Best Tasting Bingka in Santa Barbara, Iloilo

Semana Santa in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, just like in many other towns across the Philippines is marked with spiritual and cultural activities. It starts on Palm Sunday with the blessing of the palaspas marked by the palaspas-making contest. Religious activities like Visita Iglesia, Last Supper re-enactment, Via Crucis, Veneration of the Cross and Santo Entierro Procession, among others keep the pre dominantly Roman Catholic Santa Barbaranhons occupied during the last four days of the Holy Week.

But Semana Santa in Santa Barbara is one that also plays on a gastronomical note as the townsfolk indulge in the ultimate Lenten food offering - bingka. I grew up associating Lent with bingka and vice versa. I remember going to the plaza as a kid so that we can do some "pamingka" - that is having a picnic in the plaza eating nothing but bingka. It's been like this since time immemorial, that this year the Santa Barbara Municipal Tourism Office gathered the manug-bingka, for the 1st-ever Tastiest Bingka competition. Held at the Bandstand in the middle of the plaza, eight competitors representing different baranggays and traditional bingka-makers battled it out for the title of being the Tastiest Bingka in Santa Barbara.

Among the judges of the competition were Mr Boboi Costas, Mr Eugene Jamerlan and yours truly. Sir Boboi is a heritage and cultural worker from Cebu City and is the president of HAMBIN - short for the Cebuano words Hamiling Binilin (cherished heritage). It is Cebu’s only SEC-registered heritage advocacy group that operates outside of a corporate or government entity. It aims to broaden the continuing conversation on Cebuano heritage. Sir Eugene is Iloilo City's foremost heritage advocate and is a member of the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council.

Eight teams prepared bingka in various sizes and presentation. Most of them only sell bingka during the Holy Week as the Santa Barbara tradition goes but some already are breaking grounds as their bingkas are available whole year round.

Leling's Special Bingka

As the judges proclaimed Leling's Special Bingka is the epitome of the traditional bingka from Sta, Barbara. It is puto-like as pampa-alsa, is added to the bingka mix and left overnight. That makes the local bingka, different from most bingkas in Iloilo. Leling makes bingka whole year round and has been featured in many write ups and tv shows in the past. Here are the other delicious bingka that certainly filled us up that day.

RJ Special Bingka

Kimsel's Special Bingka

Isay Special Bingka

D Original Tib's Special Bingka

Bingkahan ni Luis

Tungay Special Bingka

Bingkahan ni Gaming

In the end it was the Tib's Special Bingka which was proclaimed as the Tastiest Bingka for this year. Top quote Boboi Costas "... soft and not too sweet". It was also adjudged as the Mayor's Choice - one of the Special awards. Leling's was the people's choice as it garnered the most number of votes during the competition.

One last look at these delectable bingka and hoping for a bigger and tastier event for next year as the contest promises to become bigger and more innovative bingka competition. Pamingka 'ta!

More photos on Santa Barbara Ugyon Facebook.

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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