it comes to good food is freshness. Fresh ingredients retain the nutrients in the food and has a complete flavor than processed or chilled food. Local delicacies and cuisine have been known for the classic mix of taste and in our kitchens, we have even made improvements with old recipes. Almost all of the ingredients for global cuisines are here for the take.

Mexican Red Kidney Bean Soup

Soak the washed beans overnight in water and cook the next day in the same water without salt till soft. Add cooked smoked pork rib, and bell peppers; baked onion, garlic and adjuma pepper. A little bit spicy but delicious.

Malaysian Tanigue Curry

Just flown in from Kota Kinabalu: Malaysian hand mixed spices for fish curry. In Kota Kinabalu, there are lots of tanigue in the weekend markets and here it is the same too. The tanigue used for this dish we buy from Talisay City Market and made this mild fish curry. Nice with brown organic rice and our fresh salad.

Le Nègre (La Negrita)

The ultimate chocolate cake -without flour-, eggs, butter, brown sugar, muscovado, and nearly one kilo dark Swiss chocolate for the whole cake. With a layer crunchy chocolate on top, dusted with cacao, wet chocolate, dry chocolate all sensations in one.

Roasted Anis Pork Belly with Tuba sauce

We marinated a ‘bacon slab’ for 4 days covered with anis seed. Left it in the oven on low temperature for 10 hours and roasted it, glazed with honey. Sixteen liters fresh sparkling tuba were reduced until 0.5 liter sauce, concentrated to a syrup, beautiful in sour-sweet balance, creamy with a hint of the tuba taste. Served with our salad, bread of choice or organic brown rice.

Shrimp Galore

We only buy shrimps in the market when we see a few shrimps still moving, to be sure they are fresh. At home rinsed and directly in plenty boiling ‘seawater’: 35 grams Bago Sea-salt per liter water. The best and most original way to cook shrimps. One minute for small shrimps up to 3 minutes for big shrimps. Quickly cooled down in the fridge. We serve shrimps in different styles of cuisine and here are some choices:

  • Served as Shrimp Mayonnaise with salad on our Artisan Bread of your choice.
  • Served as Full meal Shrimp Salad, a large rich salad with shrimps and a choice of our Artisan Bread.
  • Served as starter Shrimp Cocktail, cold with some lettuce and creamy cocktail sauce with a hint of brandy.

Sounds palatable? Definitely is and absolutely cooked to your liking. My favorite seafood – shrimp, is still in the menu for few weeks and transformed to some other dishes. That is one of their must try dishes there so if you are not allergic to shrimps, go and order.

After enjoying your main course, why not grab some desserts too. Their Le Nègre is a must try cake and is definitely improved by the muscovado added to the ingredients. You can also have a taste of their various selections of tarts from the usual to those ones made from fruits not used before in tarts like chico or tambis. Have a glass of wine or a cup of brewed iced tea to gulp all that food down. I usually have at least a glass of wine but brewed iced tea is good as well. Museum Café is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 10pm and can accomodate sixty people for a function at Phinma Gallery. Here’s a tip, the best time to go there is in the evenings.

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February 23, 2012

Around Negros: Savor Hinigaran at Mila’s

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Some people say that to experience the culture of a certain locality, you have to taste their cuisine and specialties. After a long walk, I decided to take my guest to Mila’s. Mila’s is a bakeshop café fast becoming famous to those who regularly visit Hinigaran or those passing by for a trip to the South. I first heard of Mila’s from an online forum and fellow Negros Blogger Glady Tomulto -Reyes who blogged about it before at her blog, Experience Negros. Not far from the town plaza and the local Ceres Bus Station, Mila’s is taking the lead in showcasing the best of what Hinigaran can offer through their amazing selections of treats and pastries.

Upon entering Mila’s, you are greeted with a framed panorama picture of Hinigaran River and a short detail of the town’s history to circumstances surrounding the town name. Hinigaran does not have a museum as of the moment, but somehow, this café is taking the cudgels in promoting this veritable town’s unique history and culture like the “Hijos de Ponggol”, the whos who of the town and old pictures as well. Another frame shows the magnificent façade of the town church, the Mary Magdalene Parish Church, with the corresponding histories and  legendary stories as well. This was my initial source of information about their church.

So what’s the big deal with Mila’s? The talk of the town or should say the blogosphere is their potato cake, not those hashbrown or fritters made from mashed potato but a real cake! Impossible? Of course not since potatoes is made up of starch and can be made to flour though this one has potato bits too. Butter frostings with sugar caramelized enriched the flavor but the potato cake bare is one flavorful treat already. You can go by some several slices without feeling “sum-od” or “umay” but, if you feel that you can eat this for days, you can order a whole batch with a good sturdy box for just PhP510- but if you also order half for just PhP255-.

