Balikbayans join Talong fest

VILLASIS, Pangasinan – Balikbayans will prove to all today that their favorite talong (eggplant) remains their top choice among the Ilocano food as they participate today in the fastest talong eater contest as part of the Talong Festival here.

Mayor Nonato Abrenica told The STAR that hundreds of balikbayans who purposely came home for their annual fiesta celebration, highlighted by the Talong Festival will surely have fun and memorable vacation through this contest.

Boiled eggplant of the long-purple casino type, its skin removed, will be eaten by the balikbayan participants as they dip this cooked vegetable in bagoong and vinegar with small amount of siling labuyo, he said.

They will be featured live in a national morning television show today.

Abrenica said they want to pay tribute to the generosity of their balikbayans who had been fully supporting their fund-raising drive to raise funds for various infrastructure projects of their town like the municipal hall, the town park, auditorium, among others.

Also, Abrenica said his townmates will once again show their skills in street dancing, cookfest, decorating floats, and in grilling, all using their top famous eggplant.

Abrenica said that since they institutionalized the holding of the Talong Festival three years ago, many people have drawn their attention to their town and consequently more people buy their produce, especially in their Bagsakan Market.

Abrenica is happy because their Talong Festival has been included in the Philippine Tourism’s event’s calendar.

Out of 21 barangays here, 12 are into eggplant production and a total of 335 hectares are planted to this crop by about 600 people, but more are involved during harvest time.

While there are many varieties of eggplant planted here, local farmers prefer the best-selling type which is the long, dark purple casino type ideal when grilled dipped with bagoong with either vinegar or calamansi and mixed with sliced tomatoes and chopped onions for omelet.

“Talagang patok na patok sa masa ang aming talong kasi ibang klase ito – mura na, mahaba, malaki at malinamnam pa (Our eggplant is really a hit among the masses because aside from being cheap, it is long, big and delicious),” Abrenica said.