'Lasa ng Republika: The CaviteX Food and Culture Tour' made two things very clear: that Cavite is not as far as it seems (quickest way to Cavite is via CaviteX, made even faster with their Easy Drive stickers), and that culinary gems go beyond the tourist-driven Tagaytay. There's just so much delicious food waiting for the hungry traveler, it could get overwhelming. Luckily our tour guide, proud Caviteño Ige Ramos, gave us the scoop on what's truly local and flavorful in his province. If you're raring to whet your appetite for true blue Caviteño food, read on to discover our eat-inerary to help you out on your foodtrip.
1. Have yourself a traditional Caviteño breakfast.
Location: Malen’s Restaurant (9025 Magdiwang Hi-way, Noveleta, Cavite)
Begin your day early and have a traditional 'Magdiwang' (a chapter of Katipunan/KKK) Caviteño breakfast spread. Our first stop is at Malen's, a restaurant popular for its pizza and pasta offerings, as well as their baked products and pasalubong corner. It became our tour's venue for a spread of different dishes prepared by different food purveyors.
Eat:
Pan de troso: a creation by Chef Sonny Lua of Asiong's, a Cavite pride. A Caviteño pintxos of sorts, the pandesal is transformed into a baguette, and slathered with quesillo (kesong puti with herbs) and topped with longganisa. [0926-7139400]
Robinson's Tamales: This is a completely different animal compared to the more popular Capampangan tamales, and it deserves your hungry attention. These tamales have a cult following so it's good to bring home some. Made with galapong, peanuts, egg, garbanzos, peanuts, and chicken, this delicacy is best eaten while warm, or can even be spread on bread. [(046)431-0315, (046)431-1285]
D'Famous Imus Longganisa: Gene Gutierrez of Big Ben's Kitchen makes the highly popular longganisa of Imus, the local sausages garlicky, meaty, with slight saltiness perfect to dip on vinegar and pair with a mountain of rice. What makes this longganisa stand out is its freshness, using all-natural ingredients (free from extenders, preservatives, and chemicals) [0918-5055886 | FB: /Dfamousimus.longganisa | imus.longganisa@yahoo.com.ph]
Other breakfast staples: Caviteños love simple yet hearty fare for breakfast, homecooked ulam like tortang itlog with onions, tomatoes, and burong mustasa (fermented mustard greens) paired with tinapang salinas (smoked fish) from Rosario, the Smoked Fish Capital of Cavite. Beef tapa (local jerky) is also enjoyed with sinangag (garlic fried rice), and to drink, we sampled a spread of Kapeng Amadeo, Chocolate Ah using Tablea Alfonso, Panggasi (salabat), and carabao's milk by the glass or mixed with the coffee and chocolate.
2. Get your mid-morning kakanin fix.
Location: Naic Church (Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church)
Our tour guide Ige Ramos shares how our three crops of oppression — rice, sugar, and coconut — are the three elements that we've proudly transfomed into own kakanin in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. Cavite's Imus City actually has an annual festival called Kakanindayog where they parade different kinds of kakanin, but for our tour, we make our way to the area of Naic Church, where we were able to sample delicacies created in Naic. It was a trio of very unique kakanin we've never seen nor eaten elsewhere. [Call Isna Soriano, (046) 856-1011 to order]
Eat:
Sinudsod: a farmer's afternoon refreshment of fermented rice pancakes in chewy strips, and then mixed in with iced gata (coconut milk) and buco juice. It is rarely found in the streets or markets of Cavite nowadays and is just something cooked at home.
Muche: a deep fried kakanin that's a delicious intersection of buchi (deep-fried sesame-coated glutinous rice balls) and carioca (balls of sweet rice dough with caramelized sugar coating). Its coating (colored with achuete/annato seeds) is sweet and crisp like carioca, and inside is the buchi part of munggo/sweet bean paste. A personal favorite.
Alikaya: sticky and sweet, this purple glutinous rice treat was the most familiar. It is softer in texture compared to biko, and is topped with latik (coconut curd) or in the uplands of Cavite, santan.