The fun does not end with potato cake since their Royal Bibingka is a big hit with its softeness, with the balanced tastes of coconut meat and grated cheese. Each serving costs PhP17-  but a serving is generous and you will never be as contented with any ordinary bibingka anymore and a must bring since it has longer shelf life than the rest of their pastries. My guest’s favorite though was their buko pie since he has never seen buko pie with the buko filling thicker than it’s crust! Laguna buko pie does not even come closer to this one. Visiting the town or just stopping by, never forget to pass by Mila’s and have the unique taste of Hinigaran.

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February 21, 2012

Museum Café: Vegetable Juices and Improved Selections

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

As the trend for healthy living escalates nowadays, restaurants and café joints are taking the cue in serving healthy selections from their menu. It is not only food that is now beginning to be served organic and healthy, so are drinks too. Fresh fruits and vegetables do well for the body and their good benefits are best experienced when eaten raw. Oftentimes, heating fruits and vegetables at times kills the enzymes and would not work as good for the body. The solution into ingesting those with enzymes and nutrients whole or effective is to juice them up. The Museum Café has taken healthy living by adding into their selection tomato and carrot juice which would work well for the health conscious. Why should we drink tomato or carrot juice? The Museum Café explains why.

Juicing is the fast track to good health. Using organic vegetables for juicing allows you to take in more vegetables at one time than you would by eating raw or cooked vegetable. Concentrated vegetable mass in liquid forms is easy to digest up, thus making juicing daily ideal for good health and curing health problems. The body is more able to metabolize nutrient into our body cells, especially since uncooked vegetables retain enzymes. Raw vegetables provide all the enzymes you need for optimum assimilation. Carrots are usually a staple. You can add apples, greens or beets but carrots are not as perishable and offer more juice at less prices.

Carrots are great as a base for juicing whatever else you want to include in your fresh vegetable juice. More importantly, carrots are amazingly nutritious and healing by themselves, with vitamin A and beta carotene. Vitamin A overdosage on vitamin supplements and fish oils may prove fatal, this is not possible on vitamin A with carrots and it is good to ingest as much of the vitamin from the root crop. Beta-carotene is also a major antioxidant and helps maintain vision along with the fair share of lutein. Beta -carotene is good at maintaining epithelial tissue, the tissue surrounding internal organs which is susceptible to cancerous growth.

Carrots are also rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. Research at the University of Newcastle has shown carrot falcarinol destroys pre-cancerous cells in tumors and helps keep cancer away. A carrot is a deep soil root crop and this enables their roots for absorb an abundant array of minerals. They are also rich in other vitamins, including B vitamins and folates. Folate is the natural and safe source of folic acid. The list of nutrients gained from juicing carrots are unique synergy of its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids which provides an almost miraculous healing to some diseases when ingested well in our body’s system.

Drinking carrot juice cleanses and restores the liver which is our body’s master cleanser, without which we would die from internal toxic buildups. A healthy liver is proven to be an effective in cleansing our body from toxins. Carrot juice has been called the golden juice of healing so get a big bunch of carrots. Carrots store well in your refrigerator or cool cellar. Don’t store the juice this spoils or nutrients are broken down to an unusable form. Drink each freshly juiced batch immediately as often as your health needs. As your sweetener, you may you organic muscovado, unfiltered honey or juiced stevia herb if you cannot drink a carrot juice as is.

Aside from the healthy selection of carrot and tomato juice now available at the Museum Café, they also have two new selections of meals that is filling but would still appeal to the health conscious. With four selections well received last week, they are improved in taste and are still available for the foodies. The Museum Café has always maintained a strict compliances to using organic products and this attract a growing number of health conscious people who have been patronizing them. If you have not visited our Museum Café yet, do so next week to check out their interesting weekly food item which would surely catch fare well to your palate.

Roasted Anis Pork Belly with Tuba Sauce

We marinated a bacon slab for 4 days covered with anis seed. Left it in the oven on low temperature for ten hours and roasted glazed with honey. Sixteen liters fresh sparkling tuba were reduced until 0.5 liter concentrated as syrup, most beautiful in sour and sweet balance, creamy with hints of the tuba taste. Served with salad, bread of choice or organic brown rice.

Upo Filled with Ground Beef and Mixed Nuts

Oven baked Upo filled with a mix of nuts and ground beef. Served with fresh tomato sauce, salad and bread of choice or organic brown rice.

