My first taste of food in Spain was at a coffee shop fronting Meson del Corregidor in the vicinity of Plaza Mayor located in the heart of the capital city of  Madrid. While savoring the strange taste of Bartilillos con Crema (small custard pie), Churros (Long fluted wads of fried dough) and a cup of thick, hot chocolate, our expert tour guide Miss Katia Oceransky, gamely lectured us members of the 15-man Philippine delegation to the Study Tour on the Development of Cooperative Integration in Spain that food in Spain is not only a form of nourishment but is literally part of Spain culture and is influenced greatly by the history of Spain.

Observations:

I was really struck with the words of our tour guide, hence, I decided to keep a tight watch on how food in Spain is related to Spain culture. And, in the course of our 8 fullfiling days in Spain, here is my stunning discovery :

1. Breakfast or Desayuno is the most insignificant of all the 3 meals in a day. As observed in Hotel Eurostars Toledo in Paseo San Eugenio S/N, Toledo City where we were billeted, breakfast is eaten between 08:00 to 10:00 in the morning. The light meal consists of a Café con Leche (half coffee and half hot milk) normally served with the popular Churros often deep-fried in front of you. You can also opt to take breakfast with the tortillas (omelette) or the Huevos a la Madrileña (Baked eggs with sliced tomatoes and sausages) and sandwiches.

2. Lunch or Almuerzo is the main and most significant meal of the day which is taken not earlier that 1:30 in the afternoon. During a luncheon hosted by no less than the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Cooperatives of the Regional Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Castella-La-Mancha at La Alacena Restaurant, Hotel Beatriz Toledo in Carretera Avila, Toledo City, we were offered with a three-course meal, the first being the popular light food in Spain composed of Sopa al Cuarto de Hora (Quick freshly-made fish soup). It was followed by the famous Toledo dish dubbed Perdiz con Chocolate (chocolate-flavored sauce) together with the Patatas y Judías Verdes a la Extremeña (Potatoes and green beans in sauce),  Cazuela de Lomo y Butifarra (Pork and sausage casserole), Pollo Assado con Salsa de Naranja (Roasted chicken with orange sauce), Gambas en Salsa Verde (Fried Shrimps served with a parsley sauce) and Merluza con Alcaparras (Fish steaks with capers) with Cuajada con Miel (Rennet pudding with honey) as desert.

I was really intrigued on the events that transpired during the luncheon meeting. The Spaniards in each of the tables were not only taking their food the ordinary way but they were savoring it enjoyably as sounds of loud conversations and boisterous laughters dominated the air. Most importantly, they were not doing it lightly but engaging in it seriously as the meal dragged on for two hours, more or less. Afterward, we took some time to take souvenir photos . . .

A pose for posterity outside the Hotel Beatriz in Toledo, Spain

Afterward, I requested two of the distinguished lady Members of Parliament for a souvenir shoot . . .

A photo op with the lady Members of Parliament of Castilla La Mancha

I thought that what I had observed during the lunch at Hotel Beatriz was just coincidental. Nevertheless, it was confirmed to be real during our lunch at a roadside restaurant that we dropped by on our way to the City of Valencia, wherein, I observed the same luncheon festive mode among the Spanish guests . . .

Taking lunch on a roadside restaurant in Spain . . .

More so when we took our lunch at Casa Angel Restaurant in El Palmar, Valencia where we savored Spain’s best-known dish, the traditional Paella a la Valenciana composed of prawn, shellfish, rabbit, onions and peppers with rice . . .

The famous Paella a la Valenciana

The luncheon was  capped with a Rigodon de Honor dance rendetion between the restaurant owner and Miss Katia and followed suit by the other guests. A photo op session outside then ensued . . .

A souvenir pose outside the Casa Angel Restaurant

3. Dinner or Cena. Food in Spain is taken very late in the evening. At Hotel Universidad in Avenida Espana, Albacete City, we took dinner at 22:00. The delicious Crema de Perdiz (Cream of partridge soup),  Tortilla de Bacalao (Cod omelet) and the Queso Manchego (Slices of goats cheese) were the best food in Spain to take before retiring to bed after a busy day. Evening dinner may consist of a full meal, or something lighter, such as the Tapa composed of a small portions of fish, meat, vegetables, served as appetizers. Wine and olive oil generally form an integral part while taking food in Spain.

Food In Spain- Final Thoughts

Friendships are formed, families unite, business deals are closed and social groups assemble for some common purpose while taking food in Spain. Being a Filipino, taking food in Spain on the same table with the Spaniards was an act of mending fences and healing old wounds between the formerly colonized and the previous colonizers. From an outsider’s point of view, dining and wining particularly during lunch time, is one of the most important socializing events of the life of each and every Spaniard. Thus, food in Spain is more than a form of sustenance, it is literally a way of life among the Spanish people.

Filipino Desserts – What Are They?

