When you order tsokolate from any Filipino restaurant, it is understood that you want the chocolate drink derived directly from the raw material cacao. There are only a few places in the Philippines which can pull off a truly authentic flavor for this concoction-- Batangas, Albay and... what do you know-- Cogon Market in Cagayan de Oro!
Next on our agenda was the search for the famous tsokolate-A and tsokolate-E. What's the difference, you ask? It's in the dilution-- the A (aguaro) is lusaw or watery while the E (espeso) is malapot or thick. Again, Ms. Gen led the way but it was Mr. Spy who found the kiosk Ma'am San Juan (Chef, VIP Hotel) had told us about.
NANOL'S CAFE is what it is called. Run by an very efficient group who, though it was obviously a labor-intensive job, kept up a thoroughly sanitary and organized structure. Immediately one will see that there was a boss. Her name is Ellen. She was the one who mixed the drink using only various cups, a spoon and a can of evaporated milk. When an order was made, she would get a clean mug, dip a cup into a vat of boiling water, then another cup into a pot of pure melted chocolate, a spoonful of white sugar and pour everything plus a dollop of milk (poured from a height, bartender style) into the mug, and voila! Your tsokolate, ma'am! That was the A. If you wanted it E, you just had to ask for more of the pure melted chocolate.
We were extremely impressed (obvious ba?) not only by the entertaining way Ms. Ellen could mix the tsokolate but by the way her servers had been trained to use plates instead of spoons to serve puto maya on platitos and by the cleanliness of the area. It was only about 10 square feet but, everything had a place and a place had been assigned for everything. All their ready-to-eat food (sandwiches, delicacies in banana leaves, breads, etc.) were wrapped in clear plastic, while their mugs and utensils for serving were regularly sterilized with boiling water from the vat.
And... what topped off our enjoyment was the price: 12 pesos for the drink and 6 pesos for the puto maya. How's that for a filling breakfast?
What's next AMUMA?
Showing posts with label cogon market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cogon market. Show all posts
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tantalizing Tastes
Unfortunately, Aling Violy's wasn't exactly what we had in mind. Or rather, the humba that we had heard so much about wasn't exactly what it was supposed to be. In the first place, it wasn't sweet.
You see, humba is a pork dish which is seasoned with soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, pepper and spices and cooked over low fire for several hours. This softens the meat to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and ensures the complete absorption of flavor into the meat, making your digestive juices churn just thinking about it. But the essential ingredient here is SUGAR.
Well, like I said, the humba we had wasn't sweet. So either the price of sugar was too high so as to be neglected or the cook forgot to pour it in. Needless to say, as one of our seminar coaches-- Ms. Dolly-- had ingrained in our hearts that as tour guides we should be curious about everything (we were indeed VERY curious about this sad observation), that we practically interviewed the male server... in a fishing sort of manner. Ms. Gen was the most inquisitive and got the most answers.
Apparently, Aling Violy was not present as she was an aging woman with various ailments such as heart desease and high blood pressure. However, since this eatery was a family venture-- handed down from mother to daughter-- she had taught her daughter all her recipes and was trusting enough to just stay home while her family takes care of business.
So the next obvious question should have been: Does Aling Violy know that her daughter doesn't put sugar in the humba? But Ms. Gen asked instead a better question: What makes Aling Violy's humba different from other recipes that people, from experienced concessionaires to the daily wage earners, look for it? The answer: It is very popular among the common people, like drivers and market laborers, because of the always-boiling bottomless soup. Another reason is that their humba is vitually oil-less, making it a "healthy" choice.
Well, oo nga naman. Where can you find a "healthy" or "green" recipe of pork that is readily available to the common folk? Only in Cogon Market in Cagayan de Oro City!
(to be continued)
You see, humba is a pork dish which is seasoned with soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, pepper and spices and cooked over low fire for several hours. This softens the meat to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and ensures the complete absorption of flavor into the meat, making your digestive juices churn just thinking about it. But the essential ingredient here is SUGAR.
Well, like I said, the humba we had wasn't sweet. So either the price of sugar was too high so as to be neglected or the cook forgot to pour it in. Needless to say, as one of our seminar coaches-- Ms. Dolly-- had ingrained in our hearts that as tour guides we should be curious about everything (we were indeed VERY curious about this sad observation), that we practically interviewed the male server... in a fishing sort of manner. Ms. Gen was the most inquisitive and got the most answers.