3. Enjoy a leisurely lunch at two restaurants, located in one house.
Location: Calle Real Restaurant and Pink Table (Sta. Cruz Street, Tanza, Cavite)
The Tahimic Family of Tanza converted their old house, now two restaurants. At the first floor is Calle Real, the space that used to be a kamalig (granary/rice storehouse). The parking space of the establishment was once their rice mill area. While they serve Filipino-Spanish comfort food at Calle Real, the second floor cafe called Pink Table has more modern fare served in a setting thats charmingly (or cheekily) all pink. In this converted house of the Tahimic family, you can have both lunch and dessert to sample the two restaurant's popular items.
Eat:
Calandracas: this soupy or saucy noodle dish gets its name from 'calandra,' where the dead are lain during the olden times, and it is on the calandra that people would place their offerings of crops and food which are later on combined and cooked. At Calle Real, we were given a version which had assorted toppings like kamote, eggplant, sitaw, banana blossoms; and its sauce is made from mashed crabs and shrimps.
Dried Pusit Salad: The simple salad of lettuce and tomatoes gets a play of salty and sweet from slices of green mango and dried squid, and added crunch from peanut brittle bits. Its dressing is a combination of sampaloc and patis Tanza, the fishsauce having a distinct flavor that makes for a good pasalubong for those who cook at home (you can buy it at their markets).
Modern Caldereta and Binagoongan: Calle Real also gets creative with traditional Filipino dishes and serves them quite interestingly. Their saucy Beef Caldereta (P192) comes with camote chips and grated cheese, while the Crunchy Pork Binagoongan (P205) is deconstructed and made extra crisp, served with slices of smoky eggplant and a topping of with tomato-bagoong sauce and sliced chilis.
4. Have merienda cena and buy pasalubong to bring home.
Location: Aguinaldo Shrine and Museo ni Emilio Aguinaldo (Kawit, Cavite)
Before calling it a day, we spent the afternoon at the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, where we were also able to have a glimpse of the balcony where Philippine independence was declared. After touring the modernized museum of Aguinaldo that depicts the life and times of the first President of the Philippines, we were once more treated with more food favored by the locals — from Cavite merienda staples to best-selling pasalubong. After filling your tummy with the best of what Cavite has to offer, don't forget to bring home goodies to share with friends and family, maybe the treats and your food stories can convince them to plan another roadtrip to explore Cavite one bite at a time!
Eat:
Pancit Pusit (Pancit Choko en su Tinta) and Halu-halo: Sonny Lua of Asiong's fed us a couple of his Caviteño specialties, the first a noodle dish of bihon cooked in squid ink topped with chicharon, squid, and vegetables. Our late afternoon snack was made sweeter with his take on the quintessential colorful Pinoy treat — it's nothing fancy at all, but down home good.
Ensaimada de Cavite: Take home octagon boxes filled with soft, fluffy hand-kneaded ensaimada from Baloy's Bakeshop (Facebook.com/Baloybakeshop, 0917-8491860). These buttery and sweet rolls come in assorted flavors like Ube, Queso de Bola, Dulce de Leche, and Macapuno. Bring home and serve them warm and toasty, with hot coffee or chocolate!
Samala Rice Cakes (Bibingka): This bibingka from Cavite is not the bibingka we're often sinking our teeth in during Christmas. Pat & Sam (Facebook.com/patandsamdelicacies, IG: @_patandsam) sells popular rice cakes that are actually more like the kakanin called biko. The smokey bibingka malagkit (sticky rice) is cooked in a pugon, a concoction of rice, sugar, coconut milk, coconut oil, laid on a banana leaf. It's their best-seller and the most famous one in Cavite, made with zero preservatives so it's best consumed within a couple of days or stored in the fridge to keep longer.
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"Lasa ng Republika: The CaviteX Food and Culture Tour" is a tour in collaboration with CaviteX and created by Ige Ramos, based on his book the 'Republic of Taste: The Untold Stories of Cavite Cuisine.' Ramos is an award-winning book designer, food writer and visual artist, who is currently the editor-in-chief of Rustan’s Supermarket SansRival Magalogue and the Chief Creative Officer of Food and Fonts / Ige Ramos Design Studio. For more food posts on the tour, check out #CaviteXFood #LasaNgRepublika on Instagram
