How Filipinos travel — and eat — during the sacred season of Holy Week
Holy Week is observed by many Filipinos in many ways. Some become more religious; others use the season to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Restaurants offer no-meat menus. Movies with biblical themes are shown on TV.
For those traveling by land or by sea, one major item is the food they need to eat on the road, which could leave quite a dent in the budget, especially if traveling with a group. Wise and frugal travelers meet this challenge by packing food to consume on the road. The more adventurous depend on local specialties they find along the way.
The heat of summer could be deadly, not just because of heat stroke, but also in the way heat increases the danger of food poisoning.
Munchies and snacks
Cookies, crackers and breads are perfect, healthy hunger-appeasers inside a moving vehicle. They require no spoons and forks. Individually packed, they leave hands and seats with no mess and satisfy hunger pangs between long stretches of highways.
Boiled roots and fruit
Everyone loves boiled saba bananas. I buy almost ripe bananas the day before a trip and boil them, skin on, the night before, keeping them in the refrigerator until we’re ready to go. They keep for at least three days.
Another boiled snack our kids looked forward to was boiled kamote (sweet potato), which is always in season. The yellow and purple ones are sweeter and less mealy than the white variety. Like the bananas, they are boiled the night before and refrigerated before the trip. Boiled and unpeeled, they keep for at least two days.
Rare these days even in public markets is cassava, known locally as kamoteng kahoy. It has to be peeled and rinsed thoroughly before boiling. Serve plain, with fresh grated coconut, or in syrup.
Suman and puto
Traveling north from Manila, one first encounters Putong Pulo, a specialty of what was Barrio Polo, now more popularly known as Valenzuela. This steamed cake made from ground rice comes in two variants: Putong Puti and Kuchinta.
We always plan on buying bags of puto to sustain us during long trips. Farther north, in Pangasinan province, we stock up on Putong Calasiao. The rice cakes are sold by many ambulant vendors at bus stations.
Historic empanada
Swerving off the North Expressway, we took our kids to Malolos, a picturesque town in Bulacan where, in 1898, leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain met, wrote the first Philippine Constitution in Barasoain Church, and proclaimed independence. Here, what was to be the country’s national anthem was first played.
Almost as famous as the Malolos Constitution is the Malolos Empanada, with the culinary nickname Empanada de Kaliskis. The small deep-fried pie is unique not because of its filling, but due to its flaky, crunchy crust—the result of several layers of different dough. The filling is traditionally chicken-based and lacks the grease one normally encounters in fried empanadas.
Longanisa country
In the old days, one could write a cookbook on sausages by simply taking a bus from Manila to Ilocos Norte and eating at every stop the bus made. The new highways and expressways now get motorists faster between points, eliminating the need for meal stops.
For foodies, travel by car is a must in order to make the most of each trip. Hit the capital towns and cities, eat at public markets, ask tricycle and jeepney drivers.
In Baguio City, the meat stalls sell longanisa from many provinces. The multilevel public market in Laoag has meat vendors selling cooked Ilocano specialties based on innards.
Pasalubong
It is very important to honor the Filipino tradition of pasalubong — a gift the returning traveler brings back for friends and relatives. The gift need not be expensive but must come from the town or city one visited: moron from Tacloban, coffee from Batangas, durian candy from Davao, dried danggit from Cebu, tsokolate from Bohol, bagnet from Laoag.
Survival tips
Stay away from iced drinks; you never know how safe the water used for freezing was. Some retailers use the icebox for raw food and soft drinks, posing the danger of cross-contamination. Coconut milk and cream cause food to spoil fast in summer. Eateries with no comfort rooms are not safe. Do not drink the water.Drink straight from the bottle or can. Always keep a bottle of water handy.
