Homage to Sr. Santo Niño

The Cebuano community have just completed the celebration of Fiesta Señor 2011 and everyone aims to hold a bigger and better fiesta celebration of the Santo Niño in 2012. Pilgrims, devotees, tourist and local residents have joined the two major events of the festivities, the religious procession last Saturday and/or the grand street parade of the Sinulog last Sunday, January 16.

It comes down to the tradition of the fiesta which we Filipinos had inherited from the Spanish colonial past, a nine-day celebration in honor of a particular saint. And years ago, your favorite food columnist did participate in these festivities of reverence to Sr. Santo Niño by visits to the Basilica Minore and food preparation to welcome friends and relatives to our home after the religious procession.

Since then, every January, I avoid the Basilica so as to give way to the thousands of pilgrims and devotees from other parts of the country (February to December na lang). Neither do I want to add to the chaotic traffic situation by inviting people. During one fiesta, my guests took two and a half hours to drive from Ayala to JY Square.

From January 7 to January 18, Marco Polo Plaza, Cebu City’s only five-star hotel (www.marcopolo plazacebu.com), joins the rest of the Cebuano community in celebrating the Fiesta Señor and the cultural festivity, the Sinulog.

In the lobby, there is a special exhibit of rare antiques, the “Sto. Niño: Images of Jesus as a Child”, a collection of the Compañeros de Juego del Sto. Niño. It has also become a tradition of Marco Polo Plaza to highlight Cebuano Cuisine with SUGBUSOG and this year, it’s “A Culinary Journey to Our Roots” and with the food of two municipalities, Bantayan and Aloguinsan taking the center stage.

Guest Chef Jessica Avila, the authority of Cebuano Cuisine, who traces her ancestry to roots to Bantayan Island, has featured in the past traditional dishes that are considered family heirloom recipes served in ancestral homes of Filipinos (no restaurants then!). While Bantayan Island long been a tourist destination with its Holy Week celebration, the town of Aloguinsan is new player in the market with its Kinsan Festival, named after a fish; unfortunately, this rather large fish is only abundant from March to July.

The following were the Abre Gana (Appetizers) during the food festival: Kasahos (Beef Tapa), Crispy Pusit (fried squid), fresh lumpia, Puso sa Saging or sautéed banana blossom and two unique Bantayan specialities, the Labtingaw nga Danggit and the Gigamos nga Bihod sa Danggit or Poor Man’s caviar. The usual method to preserve fish is adding salt and then sun dried. In labtingaw, only sea water is added before it is dried; some moisture is retained giving the fish its unique taste when cooked.

 Sopa (soup) was Linat-ang Manok Bisaya (native chicken with Moringa oleifera or kamunggay). For the Sud-an (main Course), several Cebuano favorites were served: Guinataang Sugpo (Prawns in Coconut Milk), Escabeche (Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce), Kaldereta (Goat Stew in Tomato Sauce), Adobong Baka (Braised Beef) and Pancit Buko (Fresh Coconut Noodles).

And Dulce (Dessert) during the SUGBUSOG were the Leche Flan, Tagaktak (anybody with the English name?) and fresh fruits like the mango. I have tasted the mango found in other provinces but it was only in Cebu that I found the qualities of what I consider to be the perfect mango; sweet with a touch of tart and very creamy.