The best tuna and dried pineapple and papaya recipes at SM-Philippine star contest: ‘My City, My sm, My Cuisine’ goes to GenSan

MANILA, Philippines - General Santos is the center of trade, commerce, and logistics in the Soccsksargen growth area.  A highly urbanized first class city, it is the southernmost port city, a gateway of tourism and culture and the site of a new SM Mall.

GenSan also abounds with gifts from the land and the sea, making it a haven for foodies.   Its rich soil and tropical rainfall have made it ideal for plantations of pineapple, rice, asparagus, corn coconuts, exotic fruits and vegetables.

The fishing industry is also strong in GenSan, which is also known as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, as well as the source of other fresh seafood.  The General Santos Fish Port Complex is the country’s second largest fish port after Navotas and its most modern.  It is here that one can get the fresh catch of the day, including the sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna GenSan is known for.

Mallgoers had the rare opportunity to taste its culinary delights when “My City, My SM, My Cuisine” recently made a stop at SM City GenSan.

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 GenSan’s Kalilangan Festival celebrations, the event was also highlighted by a cook fest that showcased two of the city’s signature dishes — tuna roe for the entrée; and dried papaya and pineapple for dessert.

Olympio C. Pactes and Janeth P. Paghubasan were named winners for their tuna roe pinakamalan and dried fruit salsa with cinnamon recipes, respectively. Their delightful flavors and food presentation got the nod of the distinguished board of judges, which included Ranchero Nuevo owner Jeffrey Paolo Sunglao, SM City GenSan assistant mall manager Hermon L. Hermandez, and SM City GenSan food court manager Donne Marcos.

They each received P5,000 worth of SM gift certificates and Homeworld gift packs from SM vice president for marketing Millie Dizon and SM City GenSan assistant mall manager Hermon L. Hernandez. The rest of the finalists received P1,000 worth of SM gift certificates and gift packs from Homeworld.

As it is the “My City, My SM, My Cuisine” tradition, prominent families from the Tuna Capital of the Philippines shared their prized heirloom recipes during the event in a video presentation.

Chef Criselda Macion, owner of the Paseo del Sol restaurant demonstrated her grandmother’s chicken with pineapple recipe, while Rachero’s Solita Sunglao highlighted the Tuna Capital of the Philippines with her family’s paksiw na buntot ng tuna sa gata. 

Mallgoers also had a rare glimpse of the cuisine of the T’boli tribe as Marina Sudao demonstrated her tribe’s favorite breakfast fare — nilagang balenghuy, gabi, and some vegetables boiled in water.  These, she says, go best with their famous native coffee.

“My City, My SM, My Cuisine” in GenSan is the 10th 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. It later celebrated the specialties of the province of Rizal and the city of Marikina, and featured a cookfest for the best binabaysan na alimango or alimasag and suman sa Ibos at SM City Masinag. Just in time for the Rizal@150 celebrations, foodies vied for the best Lutong Instik entrée and buko pie dessert; while our National hero’s descendants featured their heirloom recipes at SM City Calamba.

The Golden Days of Coffee at SM City Lipa brought mallgoers back to the halcyon days when Lipa supplied all the world’s coffee, highlighting the best bulalo and pinindot recipes.  The food of heroes, on the other hand, was highlighted during the roadshow stop at SM City Baliwag, which featured signature dishes from the Mariano Ponce and Marcelo H. del Pilar families, as well as the best serkele and puto dessert recipes.

More recently, it celebrated the cuisine of the Cordilleras, as well as its bounty of fruits and vegetables at SM City Baguio with chefs of the city’s popular restaurants competing for the best salad and strawberry dessert recipes.  “My City, My SM, My Cuisine”’s latest stops were in SM City Olongapo, where it showcased both indigenous and American influences, and the best Sinigang na Diana and pastillas recipes; and SM City Tarlac, where they sampled cuisine from Central Luzon’s melting pot and the winning pinabkbet and cassava recipes.

Last January, it made a stop in the San Pablo, the city of Seven Lakes, just in time for its Coconut Festival to highlight the best pesang tilapia and sinukmani recipes.

Last year, the campaign made stops in 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.