Cordillera’s favorite food awaiting patent

BAGUIO CITY—Sagada, the most popular tourist destination in Mt. Province, wants to patent its homegrown etag, an indigenous salted meat dish that is the favorite in almost every ritual feast (cañao) of the Cordillera.

Residents who mount the Etag Festival every February have started the process to acquire the patent for the native way of preparing the delicacy, given the interest it has drawn from people outside the region.

Etag is called kinuday by the Ibaloi and kiniing by the Kankanaey in Benguet, but these tribes have almost similar ways for smoking and curing pork meat in time for their clan festivals.

Some provinces cure their etag by hanging the meat over a raging fire. Other provinces store the meat in earthen jars to stew in its own juice for weeks.

Etag is then boiled in a broth containing vegetables and pinikpikan (native chicken that is killed slowly from the blows of a stick before its skin and feathers are burned in open flame). A slab of etag is sold for P150 per 250 grams in the local markets.

The Highland Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (Harrdec) in La Trinidad, Benguet, believes there are ways to popularize the delicacy by improving its quality.

Dr. Sonwright Maddul, consortium director, said researchers had drawn up a paper detailing how to make etag palatable as cuisine for non-Igorots.

“When you see a piece of etag, what do you usually think of? It has a foul smell. It is rotten. It is not appealing and it is kadiri (gross) because it has maggots. Even the packaging is not appealing,” he said.

In 2009, Harrdec undertook the project, “Value adding of pork based ethnic delicacy (etag) for commercialization,” which was jointly financed by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development and Benguet State University.

Maddul said even the family-cultured meat did not follow a strict code that was handed down by elders. “The procedures, such as salting, smoking, curing and preserving, were just estimations. The quality [of each set of etag] was not consistent,” he said.

“We were motivated to standardize the process of etag preparation [that would pass sanitation rules and culinary taste],” he said. 

Lists of Best Food and Dining Restaurant

Lists of Best Food and Dining Restaurant Aling Nenang's Restaurant & Catering Description: Address: 4/F Porta Vaga Commercial Bldg. Session Rd. Phone:  446-7947 Fax:

Ambassador Hotel Description: Address: 25 Abanao Ext. Phone:  442-5078 Fax:

Aresis Bar & Restaurant Description: Address: SM City Baguio Phone:  619-1108 Fax:

Bario Fiesta restaurant Description: Address: Session Rd. Baguio City Phone:  442-6049 Fax:

Cafe By The Ruins Description: Address: 25 Chuntug Phone:  442-4010 Fax:

Cathy's Fastfood Description: Address: 24 Diego Silang Phone:  442-2394 Fax:

Central Park Restaurant Description: Address: 6 Carino Phone:  447-0659 Fax:

Chico Japanese Cuisine Description: Address: # 10 Carino St., Favis Bldg. Phone:  446-6234/0918-659-0635 Fax:

Chiebas-Resto / Grill Description: Address: 144 Kisad Rd. Phone:  446-6609 Fax:

Chowking Description: Address: Center Mall Magsaysay Cor. Soliman Phone:  446-5679 Fax:

Cottage Gi's Description: A Cottage of famous Old Time Cakes, Pastries & Treasured Recipes. A favorite Cafe & Bakeshop in Baguio! Address: 3rd Level, Front of Cinema 1, SM City Baguio Phone:  3043722 Fax:

Cow and Chicken Restaurant Description: Address: #2 Rimando Road Baguio City Phone:  0927-4293244 Fax:

D Kamallig Grill Bar & Restaurnt Description: Address: Session Road Extension Phone:  446-8583 Fax:

Elegant Hotel & Restaurant Description: Address: 421 Magsaysay Ave Phone:  444-3369 Fax:

Ganza Restaurant Description: Address: Burnham Park Phone:  442-2478 Fax:

