With some meke noodles, I experimented on this non conventional batchoy with kalkag as the main ingredient. Kalkag is what Ilonggos refer to tiny dried shrimps that are lightly salted and sun-dried intact with its shell. It is used in flavoring pancit and in making kalkag flavored rice. (Edgie Polistico's Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary). With broth made from instant shrimp cubes and the addition of fresh egg, it seemed to be some kind of different batchoy - a lot different yet hints of familiarity. Next time there would be fried garlics, chicharon, chives and a lot more to "mimic" the original batchoy with a big twist.
Simply this is just peanuts "glued" together by caramelized sugar and topped with sesame seeds. Believe it or not, the best quality bandi I've seen is not found in any pasalubong shop nor in groceries but along the sidewalk of Delgado street in the Amigo Plaza vicinity. There you can find vendors selling export quality, Molo-made bandi at 7pesos a piece. ( but you can have 3 for 20, automatically ) \\
