A merry mouthful of Cebu

I FIRST tasted Cebu during the sultry summers of my childhood, when my

parents would hoist us up the gangplank, my two brothers and I, so we could

take a break from our beloved Mindanao and go see our cousins in the Queen

City of the South.

Ah, those were wicked, messy vacations. And fattening, too. Our sundry aunts

and uncles kept feeding us no end. How I remember those luscious golden-ripe

mangoes ripped with our bare hands and fangy teeth--which were best savored

with puto maya, a mountain of sticky rice cooked to perfection in coconut oil.

There, too, were the suman nga dawa and bibingka nga dawa, even

bibingka Mandaue, all merrily munched in our mind even to this day.

But my hands-down favorite was--and still is--the masareal. It is a creamy,

crumbly concoction of crushed peanuts and milk and sugar. A lethal

combination which could be had then at only P5 per bar. When we visited

Cebu last weekend to attend the information technology summit sponsored by

industry leader Globe Telecom, we found out a bar of masareal now costs

P20! And that’s the price at the tabuan (market)!

I never was a fan of crunchy ampao, finding it too childish and cumbersome,

although many swear by Cebu’s ampao. It can be an experience by itself.

For crunchy treats, I turn instead to the chicharon from Carcar or Guadalupe.

The Carcar version is deadly: A hybrid of lechon kawali and the Ilokano

bagnet--with chunks of lean meat clinging joyfully to the pork skin bursting in

golden-brown crispness. You can also have a feast of its sidings--strips of

deep-fried pork fat. Best eaten with leftover rice, kamayan-style, with your

barkada after a whole afternoon’s beer binge.

This being Lent, you’ll probably want your pasalubong to be pork-free.

There’s the usual galletas and salbaro; Shamrock otap; Titay’s rosquillos;

and Lola Pureza’s peanut broas (highly recommended; available at the chi-chi

Chedz bakeshop at Ayala Center).

Cebu is also known for its squid flakes, which are to die for. Check out the

Royal brand. This shameless mix of squid, sugar, salt, honey, chili and corn oil

is definitely a must-munch.

Nothing beats going to the market to buy kilos of dried fish, or bulad (silent "l"

so you pronounce it boo-wad). The famous Tabuan is a foodie’s paradise:

Take your pick of all sorts of bulad, from boneless danggit to fish tocino to

skeleton fish to gigantic chunks of deep-sea fish. At scandalously low prices, to

boot!

Of course, if you have the wherewithal, and if you cannot care less about Lent

(like that wondrous woman in "Chocolat"), you cannot afford not to take home

a bamboo skewer or two of Cebuano lechon. Early this year, we saw Inquirer

columnist Mon Tulfo at the Manila Centennial Airport baggage carousel waiting

for his lechon upon his arrival from a Mactan flight. Not just one lechon or two

but, well, we stopped counting! The lechon from Cebu is that good! Kahit

isumbong mo kay Tulfo...

Which brings me back to... mangoes. Nowadays, when people think of Cebu’s

mango delights, they think dried mangoes. The most popular brand is RM. But

someone in the know says there’s another brand worth tasting, but it’s a

for-export-only brand. We’ll tell you about it once we’ve tasted it.

In the meantime, go ahead. Have a mouthwatering munchful of Cebu!