Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP): Food Tour, Cavite Midlands/Rice Routes, March 14, 2015

Program

7:00 am Departure from Blue Bay on the corner of Macapagal Ave and EDSA. You may leave your cars here if the Cavite Tourism Board will give us a vehicle. We will keep you posted on this.

8:45 am Arrive Naic Town Plaza and the Immaculate Concepcion Church. Meet Fr. Vir Mendoza, parish priest of Naic.

Cooking Demo at the parish grounds by Ka Julia and Ka Rita, kakanin makers of Barrio Sampalukan. They will show us how to make SINUDSOD, a crepe-like kakanin, made from galapong, bahaw (day-old, fermented rice) and gata. Served cold with crystal gulaman, coconut milk, coconut water, and ice.

She will also bring to the cooking demo for tasting (and buying) the following kakanin: Bibingkang Kanin, Pritong Muche, Pechi-pechi and Alikaya, a kakanin made with purple rice.

We will have a tour of the church and the convento. This is where Fr. Modesto de Castro, the former parish priest of Naic, wrote and completed in 1864, “Urbana at Felisa,” a book on etiquette, written in epistolary form, showing the social life and custom of 19th century Philippines. De Castro was given the title "Father of Tagalog Prose.” Ige will also do a reading from a section of the book "on eating” to entertain our members.

Since rice is the center of the tour, we will also visit the Casa Hacienda de Naic (now the Naic Elementary School). This building is a living proof of the wealth generated by the Frailes and the Bishoprics from the 17th to the 19th centuries that fueled the feudal economy and the subsequent revolution.

11:00 am Next stop is Tanza. Drive to Tanza is about 20 minutes from Naic. We will stop at Calle Real Restaurant, a converted house that belongs to the Tahimik Family of Tanza, which was considered a Mercantile Class family during the late 19th and early 20th century. The house is quite modest, compared to the stately homes of the hacienderos of Iloilo, Bacolod and Pampanga. The first floor of the house, where the restaurant is now situated, was once a Kamalig, or storehouse for rice. The second floor was the living area, which is used until today, complete with old furniture and accessories. The parking area of the restaurant was where the “kiskisan” or the rice mill once stood. This is where we will sample their black paella, using squid ink and seafood, after touring the house.

On our way out, we will visit the Tanza Church or the Tanza Public Market, where we can buy the famous Sopas Tanza (a dry biscuit to eat with soup) from the Kaibigan Bakery, established in 1920, as well as other traditional foods from the area.

1:30 pm Arrive in Gen. Trias, formerly known as the town of San Francisco de Malabon. We will arrive at the town square or the plaza, where the Municipio, Church and stately homes stood side by side. This square is the archetypal layout of all towns established during the Spanish Colonial Period. Gen. Trias is one of the most progressive towns in Cavite, first as an agricultural town in the 17th to the 20th century, and now, as an Industrial hub, being home to the Gateway Industrial Park.

Gen. Trias is also the home of Valenciana, a rice dish similar to arroz valenciana, but with a twist. However, we will just take out the Valenciana and bring it with us to the DLSU Dasmariñas campus where we will all partake of it.

On our way to Dasmariñas, we will pass by the Carabao milk factory of Gentri’s Best. A small farmers’ cooperative that produces quesillo (kesong puti) and carabao’s milk. For those of you who want to buy, please bring your coolers with ice.

Along the drive, you will see the remaining farmlands of Cavite, together with subdivision development at break-neck speed.

3:30-4:30 Arrive in DLSU-Dasmariñas Campus. Tour of the Museo La Salle, a transported house originally belonging to the Panlillio and Gonzalez Clans of Bacolor, Pampanga. A stunning piece of haciendero/mestizo architecture. Here we will have merienda and taste the Valenciana.

Last CR break

5:00pm Depart for Manila

Photo Gallery

(All photos courtesy of Pia Lim-Castillo)

Ka Julia and Ka Rita, kakanin makers of Barrio Sampalukan, Naic, demonstrate how to make SINUDSOD, a crepe-like kakanin, made from galapong, bahaw (day-old, fermented rice) and gata (coconut milk). Served cold with crystal gulaman (gelatin), coconut milk, coconut water, and ice.