Baguio history Arts and Foods

Baguio history Arts and Foods

BAGUIO CITY, BENGUET – Zenz Restaurant in Mines View Park Hotel has put a fruity twist to the traditional dish sinigang.
Sinigang is cooked with tomatoes, tamarind, guava, or kalamansi as souring ingredient. So, this being Baguio, it is somewhat expected that people will come up with “Sinigang with Strawberries”.
Poached in the thick and tangy soup of your choice of pork, chicken or shrimp are plump strawberries that makes for a great substitute to tomatoes or tamarind.
Tourists and locals alike often go to Zenz Restaurant for this unique sinigang. The strawberries are picked fresh from nearby strawberry farms in La Trinidad and go straight to the sinigang.
Foodbanquet.com describes the dish as “sweet but with still the right sourness”. Likewise, the siteMytummyisfull.com wrote that the sweet and sour components work well despite the “odd” ingredient, which is of course strawberries.
This dish might be rare in Manila but you can always take home a fresh bunch of La Trinidad strawberries and just follow these steps if you want to prepare this unique sinigang yourself.

Baguio history Arts and Foods

Baguio history Arts and Foods

BAGUIO CITY, BENGUET- Of the many restaurants in downtown Baguio, Cafe by the Ruins – or simply referred to as “Ruins” by locals and visitors alike – still stands out today because of its artistic and laid-back appeal.

Any given day, especially on weekends, 23 year-old Tann can be spotted sipping her hot cup of tea at the café’s entrance.

Tann is the daughter of Christine Arvisu, the “mother of the cafe” who established the cafe in 1988 along with Laida Perez, Ben Cabrera (BenCab, for short), Boy Yuchengco, David Baradas, Robert Villanueva, Louie and Su Llamado and Baboo Mandoñedo.

Five years after her mother passed away, Tann has now taken over management of Cafe by the Ruins.

With help from fellow second generation owners Feliz Perez, Liliana Llamado and Jasmine Cabrera, Tann says they are trying their best to maintain what literally is the ruins of a war-torn garden theater.

Majority of what was left of the original structure, including the gunshot-ridden walls, were once part of the house that belonged to Phelps Whitmarsh, who converted the theater into his home when he was then the first American civil governor of Benguet.

To this day, portions of the original walls remain, leaning a little further to the side giving the entire place that authentic feel of the past before it was torn down in World War II.

Even with a cluster of young artists picking up from the already creative output of their parents, Tann says it took them 20 years to standardize operations of the café.

“There’s always room for improvement because we really want to show visitors and locals alike, what Baguio looks like, what it’s all about,” she says.

Tann gives full emphasis on the authenticity of the entire dining experience, which she says does not end with the food.

“Every now and then we also conduct art exhibits, even indigenous rituals to show guests something extra to appreciate and learn,” she said.

The menu at the Café by the Ruins is very flexible with new specialties shuffled or added to their usual food selections. One of the more frequently requested dishes is their Chicken Palawan. Desserts and beverages here are just as popular as their main entrees.

Tann says the café is all for local produce and supporting locally made products, from the café’s interiors and artworks to the ingredients of their food. Their dairy products for example are sourced all the way from Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan. Their jams and pastries are also homemade.

Café by the Ruins also afford visitors a glimpse of the Igorot culture.

Interestingly, nestled in one part of the café is a dap-ay, a place where Ifugaos gather in their villages for counsel meetings or rituals. Tann tells me that to this day, they still use the dap-ay to practice this tradition.

“They can expect to experience what they hear from other people about this place. After all, it’s thru word of mouth that made this café the perfect hang out for everyone,” Tann says.

