Pan de siosa could be the local version of a baguette though very far from size, looks and taste. Though both are characterized by the hard and crispy outside, soft and chewy inside. Often made as a log shaped bread with a key hole shaped cross-section. The commercialization of this type of bread often created those hard and crispy inside out like toasted bread or soft and chewy inside out like the usual bread. Its a good hot coffee partner and most often eaten after being dipped.
A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...