Apparently, Aling Violy was not present as she was an aging woman with various ailments such as heart desease and high blood pressure. However, since this eatery was a family venture-- handed down from mother to daughter-- she had taught her daughter all her recipes and was trusting enough to just stay home while her family takes care of business.
So the next obvious question should have been: Does Aling Violy know that her daughter doesn't put sugar in the humba? But Ms. Gen asked instead a better question: What makes Aling Violy's humba different from other recipes that people, from experienced concessionaires to the daily wage earners, look for it? The answer: It is very popular among the common people, like drivers and market laborers, because of the always-boiling bottomless soup. Another reason is that their humba is vitually oil-less, making it a "healthy" choice.
Well, oo nga naman. Where can you find a "healthy" or "green" recipe of pork that is readily available to the common folk? Only in Cogon Market in Cagayan de Oro City!
(to be continued)
Friday, May 7, 2010
Tantalizing Scents
If you don't think about it, you won't realize that, common as they are, local dishes like humba, la-uya, sikwate and biko take on new meaning when eaten in Cagayan de Oro City. You just have to know where to find the cooks who make them the most delicious.
Eight of us newly graduated tour guides - Eper, Gen, Ying, Rob, Spy, Duane (Spy's son), Girlie and myself - took it upon ourselves to explore the culinary treats of Cogon Market.
Now, before I proceed, let me explain what exactly is Cogon Market. It is but the largest public market in the city, having just been renovated from a sprawling mini-city made of flamable materials a few years back, to a three-story concrete jungle (jumble), sometimes jokingly called the Superferry. Why jumble? Because unlike the organized sprawl it was before, the different vendors (of meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, flowers, cooked food, rice, general merchandise, etc.) are now packed together haphazardly into the crowded space of the ground floor, with hardly enough room between each one to pass through. So traversing the path in search for the recommended eatery this morning was, in itself, an experience for the senses.
We entered the building from the west side (across from the old Gaisano Center) and immediately, the odor of freshly slaughtered pork and beef met our nostrils, not to mention the sight of different shades of red hanging from nails or lying on slats of wood or tile in an effort to attract buyers. Then, if that wasn't enough to turn us away, we had moved into the dried fish section, complete with the smell of... well, dried fish. Then, without warning, we were suddenly in the eatery section, with all kinds of specialties up for grabs. There was a number of halal (Muslim) places and a few interesting choices, but we were on a mission. I'm sure none of us had had our breakfast and we were all anticipating the sweet-salty flavor of the highly-recommended humba (a popular Filipino pork dish) we had heard about during our seminar. At last, we found it -- Humbaan ni Aling Violy, located near the malfunctioned elevator which is now the site of a booming flower shop.
(to be continued)
Eight of us newly graduated tour guides - Eper, Gen, Ying, Rob, Spy, Duane (Spy's son), Girlie and myself - took it upon ourselves to explore the culinary treats of Cogon Market.
Now, before I proceed, let me explain what exactly is Cogon Market. It is but the largest public market in the city, having just been renovated from a sprawling mini-city made of flamable materials a few years back, to a three-story concrete jungle (jumble), sometimes jokingly called the Superferry. Why jumble? Because unlike the organized sprawl it was before, the different vendors (of meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, flowers, cooked food, rice, general merchandise, etc.) are now packed together haphazardly into the crowded space of the ground floor, with hardly enough room between each one to pass through. So traversing the path in search for the recommended eatery this morning was, in itself, an experience for the senses.
We entered the building from the west side (across from the old Gaisano Center) and immediately, the odor of freshly slaughtered pork and beef met our nostrils, not to mention the sight of different shades of red hanging from nails or lying on slats of wood or tile in an effort to attract buyers. Then, if that wasn't enough to turn us away, we had moved into the dried fish section, complete with the smell of... well, dried fish. Then, without warning, we were suddenly in the eatery section, with all kinds of specialties up for grabs. There was a number of halal (Muslim) places and a few interesting choices, but we were on a mission. I'm sure none of us had had our breakfast and we were all anticipating the sweet-salty flavor of the highly-recommended humba (a popular Filipino pork dish) we had heard about during our seminar. At last, we found it -- Humbaan ni Aling Violy, located near the malfunctioned elevator which is now the site of a booming flower shop.
(to be continued)
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