Classic Shrimp Cocktail

We only buy shrimps in the market when we see a few shrimps still moving, to be sure they are fresh. At home rinsed and directly in plenty boiling seawater: 35grams Bago Seasalt per liter water. The best and most original way to cook shrimps. A minute for small shrimps up to 3 mins. for big shrimps; just done. Quickly cooled down in our fridge and served as starters, cold with some lettuce and creamy cocktail sauce beefed up with a hint of brandy.

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Tenderloin from the Brahman Cow and creamy sauce with fresh green peppercorn, fresh version of black peppercorn, from Concepcion. We serve this ‘Tournedos au Poivre’ as main course with salad and choice of our bread varieties or organic brown rice.

Stingray in Coconut Wine Sauce

Rare in the market, but we could buy a fresh wing of a 1.50 cm diameter Sting Ray. We made fillets and from cuttings and bones a stock, added coconut milk and wine and reduced to saucy thickness. We served this Stingy Ray as main course with salads and your choice of our bread varieties or organic brown rice.

Grilled Tuna with Matured Green Tomato-Raisin Chutney

We found a nice fresh Yellow fin Tuna in the Talisay Market. Made fillets and grilled it. It comes with matured more than a year, green tomato-raisin chutney, a beautiful marriage of tastes. With organic brown rice and our rich salad.

Every serving is guaranteed freshly cooked on the café and is made with the freshest ingredients from the local market especially in Talisay City up north. Farmers bring in fresh produce from their farms to the markets early in the morning, just in time for mercado publico or public markets to open which is purchased for Museum Café use and brought fresh to the resident chef. Since ingredients are sourced locally, having selections from the Museum Café helps the local farmers earn from their products. Their food selections are good for lunch meals with organic rice while candle light dinners are best matched with different selections of bread.

If tomato or carrot juices are not up to your liking, there are freshly squeezed oranges or lime for you. Orange and lime are squeezed at the time you order and are not stored ones to ensure that vitamin C is kept intact. Lemonades and freshly brewed iced tea are also available for your liking. The Museum Café is open from Tuesdays to Sundays for lunch, merienda and dinner from 10 am to 10 pm. Whether you just came from work or finished touring Negros Museum, be sure to drop by anytime and you’ll be entertained by their kind staff. They also have a function room good for a maximum of sixty people for gatherings, meetings and small events.

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February 14, 2012

Museum Café: Lovely Heart’s Day Specials

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

Valentine’s Day or for singles like me, Single Blessedness Day (formerly Singles Awareness Day), works as double-edged swords to people where to some it is a happy day, to some non-existent and to some others a dreadful day. Why should a single day of the year be so dreadful anyway if it can be celebrated in our own way? Certainly at Negros Museum’s Museum Café, there are thousand ways to celebrate this day with their lovely specials for the Hearts Day that is certainly good for your heart – literally. May it be with pairs or friends or just simply alone, these new selections and old improved ones certainly appeal to your organic, and healthy palate too.

Actually, Valentine’s Day is not limited to a day but is every day for those who love and enjoy life which the Museum Café believe so much. Nevertheless they had made extra-specials for you when you come to celebrate your loving feeling for one other with candles lighting up the table, or if you come as a group of friends, perhaps to affirm friendship and have a good times of talks and laughters.

CLASSIC SHRIMP COCKTAIL

We only buy shrimps in the market when we see a few shrimps still moving, to be sure they are fresh. At home rinsed and directly in plenty boiling ‘seawater’: 35 grams Bago sea salt per liter water. The best and most original way to cook shrimps. One minute for small shrimps up to 3 minutes for big shrimps; just done. Quickly cooled down in the fridge. Served as starter, cold with some lettuce and creamy cocktail sauce beefed up with a hint of brandy.

GRILLED BEEF TENDERLOIN IN GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Tenderloin from the Brahman Cow and creamy sauce with fresh green peppercorns (dried it will become black peppercorns) from Concepcion. We serve this ‘Tournedos au Poivre’ as main course with our salad and your choice of our bread varieties or organic brown rice.

STINGRAY IN COCONUT WINE SAUCE

Rare in the market, but we could buy a fresh wing of a 1.50 cm diameter Stingray. We made fillets and from the cuttings and bones a stock, added coconut milk and wine and reduced it to sauce thickness. We serve this Stingy Ray as main course with our salad and your choice of our bread varieties or organic brown rice.

MARANG ICE CREAM

We made the classical French Parfait-ice-cream mixed 1:1 with sweet ripe Marang. This is real fusion, East-meets-West in the tastiest way! This delicious fruit is not known in the Western world.

