The Ilonggo Christmas tradition continues – Tinapayan’s Gingerbread Village

Tinapayan Bakeshop always delights Ilonggos, young and old, with its annual grand Gingerbread Village display at The Atrium. The Display which was put up weeks ago is located at the main entrance and will run until January 2012.

"It's in our childlike nature, I guess, that led me to start the Gingerbread Village," says Evelyn “Owa” Que, manager of Tinapayan." It's like your dream of being somewhere - in a dreamland, living in a different pole."

Tinapayan's Gingerbread Village is both an animated and gastronomic display as aside from the gingerbread houses that makes the village; it has movable displays like human figurines, carnival attractions and more. The highlight of the display is a train that regularly runs around the village to the delight of the onlookers.

It takes a long time for the Gingerbread Village to take shape. “You have to color flow it and paint it with Royal icing” says Ms. Owa. “The most difficult part is making the base, which is made of gingerbread cookies - it's fast to bake, but takes three weeks to toast” Que said.

As early as August, the pattern for the village is made and baking starts by October and by the last week of November, the village must already be on display. The first village spanned only one table but even then, the village was a sight to behold. Gingerbread was invented in Drayton in Shropshire, England. It is a sweet that can take the form of a cake or a cookie where the predominant flavor is ginger and once hardened, it can last for years.

A great display for the season and even better if you can take home a gingerbread house to add flair to your home. You can even put a light inside the gingerbread house, making it an added Christmas treat at home. These gingerbread houses which are on sale for Php895 only at Tinapayan Bakeshop.

Acknowledgement: Some portions of this write up were sourced from article written by Ms Kathy Villalon for The News Today

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