Bicol Express: Homeward bound
April 10, 2005 | 12:00am
Wasting no time, we arrived in Legazpi City around 10 p.m. that night, having our first decent meal for the day and our first taste of Bicol cuisine at the First Colonial Diner. It consisted of gingery soup with native mushrooms and corn, Bicol Express (their version was with grilled liempo, finger chilies and coconut milk), pinangat, and lechon kawali.
Pinangat is perhaps Bicolandia’s signature dish, a gabi leaf-wrapped roll (much like a cabbage roll) filled with ground pork and shrimps and cooked in coconut milk. The best pinangat is reputed to be from Camalig, Albay.
Of all the regional Philippine cuisines, Bicolano cuisine (encompassing the four mainland provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon, and two island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate), is perhaps the only one that could be described as homogenously spicy and extensively using coconut milk, be it in their sauces, viands and desserts. With a total population of more than five million Bicolanos, speaking diverse tongues and having different customs, they are, however, bound together by their fanatical devotion to their patron saint, the Virgin of Peñafrancia, and their unique indigenous cuisine.
By the way, Bicol Express is the dish named after the express train that used to run between Tutuban Station in Manila to the southern terminal at Legazpi City, Albay and back. It is probably named so because, in its original form using siling labuyo (bird’s eye chilies), it is so fiery hot that it can send you on an express trip to the john. The most common version nowadays uses the milder finger chilies (the green ones used for sinigang) instead.
2. The right stuff. Our dessert at the First Colonial Diner consisted of a native chocolate fondue with an assortment of native kakanin of puto kutsinta (orange colored), ube (purple yam), marshmallows, fresh mango, fried suman sa ibos (sticky rice), and putong bigas (rice cake topped with caramelized grated coconut). The different puto were rather dry and need some improvement, but the fried suman and fresh mango were worth the calories. You can skip the marshmallows.
3. We finally reached our home for the night, the GSG Industries compound in Arimbay, Legazpi. Having texted my good friend Gigi Gonzales that we’d pass by her place, she graciously offered to host us for the night.
GSG Industries is one of the Philippines’ largest producer of handmade specialty papers made from pure fiber pulp of indigenous materials like abaca, banana, rice straw, rice hull, nipa, etc., which the Bicol region has in abundance. The paper mill was established in 1991 by Gigi’s father, Geoffrey "Pops" S. Gonzales, fabricating his own machines, and initially supplying some export companies with their handmade paper requirements. He then began exporting directly to Europe, US, Japan, Australia and other markets. A family enterprise, Pops is in charge of production, son Tony in charge of design, and Gigi of administration and sales.
4. With Tony as designer, he has come up with such innovative products out of the paper his family makes. A multiple recipient of the Katha award for both product and booth designs from Citem, he has also won the Design Plus award and the Calendar Design contest in Germany, and has received the G-Mark award in Japan for his furniture designs. Here is a weaver making placemats out of colorful paper twine.
5. Pasalubong anyone? All types of handicrafts and foodstuff made from pili nuts are available at the Satellite Market in downtown Legazpi.
6. Still at Satellite Market, dried fish of all sorts costs a lot less than in Manila.
7. This little tyke has the whole world as his playground, oblivious of majestic Mayon Volcano’s near perfect cone, billowing smoke almost daily as a reminder of its active status.
8. Along the national highway in Barangay Cabangan, Oas, Albay (Km. 492), bundles of cogon are hang-dried to be made into walis or brooms. After harvesting the cogon from the wild, the whitish bottom part (near the root) is pounded with a wooden mallet, then run through a comb of nails to split its ends. It is then dried and tied around a rattan stick to finally make the broom.
9. Milaor, Camarines Sur, a town located three kilometers south of Naga City (in the heart of Bicol), is touted as the honor guard of Naga’s Southern doors. Upon entering the town, a verdant landscape of bamboo, coconut, buri palm (material for making mats and bags) and vast rice lands will greet you.
Saint Joseph the Worker Parish Church is one the oldest in the Bicol region. Constructed out of baked ladrillo or bricks in 1725 and completed by 1735, the church was tragically destroyed by fire in April 17, 1740. Renovation was pursued during the same year until completed during the last decade of 18th century.
