'My City, My SM, My Cuisine' goes to Rizal and Marikina

MANILA, Philippines - It is said that in past times, residents of what is now known as the province of Rizal enjoyed the best of two shores — the seashore of Manila Bay with its famous sunset on the west, and the lakeshore of Laguna de Bay on the east.

It can also be said that with its rich natural resources and cultural diversity, Rizalenos now also enjoy some of the best of Philippine regional cuisine. This is what mallgoers discovered when “My City, My SM, My Cuisine” made a stop at SM City Masinag to celebrate the food specialties of Rizal and the city of Marikina.

A joint project of SM and The Philippine STAR with support from Homeworld, “My City, My SM, My Cuisine Season 2” celebrates the flavors of Philippine regional cuisine through a culinary contest featuring two signature recipes from 10 cities where SM malls are located.

Held just in time for Antipolo’s Maytime Festival, the event also showcased two of Rizal and Marikina’s signature dishes gifts in a cookfest — Binabayasan na Hipon at Alimango sa Gata for the entrée and Suman sa Ibos for the dessert.

Efren Cruz of Taytay and Vivien de Leon of Binangonan were adjudged winners for their Binabayasan na Hipon at Alimango sa Gata and Suman sa Ibos recipes, respectively. Their delightful flavors and food presentation got the nod of the distinguished board of judges, which included Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Money Museum head Ginny Cruz, historian and food researcher Sonny Tinio; farmer, cheesemaker, and landscaper/artist Jemil Araos; The Philippine STAR’s key account manager Elizabeth Lim, SM Homeworld Masinag manager Olivia Sulay, and Metropolitan Museum trustee Cora Alvina.

They each received P5,000 worth of SM Gift Certificates and Homeworld Gift Packs from Rizal Province First Lady Andrea Bautista-Ynares, Vice Governor Frisco San Juan, Jr., SM Supermalls vice president for Operations Liza Silerio, and SM vice president for Marketing Millie Dizon. The rest of the finalists received P1,000 worth of SM Gift Certificates and Gift Packs from Homeworld.

The event celebrated the Flores de Mayo tradition with a garden theme highlighted by beautiful landscaping, exotic floral arrangements, and paintings by master artist Nemiranda. Guests came in floral-inspired clothes and were greeted with daisy leis.

Two beautiful showcases amazed the guests — one depicting the Jerry Araos garden in Antipolo City with its lush landscapes, stone arrangements, and even a small pond. The other was a replica of Balaw-Balaw Restaurant with its rustic cultural ambience. The showcases also highlighted the restaurants and food specialties in Rizal and Marikina.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of food specialties from Marikina and the different towns and cities of Rizal. Marikina City Mayor Del de Guzman and Councilor Ernesto Flores proudly presented the city’s famous “Everlasting” dish together with Kusina ni Kambal owner Irma San Miguel.

Wives of Rizal Province’s town and city mayors also showcased their cuisine with pride: Binangonan First Lady Elvie Ynares presented Mayor Cecilio Ynares’s original pancit luglog recipe; Angono First Lady Ida Calderon came with a very tasty fried itik; while Elizabeth Vista, wife of Tanay Vice Mayor Jaime Vista, introduced guests to the town’s popular binalutak.

Antipolo’s famous suman sa ibos was presented by Rizal Provincial Tourism head Jenny Sumulong Ledonio and former Antipolo City Councilor Mar Bacani. Taytay PESO head Gina Pineda and Bahay Kawayan owner Elizabeth Alcantara representing Taytay First Lady Joan Gacula, brought her protein-rich lauya dish. Cainta’s pride, bibingka, suman and matamis na bao, was presented by Allan Corrales of the Tourism Office and Ross Lian Argayosso on behalf of First Lady Veron Ilagan.

They all enjoyed the sumptuous food served on top of sambahan, an amazing three-footed narra and ipil altar table very generously lent by sculptor Jerry Araos. A Suman Bar by Vieux Chalet showing modern ways of presenting this delicacy — Suman with Smoked Bangus Sushi, Suman in Chocolate Fondue, Suman with Adobo Flakes in Crepes, and Suman in Flambeed Mango Sauce and Cashews —was also a hit.

In keeping with the “My City, My SM, My Cuisine” tradition, a video presentation showcased heirloom recipes from Marikina and Rizal. No less than Rizal First Lady Andrea Bautista Ynares was the gracious hostess at the Balaw Balaw restaurant where she prepared her signature Sinigang na Baboy recipe. Balaw Balaw’s Andrei Vocalan, one of the heirs to his father’s exotic food legacy, then prepared a sautéed dish using the Balaw Balaw sauce.

A Suman Bar featured different types of suman by View Chalet: Suman with Smoked Bangus Sushi, Suman in Chocolate Fondue, Suman with Adobo Flakes in Crepes; and Suman in Flambéed Mango Sauce and Cashews.

Antipolo First Lady Atty. Carmencita Leyble showed how suman sa ibos is made from a huge basin of malagkit rice, slat, and coconut milk, and then wrapped in coconut leaf cubes. Taytay First Lady Joan Gacula then showed how the meaty and protein rich lauya is cooked in the popular Bahay Kawayan restaurant. Marikina Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz and Cocina owner Irma San Miguel delighted the audience with their demonstration of Everlasting — a melt-in-your-mouth embutido-type dish.

“My City, My SM, My Cuisine in Rizal and Marikina” is the second in Season 2 of this exciting culinary road show, which was launched in April at SM City Rosales with the best bangus and tupig recipes. Last year, it made 13 stops all over the country, beginning in Santa Rosa where participants competed for the best Puchero with Lauya and Puto Maya with Kilawing Puso ng Saging. Its last stop was in SM City Clark, where Kapampangan foodies showcased the best tidtad and tocino del cielo recipes.

“My City, My SM, My Cuisine” is a joint project of SM and The Philippine STAR with support from SM Homeworld, the Province of Rizal, the City of Marikina, Kusina ni Kambal, and Vieux Chalet Restaurant.

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SM shoppers and Philippine STAR readers can submit their recipe of their city’s selected entrée and dessert along with their name, address, and occupation to sm_starculinary@yahoo.com. They can also mail these to the Publicity Department, Building C, SM Corporate Office, JW Diokno Boulevard, Pasay City, or the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Star at R. Oca Jr. and Railroad Streets, Port Area, Manila.

Ten finalists will be selected — five for entrees and five for dessert. Two winners — one for entrée and one for dessert — will be selected from each city during the culinary contest that will be held in time for the city’s festival. The two winners will each receive P5,000 worth of SM Gift Certificates, while finalists will receive packs from SM Homeworld.