Filipino desserts, generally considered as delicious desserts, are courses that typically comes at the end of Philippine family meals or during snack time usually consisting of awesome sweet foods considered favorite foods among island vacations and island getaways buffs and other foodies  usually served during special occasions involving family members, real friends and other guests.

Filipino Desserts – What Bucas Grande Island Can Offer?

Visitors, guests and tourists visiting Bucas Grande Island in Socorro, Surigao del Norte, Philippines kept coming back not only due to  their awesome travel experiences on its majestic ecotourism destinations but becaue of their awesome food experiences involving  two Filipino desserts considered as food delicacies of the island, the first being the conical-shaped steamed rice cake named “sayongsong” and the other being a rice stew  cooked with coconut milk locally termed “harug.”

The Sayongsong

To expose such Filipino desserts to my readers who have not yet visited the place, I requested some expert sayongsong makers to do the actual cooking demonstration. After gathering the ingredients, sheets of coconut leaves were formed into cones while grated coconut were pressed for  coconut cream and milk. The 3 cups coconut cream, produced by the first pressing, was mixed with ¼ kilo margarine and ¼ kilo brown sugar and cooked in medium heat with constant stirring for 15 minutes . . .

Sheets of banana leaves were formed into cones while the grated coconut being pressed for coco cream and milk. Coconut caramel was made out of the mixture of coconut cream with margarine and sugar cooked in medium fire. . .

The other ingredients then were made ready . . . 1 kilo ground rice; 1 can Alpine Evaporated Milk (big); 1/4 kilo Brown Sugar; 3 pcs. Eggs; ¼ kilo salted peanuts; ½ tablespoon salt; 10 cups coconut milk – 2^nd Press and the Coconut Caramel. . .

The ingedients for Sayongsong . . .

The conical-shaped banana leaf sheets were then fitted into the flat basket slats of split bamboo sticks positioned at the bottom of a kettle atop tin cans. The ingredients were then mixed in a bowl, poured over the arranged banana leaf sheets and steamed for 30 minutes. . .

Arranging the conical-shaped banana leaf sheets . . . Mixing the ingredients . . .

Pouring the ingredients into the conical banan sheets . . . Steamed in raging fire for 30 minutes . . .

And voila! the sweet and delicious sayongsong are ready for serving . . .

The ready-to-serve sayongsong.

The Harug

The Harug, which is also among the popular Filipino desserts, is a variation of the ginataan and binignit. Its ingredients are composed of:

1 kilo Glutinous Rice – Tapol; 3 cups cubed camote; 3 cups cubed cassave; 3 cups cubes squash; 3 cups cubed squash; 3 cups Mongo; 3 cups diced ripe cardaba banana; 5 cups coconut cream (2^nd press); 20 cups coconut milk (2^nd press); 3 cups young coconut meat strips; 1 kilo brown sugar; 1 tablespoon salt.

The Harug is prepared by putting the mongo into a kettle with boiling water and allow it to continously boil for one hour or until it’s grains can already be mashed. Pour the cubed camote, casava and squash as well as the glutinous rice and let it boil for another hour. Mix the coconut milk and let it boil for 10 minutes. Do not stir from the start as it could affect the taste. Mix the cubed banana, brown sugar, salt, young coconut meat strips and coconut cream. Afterwards, stir constantly  for 15 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

The Harug Festival is the most awaited event, the climax at that, during one of the special occasions in the island town of Socorro which is the annual Tinabangay Festival  held every 22nd of February, wherein, the elementary pupils, high school and college students, barangays, government agencies and people’s organizations simultaneously prepare the stew and serve it to the festival revelers for free.

Secondary students making final touches of their harug being prepared along the street. . .

Harug containers being lined along the major town throughfare for the much-awaited Harug Festival

With the sound of the siren signalling the official start of the Harug Festival, the kettles and harug containers are opened with its stew contents served to the public for free . . .

The cooked harug ready for serving to the revelers . . . The beauteous Accounting Office staff serving harug with a smile . . .

I and my family members always make sure not to miss the festivity . . . The lady town Mayor and Vice-Mayor acknowledging . . .

... the Socorro constituents including the tourists enjoying the Harug Festival . . .

Filipino Desserts – Final Thoughts

The Filipino desserts  popularized in the island town of Socorro are undoubtedly among the awesome foods in Bucas Grande Island. As you test the Sayongsong and Harug, you could really feel the taste of a perfect blend of rice with the other ingredients and the sweetness here and there would truly tease your tongue and encourage you to come back to Bucas Grande Island for purposes, among others, to savor the Filipino desserts prepared by the hands of the islanders not only for their satisfaction but for the tourists and visitors as well.

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This Filipino Desserts blog post is my 2nd entry to the  Blog Carnival of the Pinoy Travel Bloggers with the theme Awesome Food Experience While Traveling in the Philippines hosted by Anton Diaz  of Our Awesome Planet.