A stone belfry tower, somewhat leaning toward the church, composing of three tiers stands separately at the side of the main building. It was constructed in 1848 during the term of Fray Francisco de los Santos.
10. In Bagasbas Beach (popular among surfers), in Daet, Camarines Norte, Dan and I played Russian roulette deciding where to have lunch. Among the several eateries by the beach, Sa Kusina ni Angel (de la Cruz) seemed the most promising. We literally fell on Tita Angel’s lap (honest, that’s how he prefers to be addressed). His menu is a must-read with some amusing items that will surely whet your appetite, if not pique your curiosity. To boot: "Tita Angel Special Wag Isnabin" (okra and eggplant dish with special sauce), "Tikman ang Bagong Treatment ni Tita sa Kangkong"(kangkong with young corn and mushroom in toyomansi), "Swallow (sic) pan-fried peppered steak tenderloin." O, di ba?
The lady of the house (pun intended) has 25 years of work experience in the kitchen in different establishments in London before deciding to come home for good.
11. North Beach Daet with a twang: "Tita Angel Special Wag Isnabin," fish head cocido (Bicol’s version of sinigang), a sizzling plate of assorted seafood in a special sauce, and not shown in the photo was a seductively good leche flan (on the house) flavored with orange zest and coconut milk. Di mo talaga iisnabin!
12. Plates and baskets made of nito vines are sold by the roadside in Bagong Silang, Labo, Quezon (Km. 301). The plates sell at P130 a dozen.
13. Huling hirit. On the final stretch of our journey, we reached San Pablo City at around 9 p.m. Texting my good friend, Filipiniana couturier Patis Tesoro, to find out till what time her restaurant Kusina Salud is open, she replied saying her staff will be waiting for us.
This erstwhile family weekend retreat of Patis was converted into a restaurant by her son-in-law, chef Paul Poblador, serving Filipino cuisine. He is the same guy that has successfully run Salud Bistro in Baguio City. Still a long way to go before reaching home, we just had a light dinner of fried lumpiang ubod (heart of palm spring rolls) and pato tim (free-range duck braised with tausi and dried Chinese mushrooms), though there were other tempting dishes like bulalo ng Laguna, adobong antigo, kare-kareng dagat, pinaputok na pla-pla, and more. Still and all, there is plenty enough good reason to go back to Kusina Salud. It offers a buffet on Sundays and accepts reservations for private parities and garden weddings.
14. Day after: Having arrived home in Pampanga at 1 a.m., I unloaded all the goodies we’ve accumulated in our 14 days of travel only when daylight broke – all the gastronomic treasures that could rival the Yamashita loot and more than enough to appease my darleng Mary Ann for my prolonged absence (pang-ayo): Some 20 kilos of Arancillo durian from Sungee; 20 kilos of sweet pomelo and dozens of bottled preserved veggies from Nenita’s Farm; some 25 pieces of the sweetest Ormoc pineapples from the Locsin Farm; and native hats and baskets filled with dried fish from Iloilo City. Not in the photo are the tons of bananas given by Dr. Lita Sandique in Makilala, Cotabato, which we had to give away to security guards, porters, and hotel receptionists we chanced upon as they had ripened way ahead of our arrival home.
At the end of our journey, our spirits soared with the lingering memories of the breathtaking sceneries, the enjoyable company of newly-made friends, and our stomachs filled with the local delicacies each region had to offer. It was an uplifting experience – a movable fiesta for both body and soul!
EPILOGUE: So what gives? With so much natural beauty our country is blessed with, not to mention its greatest asset – the warmth and hospitality of the Filipinos – why aren’t foreign tourists coming in droves?
Initially, when my brother Abong and I were planning this trip, we didn’t know where to start. There’s nary information about the RORO (roll-on, roll-off). Well, fortunately for us, I stumbled on the needed information from some friends who have taken it to Caticlan, and that was all we needed to jumpstart our journey.
