Cebuano Heritage Cuisine

The Sinulog Festival is the Philippines’ biggest and grandest celebration as it honors and pays homage to the child Jesus—Sr. Santo Niño. It attracts foreigners, balikbayans and local tourists including relatives to visit Cebu City and, if you are a resident here, chances are invariable that you have visitors to entertain.

When it is our turn to extend our brand of hospitality to our foreign visitors, relatives and friends, what kind of food do we serve them? The usual trend is to serve them cuisine that is Chinese, Japanese or Western; rarely do we serve them food that is consumed in our homes on a daily basis. Too ordinary, excuse me, for such special people.

And this is not surprising because as early as 1920, Cebuano culture dictates that when food was served to important visitors and guests, the cuisine of choice was Chinese. This was documented in a book that my loyal readers already know, Lagda sa Pagpanluto (1924) by Maria Fadullon Rallos, the first and only cook book written in the Cebuano language. It is said that “ang sudan nga Ininsik…Lauriat Party…mga Insik nga datu ug mga inila, ug kini ilang i-abi-abi sa ilang dinapit” (Chinese dishes… Lauriat Party… rich Chinese and the prominent serve this cuisine to their guests).

For the ordinary folks and regular visitors, pwede Sopa nga Dinaginot (hot liquid, pretending to be a soup), Linat-ang Binisaya (any type of meat, boiled), or Pansit nga Binukid (Boondock noodles) na lang. 

In the past, there were attempts for a restaurant to serve authentic Cebuano cuisine: the Kinamot sa Escario. Your favourite food columnist was a guest and the following dishes were served: pinakurat nga nukos (rapid sauté of fresh squid in condiments), kinamungayang manok bisaya (native chicken with Moringa oleifera or kamunggay), dinuldog (red squash in a medley of coconut milk and dried fish), linabog nga puso sa saging (sautéed banana blossom with pork), bistek bisaya (beef), bam-i (noodles), balbacua (beef) etc.

While the Cebuano palate is not really that adventurous (please no frog legs!), a typical Cebuano penchant for value for money dictates that restaurant food should be tasty (lami), in generous servings (daghan), inexpensive (barato) and with extras (dunay pakapin). And definitely, Cebuanos do not want to be entertained with foods that are served in their homes on a daily basis; goodbye Kinamot!

Only problem would be if our foreign guests or balikbayan friends request that they want to taste authentic Cebuano cuisine during the Sinulog. And the food must be prepared in the most hygienic kitchen because first and foremost consideration is the health and welfare of our beloved guest.

Well, the only five-star hotel in Cebu City, Marco Polo Plaza (www.marcopolo plazacebu.com phone 253-1111) has provided the solution with the re-launching of the Cebuano Heritage Cuisine. Traditional dishes that are considered family heirlooms in the home of an affluent Filipino-Spanish-Chinese family in Bantayan Island were served last January 13, 2009. Marco Polo guest Chef Ms. Jessica Avila, a descendant of such family and an authority on Cebuano cuisine prepared all the Abre Gana (appetizer) Sopa (soup) Sud-an (main course) and Dulce (dessert) during the Cebuano Food Fest.

Some of the dishes served are shown here and this means so much work for your favorite food columnist to taste each and every dish! Inevitable in a cook fest that a certain dish would be most outstanding and this time there were three: Linat-ang Manok Bisaya and the Balbacua. The soup was served in a freshly cut young coconut shell and the soup takes on new dimensions with the taste of the coconut meat permeating the chicken stock and vice versa. The Balbacua was simply delicious and I even took a second helping.

The third dish, Rellenong Manok, bears the signature of Jessica Avila, a legacy from Señora Filemona Yap Cabatiñgan and one of my favorite dishes of all time.