As in any country, living in the province is more enjoyable and fun. Why? The air is cleaner, the streets less congested, and the best part, the food is yummier!
courtesy of the vendor and my mom!)
That's why when I went home, I always try to enjoy the native delicacies that are more closer to my tummy, than to my heart. Ha-ha-ha! And one of them is the bibingka, or in Ilonggo, we just call it 'bingka'.
Bingka is a Philippine rice cake made of rice flour, grated coconut, sugar, eggs and other ingredients. And there's one vendor in my hometown's market that makes them early in the morning.
But what my mom does is to prepare grated coconuts the day before, and brings them the next morning to the vendor together with extra eggs. The vendor will then mix these on the remaining batter, and bake them. My mom then pays for all the bibingkas that are made from that mix. The vendor has a guaranteed sale, and the bibingkas my mom brings home are yummier because of the added coconut strips and extra eggs! The vendor is happy and so is my tummy! Ha-ha-ha!
But there is another type of bibingka that's even better! It's the bibingka baked 'Balasan' style sold in front of the Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo City, Iloilo Province. I always visit the kiosk next to the cathedral every time I am in Iloilo.
While a visitor can always say a little prayer inside the Cathedral, one also needs to remember that it's a sin to skip the bibingka part after. Ha-ha-ha!
I know there are a lot of commercial bibingkas sold at cafes in Manila, and I have tasted them all. And none of them can match the bibingkas in the provinces.
Ang bibingka, bow!
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