Altogether, we covered some 1,700 kilometers on land (I just don’t know how much we traveled on the West and East Nautical Highways), passing through 10 of the 16 regions of the country in 14 days. But the best part of it all, we had the flexibility of adjusting our itinerary accordingly, just like perusing a menu in a restaurant: You order only what you can ingest for the moment.
In our search for what is truly Filipino, a lot of rhetoric is said and we go through a lot of angst. We do not always see the profound in the mundane. This is not to suggest that reality lies in the commonplace or ordinary. The real Filipino, or just the individual self for that matter, springs from the subconscious – it comes from within. It is in being. It’s all a matter of how we perceive ourselves and the world around us: Seeing things differently – the little ordinary things – no matter how dull and meaningless they may seem that form part of us. In doing so, we get closer to the essence of our true identity.
In retrospect, we have such one big beautiful country, with its 7,100 islands, its diverse languages, its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies. On the physical plane, it may seem to be the same ubiquitous buildings and rural landscape one sees in cities and towns from north to south. It just proves we are one and the same nation. But there’s that one constant which is ever present everywhere – the same friendly smiles, the same warmth and hospitality that is unparalleled in the world.
On the downside, our country may be one of the most corrupt in Asia, but it’s never too late to do something about it. And looking at the bright side, we probably have the most beautiful country in the world and we are definitely one of the happiest people on earth. And that’s plenty to crow about!
Come see the Philippines! "Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan. Biyahe na!"
POSTSCRIPT: Some practical tips to the would-be traveler:
1. When planning for the trip, make sure to have your vehicle serviced for oil, filters, tire pressure, etc. We brought along a second spare tire and fortunately, we never had to use any.
2. Make sure to have the E-Z MAP Philippine Travel Atlas (second edition). Also the Philippine Travel Guide (new updated edition, 2005) by Jens Peters, probably the best and most comprehensive guide book on the Philippines. Peters has visited the country more than 60 times since 1970 (his favorite destination in southeast Asia), totaling over nine years put together. Don’t leave home without the two.
3. Have a first aid kit, alcohol, disinfectant (if you’re squeamish about toilets), toilet paper and moist tissue ready. A pocketknife and flashlight will come in handy, too.
4. Bring a medium-size cooler for bottled water and drinks, and a boxful of crackers, snacks and hard candies. Bring just enough for a couple of days’ trip only. There will be plenty of stores along the way. Ice is readily available, too.
5. If you can avoid it, don’t travel at night, especially in uninhabited and hot spot areas. You can get information even from ordinary folks you’ll come across. Don’t be scared of traveling around Mindanao. A lot of our fears are unfounded, the same way people from there are just as scared going to Manila.
6. With the advent of the automated teller machines (ATM), one need not bring so much cash on hand, but make sure to have plenty of small bills and loose change. Credit cards are accepted in most hotels and restaurants, at least in major cities anyway.
7. Hats and sun block will come in handy. A face towel kept wet and cold in the cooler will be a welcome treat especially if you have to drive after lunch.
8. Laundromats are now part-and-parcel of most big cities. Of course, hotels offer laundry service, too. So, bring only enough clothing for a few days change.
9. Have plenty room for flexibility and bring along tons of patience and an open mind (and mouth!). Never expect to get what you didn’t pay for. To paraphrase: Don’t expect to be served champagne on a beer budget.
10. And as a Filipino traveling in our own country, you’re bound to know someone in every locality given our penchant in finding sixth degree relationships (a cousin of a friend of an officemate….) Use it to your advantage. And it’s all a "text" away. (F i wer 2 hv only 1 meal in ur town, wat 2 eat n wer? Wer 2 stay?)
2. A RORO hotline should be available. I had to make so many inquiries these past weeks from people wanting to take it this summer vacation. Who should they call for advice on which route to take, what the schedules are, and how much budget to prepare? Is the RORO "Sakay na!" a myth or a fact? There are no telephone numbers to call. There are no offices that know. Or apparently, the whole country is ill-advised.
Is RORO an actual boat dedicated to the program? Is it for tourism? Is it for moving agricultural products? Isn’t the point of RORO-for-tourism to have numerous destinations as one travels leisurely around the islands? Yet, if the boat was carrying agricultural produce, it must get to its destination the soonest possible time as its cargo is highly perishable?
