A well loved recipe, ginat-an nga tambo (bamboo shoots in coconut milk) is a dish most Ilonggos find irresistible and most often missed when away from their hometown. Usually it has tagabang (saluyot) and okra as partners with seafood as subak (the "meat" part). Most of the time, shrimps, crabs or local snails known as bago-ngon makes it more delicious but this one has pinakas (daing) nga lison which makes it more appetizing since this is a favorite salted and dried fish of mine. Its more fleshy, often good as subak in most vegetable dishes but even better on it's own - dipped in sinamak (spiced vinegar).
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...