FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

I often take pinasugbo for granted. Aside that I almost always ended up in a mess, I find it really sweet and often takes a toll on my teeth. But there are certain situations that I don’t wish for; it just comes at the right time.  A pack of pinasugbo from Deocampo suddenly appeared at home (who, when, where, etc still a mystery) and it just screamed to be eaten. So loud that in order to shut it up, I have to shove it in my mouth – lol. Pinasugbo is made from slices of banana (saba variety) slice length-wise, deep fried and smothered with caramel. Then a number of these slices are packed in paper cones for easy consumption.  But as the caramel hardens, it sticks to the cones and most often one might find himself eating a bit of paper. But luckily a trick I got from one of blog’s comments solved this problem – just heat it for a few seconds in the microwave and it slides off easily. That made me enjoy these pinasugbo from Deocampo that tim...

There are times that I hate these crispy fried-sugar coated bananas but when I take a bite I can't stop myself from having more. So its a love-hate gastronomic relationship for me and pinasugbo. I love that crisp when you take a bite but I hate it when it get stuck in your teeth! I love how the sesame seeds balance the sweetness of the sugar but I hate sesame seeds! I love how it is presented in paper cones but I hate that they stick to the bananas thus leaving you with no choice but to throw them unfinished. So what's your story ..... of love or hate about pinasugbo. More .... (Tip: Microwave them for a few seconds or place them in the fridge so that the bananas slid easily of their cones)

These are fried (thinly) sliced bananas coated with caramelized sugar garnished with sesame seeds and held together by a paper cone. Pinasugbo is a common pasalubong item among the sugar producing places in the Visayas and Iloilo being one of them has a number of bakeries having their own version. Some have big cones of light colored pinasugbo while others have these dark coating. But their common denominator is the that paper cone that almost permanently sticks to the sugar coated banana. It was a almost an unsovled problem until one time I placed one in the microwave oven ( since it was too hard after being days in the fridge ) and it solved both my concerns at once.