Northern Samar Food Specialties and their Best Foods

Northern Samar Food Specialties

Most people have not yet tasted shark’s meat but in Northern Samar it is among the most popular local dish. Shark’s meat is a favorite and tasty kinilaw dish. Shark’s meat may smell a bit putrid but people in Northern Samar have perfected a method that cleans the meat and especially if it’s well prepared and fresh the putrid smell will disappear.
People in Catbalogan Samar describes this shark dish as one of the most delicious “kinilaw” dish in the whole of Philippines and is the favorite dish of choice by visitors who ends up in this part of the country. A lot of people agree that it tastes much better than other variants of kinilaw dishes like that of meat, pork and tuna because the shark’s meet is tastier brought upon by its distinct and unique flavor and it being cartilaginous.
Shark’s meat cooked in kinilaw dish is a favorite side dish for beer drinkers as well as it goes well with the native Northern Samar’s coconut wine or locally known as “tuba”. As history tells a tradition of Northern Samar people of “lining their belly with food” during and before their drinking session and among the choice dish they prefer is shark’s meat.
Another popular Northern Samar food specialty dish is “Linabo” another kind of Shark meat dish that is cooked with shredded pieces of shark meat combined with sautéed onions, ginger and tomatoes. Other seasoning like Vinegar is added as well until the shark meat is done. Other variants of shark meat dishes are cooked boil or “tinola” sprinkled with camote tops or it can be simply fried on the pan with pepper.
Other ways of cooking shark’s meat is by preparing it with coconut milk, this procedure lets the shark meat get extra taste and juice from the coconut milk and therefore adding a more tasty delight to its meat portions.
Other Northern Samar food specialty dishes mainly consists of seafood like crab on stick, grilled tuna, sinigang na bangus and chicken adobo cooked with a tender twist by Northern Samar people. It is cooked with a delicate sweetness brought upon by adding a bit of sugar to the sauce of the chicken adobo to provide a sweeter taste compared to adobo dishes from other parts of the Philippines.
Many other notable Northern Samar food specialty dishes includes binagol (which is made from talyan, a kind of root crop), Pinyato also known as pop rice to tourists, pastillas of carigara, moron of abuyog and a lot more.
For others they might prefer the more downbeat but still delicious “Tamales” which is composed of grounded peanuts with pork, “Sisi”, a type of seafood preserve and “Pinyato” which is composed of rice snack and grounded pinipig.
These are just some of Northern Samar’s food specialty dishes that continue to attract the attention of food lovers not just from the Philippines but even tourists from other countries as well. The rich culture and different tastes of the Philippines is clearly present and obvious by the uniqueness of the local dishes that Northern Samar is offering.

Top 10 Restaurants in Palawan

Top 10 Restaurants in Palawan

1. Ka Lui
2. Badjao Restaurant
3. Kamaricutan Cafe & Galeri
4. Taraw Vista Lodge & Restaurant
5. Art Cafe
6. Lotus Garden Restaurant
7. Cafe Arturo
8. Ditchay
9. The Lotus Garden
10. Kinabuchs

    Ka Lui Restaurant 

    Palawan

    Upon entering Ka Lui, one would be swept by the ambiance, a totally different yet somewhat similar type of ambiance. Before entering the main hut all visitors are told to take off all shoes, sandals, flip-flops. And once inside patrons can admire the decorations, the lights and the mood being set by the place.

    They only serve seafood, vegetables and fruits (not a place for hardcore carnivores) and one must wait a short while for food to be served. But definitely, the wait will be worth it.

    “What ‘s really remarkable about Ka Lui is that you get five-star quality seafood dishes at a fraction of the cost, and in a picturesque setting at that. Ka Lui is only open during lunchtime from 11 am to 2 pm, and during dinnertime from 6 to 11 pm, and is closed on Sundays. But then again, it ‘s a small price to pay for such an affordable culinary delight. Truly, like Palawan ‘s underground river or its remote limestone cliffs, Ka Lui is worth the effort and the trip. “
    – by Gmeleen Faye B. Tomboc

    Ka Lui is located at 369 Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City, Puerto Princesa and is accessible by tricycle. For reservations and inquiries you may get in touch with them at (63 48) 433-2580

Valentine’s Day Sweet and Heart-warming Treats from Max’s Corner Bakery

I wasn’t aware that Max Fried Chicken has a bakery until they sent me their press release. What do you know? Max’s Corner Bakery launched its most romantic line of desserts in time for Valentine day celebration.

For couples and family members that celebrate at Max’s Restaurant , these diners will receive a box of sweet and heart-warming pastry bites by Max’s Corner Bakery for a minimum bill of PhP 1,500 from February 10 to 14.

Heart shaped cakes will also be available during this love season. I think they should always have a heart shaped cake throughout the year. Valentine gift suggestions are available at selected Max’s Restaurants nationwide from February 1 – 29. Check out more details their Max Corner Bakery facebook page.