The other ‘face’ of Cebu

To many people (like us), Cebu has always meant the city–a sparkling jewel of the south, bustling with activity, socially (and politically) active and progressive. The people are ever smiling and with the many international airlines serving it, the Queen City of the South has become a tourist haven. Two weeks ago, with our very adventurous foodie group, we discovered with great pleasure the other face of Cebu as we traversed well-paved roads along the coastline, stopping at small towns and barangays. In the course of a 4-day sortie we had the chance to enjoy the graciousness of the native Cebuano and being pampered with their unique specialties– food, of course.

The wet markets were top of our list and officials of Metro Manila should make a quick trip and see how the town authorities have managed to keep their respective market places clean. Some even have tiled counters, like in the town of Consolacion. We had Danao as our first stop, where the market is within the town square. Here we found the famous Cebu mangoes at P25/P30 a kilo, galletas in small packs at P2 per, danggit at P380, a variety of fish starting from P60 a kilo and chicken at P85.

Along the highway in Liloan is Titay’s bakery. The ladies bought barquillos, otap, etc. We were fascinated by what they call their products–Princess for a particular type of bread, torta for an ensaymada look-alike, sinudlan are coconut cookies, binangkal with sesame seeds, Carmen 3s are soft bread and galletas de bato are biscuits. The biscuits come packed whole or "broken", meaning imperfectly shaped ones, set aside from normal packaging due to quality control. They are tagged from P13 to P45 a pack. We must make special mention of masi, which are gabi balls with peanut stuffing rolled in narrow strips of banana leaves. At P2 per, one is likely to indulge and forget about dieting. In Toledo, we found more kakanins, like the unique puto lancho, small balls of pirurutong (purple glutinous rice) mixed with buco (young coconut). This is part of a line called Toledo’s Best, produced by a group of women who have been mobilized by town officials to earn extra money to augment family income. They use camote for some of their products such as musapan (pastilles with nangka or ube flavor), sweet tamarind and banana chips. They are unbelievably very low priced, by big city standards. Because of lack of modern technology, they are unable to produce more–a pity because their delicacies deserve to be given national (if not international) patronage. Some can be found in selected outlets in Cebu city.

On the average, small town markets sell meat (sadly mostly pork) from P110 to P120 a kilo, onions between P35 and P40 and tomatoes at a high of P48 a kilo. Cooked food is peddled in carinderias, in the markets and along the roads, where we saw some fisherfolk grilling their fresh catch. Cooked food, including the traditional menudo and sarsiado, is priced between P15 and P30 a serving. Hanging puso rice (done like a heart with palm leaves) is offered at P2 per. The familiar longganiza abounds and goes for P28 a dozen.

There is burgeoning shoe industry in the town of Carcar. Marikina better watch out, because their shoes, mules, slippers and sandals will put to shame some of Marikina’s less durable products. We were told they have a giant pair of shoes on display, deserving inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records, because it is a pair, not just a single shoe.

We took the Cebu Pacific flight from Manila and we must mention that the terminal, the old domestic, is apparently better managed than when it was under its former occupant. The flight was on time. The pre-departure hall is clean. Staff mop the floor non-stop. There is a facility for charging cellphones and a row of food stops offering not only snacks but substantial meals. Red Ribbon is there with its line of pancit and beef dishes. Deli France serves pizzas and other bakery specialties. But refrain from going into the magazine stand–their prices are prohibitive.

In Manila, you might still catch the "Hello, America" promotion at the Shangri-La Plaza. Have a good Sunday!