3. There seems to be little information one can get from local tourism offices, except perhaps in major cities. But even then, the chances of arriving in a place during office hours is more unlikely than not. The two times we got to a tourism office we were told they had run out of brochures. Well, if and when you’ll have any brochures, have them available also in hotels, shipping lines, booking offices and boats, and even in gasoline stations which are open 24 hours.
4. Speaking of which, there’s a dearth of clean rest rooms everywhere, with the exception perhaps of hotels and the better restaurants. A special appeal should be made to the boat operators: Your comfort rooms are anything but – they bring very little comfort in going inside one, unless you have the lungs of a muro-ami diver (holding your breath while doing it). They are pathetically, wretchedly malodorous and dirty. One needs literally a gas mask to survive the ordeal. May I suggest you provide a pay-toilet if you can’t clean up your act. It’s the least you should provide your passengers. After all, they’re the backbone of your industry. The same with gasoline stations. I’d rather do it in the great outdoors anytime.
5. Of the five boat rides we took, four departed pretty much on schedule. Not a bad batting average I must say.
6. Encourage more RORO service providers and encourage competition among the players. Deregulate the industry and open to foreign investors.
7. A special rate for RORO travelers with a vehicle is strongly suggested, something akin to a Eurail pass.
8. Can we have one website where we can view all the RORO schedules and book trips on the Internet?
9. It seems there’s a lack of inter-government agency coordination. There’s this recent report that Dumaguete Mayor Agustin Perdices has ordered the removal of some 500 DOT streamers in his domain since they have been posted without a permit. To mollify him, the DOT promised to include his beloved fiefdom in their "culinary destinations" promotions this June. "We’re not inviting people to come, see Dumaguete to just eat our food. We would fit more in the ‘people and culture." What is the food and festival? Come here and eat our budbud?" he was reported as scoffing the proposal. (For those uninitiated, budbod kabog is a type of suman made of millet or popularly known as birdseed, instead of the usual malagkit or sticky rice. It has a much finer texture and literally melts in one’s mouth. Heavenly!)
Perhaps the honorable mayor finds the budbod too lowly and fit only for the birds. Well, dear Mr. Mayor, this writer has been to your kingdom several years ago with other foodies, like the late Doreen Fernandez, Glenda Barretto, Larry Cruz, etc., and believe me, we found every reason to go back there just to have a taste of your budbod and tsokolate again (at Potsky’s in the wet market at that).
Mayor Perdices wants the old-world culture and the tourism sites of his province promoted instead. In case he doesn’t know, food is a major part of culture, old or new. By the way, perdices in Spanish means partridges. Delicacy at dinadayo ’yon sa ibang bansa. Sa amin naman sa Pampanga, pinapapak yan parang sumsuman, adobo-style.
10. Politics can get in the way, too. Speaking of suman, a little more than two years ago, we witnessed the Suman Festival up in Baler, Aurora. It was a wonderfully conceived and executed festival to lure tourists to this faraway town. Well, with a change in local government leaders, the present ones scrapped the festival altogether just because it was the brainchild of the previous administration.
11. Calling the private sector and all civic organizations like the Rotary, Lion’s Club, Chamber of Commerce and the like: You’re in the best position to know what your locality has to offer. Don’t allow the few morons (that we elect in the first place) dictate what would sell or not. Just do it. For every peso you’ll spend on tourism collaterals, it will return a hundred folds. Lahat tayo makikinabang, from the five-star hotel operator to the fish ball vendor.
First Colonial Grill is at 738 Rizal St., Old Albay District, Legazpi City.
Sa Kusina ni Angel is on Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte.
Kusina Salud is in Bgy. Sta. Cruz (Putol), San Pablo City. Call 0921-7726985 and (049)246-6878 for inquiries and reservations.
Call Gigi Gonzalez of GSG Industries (0917)558-4536.
Call Starlite Ferry Inc. at (043)723-9965 (Batangas), 0918-5728939 (Calapan), and 0919-6937183 (Roxas).
Call Dom Martin of the Benedictine Transfiguration Monastery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon at 0917-5105585.
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