Antipolo – It seems as though Antipolo, with its mushrooming housing projects and steadily increasing population is very much still heavily rooted on tradition. This is evidenced by the proliferation of pasalubong stalls at the basement area of the mall beside the church and the side roads in front of it. The stacks of suman sold here have beautifully treated coconut leaves for their wraps with carefully selected, clean tasting glutinous rice. A recent innovation during the past decade was the addition of nangka to the rather thick neutral Suman sa Ibos. It only stands to reason that the tropical fruit nuances of the nangka may serve to intensify the sweetness of the fresh mangoes that these glutinous rice bars are normally paired with.

Another traditional Antipolo food item that seems to be hanging on to one’s dear life is the kasoy (cashew nut). Real estate subdivision expansion has affected it greatly and many plantations have been replaced by housing projects. But Pinoy traditions are strong and the processing of cashews is still done in Antipolo, even if the raw nuts are sourced from Palawan and Batangas. We visited Vicky’s on Santos Street in Antipolo; a rather large operation where I now have a deeper appreciation for eating this nut. The nuts have to pass through a cutter and placed in a certain position where they are halved. After this, they are taken out of their shells by de-shellers who have wrapped fingers that protect themselves from the toxic, skin-irritating saps from its shells. Once the nuts are cooked, they are sorted and packed for wholesale in a spic and span environment. The whole process shows why cashews are expensive and the Antipolo sellers have adapted to not only sell the plain nut but also sell variants such as sugar-glazed and garlic adobo (which I hope they continue with the natural method and not junk food powders).

Angono – Within the commercial area of Angono, one can find several surprises that seem to give this center of arts and culture in Rizal its great charm.

During the evenings, the town center is very busy with numerous stalls that sell the popular lakeside water fowl (itik or duckling). One can purchase this very tasty bird and dispense with the problem of long time simmering and braising to tenderize its flavorful but lakeside-bred meat. You can opt for Adobo, Kaldereta or crispy fried which is the most popular. The scent of adobo cooked ducks frying in hot fat wafts through the air at the center town and it is quite appetizing. Gizzards, livers and unlaid eggs are also popular fares especially for drinkers. What seems to be our discovery that is very common among the residence is baycon (bacon) which are actually duck esophagus fried to a crisp and reminds me of crisp bacon. One must choose the seller that fries this very popular item which is obviously the first one to run out. Many sellers over-fry the baycon and all you can taste is a crunchy, greasy, piece of bark. A lot of the fried duck delicacies are served with a clear, golden sweet and lightly tart sauce.

In front of the duck stalls is the pasalubong counter that sells nuts, crispy peas, beans, packed kropeks and fish crackers. The winner in this store is the sweet pusit (squid) that is done to a crisp and covered with a dry sugar glaze. Across the street is the town bakery and I was looking for some unique breads which may be unique to the area or town. I found a rich bread laden with sesame seeds and fermented or yeast-raised until it cracked. This was pinanggol which was wonderfully nutty and toasty with its dark exterior.

In the morning, a visit to the market took us to the fresh lakeside catch where a live kanduli or silver catfish is available, side by side with live tilapia and jumping tagunton (baby river prawns).

As a final note, if you have enough bravado, you can go to the corner where Mercury drug store is and buy bibingkang abnoy (rotten duck egg omelet) in the afternoon. This funky, machismo dish or snack dipped in chili and vinegar is Rizal’s take on Chinese stinking tofu. Just make sure your loving partner partakes of this delicacy, too; if not you’ll be repulsed.

You can email me at:

chefgenegonzalez@yahoo.com.