Go Food
Food can be a source of joy or it could simply be a source of sustenance. It all depends on whether it tastes great or if it’s something that you’ll pop in your mouth with eyes closed and swallow just to stave off hunger. Fortunately, the world is too stocked with gustatory delights for us to descend too quickly into the depths of Bear Grylls’ nighmares. From Antarctic krill to Australian beef, the world is wall-to-wall with incredible edibles. Unless you consider toasted ants a delicacy and normal fare unpalatable, here are some things you won’t need guts to munch on.
Market Food
Tanjay (pronounced as tan-hay) is a city 30 kilometers north of Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. Easily accessible from Manila and Cebu through regular domestic flights and ferry services, including a “fastcraft” service that ply the route between Cebu City, Tagbilaran in Bohol, and Dumaguete in Negros.
Cups of hot “Tablea” chocolate from a Painitan.
The most interesting thing about Tanjay that I discovered is that they have “coffee shops” at the public market. Of course these aren’t the airconditioned “exotic-coffee-serving” type of establishments. These are more of the open air, wooden table and chairs kind of places where pedicab drivers and the local barber would trade political theories in the morning before they wandered off to do their daily routines. It’s interesting though, to find such a vibrant local coffee culture so detached from the branded experience that most of us are so familiar with.
Tablea and Suman in the morning if you’re not into coffee.
These Tanjay coffee places are locally known as “Painitan”, or literally translated as “a place to get warm”, and they serve not only coffee but also a local chocolate beverage called “Tablea” (thick chocolate tablets dissolved in hot water, prepared in front of you when you order it) and a kind of unsweetened rice cake or “Suman”. The Suman can be eaten with a thick chocolate sauce (from the same kind that they serve as a drink) or with Mangos or other fresh fruits from the surrounding market that you prefer.
Suman wrapped neatly in banana leaves ready for the morning crowd.
I don’t think the Painitans of Tanjay are going to sprout franchises in Manila or Cebu anytime soon, but if ever you do pass by Tanjay, it’s worth the stop, if not for the coffee then for the lively political debates that come with the coffee and the Suman!
Just one of the many “Painitans” in the public market of Tanjay, Negros Oriental
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DIY: Refrigerator Cake
Peach slices, grahams, and cream stuck in a refrigerator equals refrigerator cake!
Make it yourself: |
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In a rectangular pan place graham crackers side by side. Pour mixture of all-purpose cream and condensed milk on top followed by peach slices or any fruit of your choice. Continue making these layers up to top of the pan. Top it off with cream mixture, fruit slices, and a generous sprinkling of ground graham crackers. Place inside the freezer and wait a few hours until it sets, voilà! There you have it. Don’t try to put this in a resealable bag and bring it with you on a hike. It just won’t work, trust me. |
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