We had such wonderful, warm hosts and aside from them what made our stay truly lovely was the food. For me, a visit to any place is never complete without a sampling of their native fare. Of course, there is the ubiquitous chicken inasal that Bacolod is famous for. It’s so dependably good it almost ceases to matter which eatery you choose. I also found out that a trip to Pendy’s, which is a resto-cum-mini grocery where they have all the Bacolod treats of my dreams spilling over their generous shelves, is very charming indeed. They have everything from butterscotch, galletas, pastillas, barquillious, an assortment of fruit and caramel tarts, and the heavenly gatas dulce. Richard and I bought three different kinds of gatas dulce: one was thick, the other two a bit more mushy in texture, but all had just the right amount of sweetness. We opened all three at once and enjoyed the many variations of the same dessert and up to now we cannot decide which one we like best. They are so good. (We keep a jar in the room and, in fact, I am enjoying a few spoonfuls of it as I write this.)
As we brought our chosen ones to the cashier, the lady behind the counter asked if we were not getting any of their "half-moon." She then pointed to bright yellow crescent-shaped sweethearts peeping at me from beneath their glass display shelf. Jing, the wife of Richard’s bike buddy Dan Ramirez (the couple were our tourist guides), further explained that it was a sweet treat made of light sponge cake topped with thick, gooey custard. This one is absolutely and certifiably delicious with a capital D. The danger though is that after the first bite you find out that you will best enjoy the "half moon" when you have at least two pieces ("to make a ‘full moon,’" Dan quipped). If I did not have a gown to fit into for the fashion show I would have eaten up a storm.
Of course, I would never dream of leaving Bacolod without first getting some of Bob’s delicious oatmeal cookies. Luckily, since we were hard-pressed for time, the owners of Bob’s very graciously sent us a large container to bring home. This is one of the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had the pleasure to taste. I tried and fell in love with them at first bite during my first Bacolod visit, and to date they is virtually unmatched in my book.
I so wanted to get a couple of cans of the panaderia de molo to bring home but, alas, they were out of stock at Pendy’s. I’ve never tried this but growing up I remember my parents speaking of it very fondly. From what I understand, it is a huge round tin filled with an assortment of divine sweet treats.
I left Bacolod with a lot of warm memories of wonderful people and great food. I hope to be able to enrich my fondness for this city with nice places to see on our next trip there. Richard and I were laughing because going there, all that our luggage contained were the evening finery we had to wear on the show (two sets each) and a few sets of casual clothes. As we were packing to go home, our luggage was popping full with food! I very gingerly wrapped all the delicacies we had, paying careful attention to the fragile lengua de gato (another golden treat that makes for a very happy smile, it is melt-in-your-mouth delicious).
Somewhere among the many sweet treats in our luggage there also was, tucked beneath the box of lovely personalized stationery from Heartwarmers which was also a gift, a cookbook compiled by the SSA-B High School Batch 1980, entitled Namid Gid. It promises to be a very personal cookbook in the sense that it showcases tried and tested Ilonggo recipes from the kitchens of people personally known to the movers of this delicious project. Now that makes for a truly wonderful start right there. Clumsy as I am in the cooking department, after browsing through the pages, I found myself wanting to give my culinary capabilities (or lack of) another shot. When I get around to doing that, I already know what recipes to try first: either the pot roast, the chicken inasal, or bulgogi (Bacolod style, of course). Wish me luck.
After all the food I have mentioned above, is it any wonder still why I helplessly surrender to the added weight gain that a trip to Bacolod brings? As they so succinctly say it over there, namit gid!