RAVIOLI CHEESE-ALOGBATI-PISTACHIO or GROUND PORK-FRESH BASIL-CELERY

One Raviolo, two and more Ravioli (plural) are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta. They are composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough and are served either in broth or with a sauce. The word ravioli is reminiscent of the Italian verb ‘riavvolgere’, ‘to wrap’. The earliest mention of ravioli appear in the writings of Francesco di Marco, a merchant of Venice in the 14th century. In Venice, the mid-14th century manuscript Libro per cuoco offers ravioli of green herbs blanched and minced, mixed with beaten egg and fresh cheese; we did the same: fresh Sagay cows milk cheese with alogbati, egg and added some pistachio nuts. The yellow Ravioli is fillet with ground pork, fresh organic basil and celery. We serve it as starter and as main course with cream-sauce and Parmesan cheese.

GRILLED TUNA with MATURED GREEN TOMATO-RAISIN CHUTNEY

We found a nice fresh Yellow fin Tuna in the Talisay Market. Made fillets and grill it for you. It comes with matured, more than a year, green tomato-raisin chutney, a beautiful marriage of tastes. With organic brown rice and our rich organic salad.

Selections for this week are some of the rarest but all native ingredients available in the local markets of Metro Bacólod, guaranteed in freshness daily. Unlike the previous weeks, a number of these are local recipes that some may find either so familiar or so exotic. Still included in the selections are the improved recipes featured from last week that will appeal more to classy palate in this season.

For those who want alcohol-free Valentines Day, you may opt for the naturally brewed tea made from certified organic tea leaves. It is good for this week’s cold spells and not to mention, available in its iced version too. Do away with the generic over sweetened ice tea for this is the real thing. Organic tea relaxes the body and would certainly add to the soothing feeling of being with some special for you. Coffee addicts can have coffee still with the selection of Batangas Coffee and a native brewed Buenos Aires Mountain Coffee while those who want to spice up the mood, they can opt for the Museum Café’s updated selections of wines and liquors just for you.

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February 10, 2012

Pascua sa Bacólod: Healthy Dining, Spa and Pastries

By Mark Mayo - Magallanes

On our way back to the Bangga Pepsi in Brgy. Bata from The Ruins, Doc Chard mentioned that he wanted to eat local cuisine that he read from a coffee table book back in Café 1925. Since I don’t want to bring him to carinderias that are of questionable hygienic standards, I decided to bring him to a restaurant that serves local cuisine gourmet version – 21 Restaurant. 21 Restaurant or many would recognize as Bar 21 was named after the street it is located in, the 21st Street on the corner with Lacson Street. If I am in the city, I usually go here to feast on batchoy but this time we are trying out a full meal of healthy local dishes.

In the menu, we found apan-apan or abodong kangkong, laswa and chicken tinola, dishes that are normally reserved for the table as ordinary viands. Now we are ordering those in a fancy restaurant and we are curious on how the taste will fare or how it will be. I grew up with these simple dishes and I still eat them occasionally when I see the chance. My tita who now lives in the US would ask for bowl of laswa everytime she goes home in Bacólod. We did not have to wait that long for us to know. First to arrive was our large bowl of laswa that has all the vegetables I recognize with nicer cuts, apan-apan and lengue the last.

These humble dishes that have made it to fancy palate have never lost its taste and I am glad that people are learning to appreciate what used to be ordinary but healthy cuisine. I give my thumbs up with lengua for its tenderness and the mashed potatoes that was paired with it. Our dinner at 21 Restaurant was a good way to end the long heritage trip that took us to the shores of Brgy. Balaring to the heritage houses and finally to the lovely scenery of The Ruins. Even as we had our fill, we are not done yet since we still have yet to savor some desserts. Since mango pavlova over at Bob’s was sold out, we decided that Felicia’s it is.

On our way to Felicia’s, we passed by Calla Lily Spa and Massage where we immediately noticed the P250 full body massage. Since we walked all day long with our muscles aching, we decided to try it out for after all, we need to have this well deserved relaxation. I waited a bit for my turn listening to relaxing music and enjoying my cup of tea. Moments after, I was given my own space for settled in for an hour’s worth of massage. An hour’s worth of massage was actually short for me since I was able to sleep the whole time. I went out feeling more relaxed but we were still for our original plan of grabbing some dessert at Felicia’s.

Over at Felicia’s I immediately noticed the tasty macarons by the corner! Unfortunately, I was not in the mood for macarons but I got sans rival which is so good while my guest got a slice of chocolate cake. I originally intended to get apple pie but was sold out which I am surprised since it is that good. Apple pie is what I got on my first visit to Felicia’s and I was hooked to it. I checked for the almond buttercrunch that I once gave a food blogger in Manila. The dessert at Felicia’s completed the day and since we have a scheduled trip to the South the next day, I brought my guest back to his hotel and went home for some rest.

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For more photos not included in this blog entry, check out the Photo Blog.

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