Destination: Caramoran Bicol

     It took a while before I got inspired to write this article. For some reason I'm blindfolded in targeting the right mood to create a sensible narration. Maybe, what blocked my mind is the lack of cohesiveness in terms of my ideas and emotions. After a few days and with some interesting stories from my husband, the words came flowing on my mind -- and just like that, this article is done in just a few minutes.

     My other half asked for my permission to visit his hometown for the All Souls Day break. He wanted to visit his mother, whom he never had the chance to meet in his lifetime. His story is heartbreaking, months after he was born, his mom passed away. Even with the absence of a mother's care and presence, he grew up as a good man.

     It is truly amazing how such event can transform someone into something ideal. Without a mother by his side, he turn out to be a man geared towards respect for women. I am truly blessed to have been paired to someone like him. I think I owe the heavens for pairing us. I am truly glad to have sought devine intervention before marrying him. As a reflection, I think a mother's love and care is eternal, his mother with the Almighty One, may have been watching and guiding him from the heavens above as he take his steps in facing life here on earth. Thus, when my husband asked my permission to visit his mother's grave in Catanduanes, my heart can never say no.  

The Travel

     My husband and his nephew hitched with his elder brother's family for the trip.  The brand new car bought by his brother needs to be tested for a long drive, thus the vacation to Brgy. Maui, Caramoran, Catanduanes commenced.

       Travel time is about 24 hours. To ensure time is efficiently managed, they need it to  make it to Tobaco Port right on schedule to avoid long waiting time. They started to travel 5:00 PM and by morning the next day, they are on the Ferry Boat to San Andres Port. After that, another 2 driving hours is needed to get to Maui, Caramoran. 

       The picture below reminds me of  the scenery to Pagudpud, Ilocos the only difference is that the road to Pagudpud is well-developed. This road however, is still under construction.  

       The mountain ranges remains to be untouched. The roads may still be under development, but it is also a good thing that the remoteness of the place contributed to the preservation of the verdant mountain ranges. 

       

Maui, Caramoran

       Caramoran is different from the more popular destination Caramoan. Below is a screenshot from google map for this place.

     Maui is a coastal barangay of Caramoran with bountiful vegetation and unexplored natural resources. Untapped potential products are being cultivated and used by the locals. It is amazing how rich are the coastal resource in the area as well as exotic products that can only be harvested from the wild. To know know more about the gastronomic stuff in Bicol, I have a parallel article (Treats from the South: Bicol) that focuses on some of the products from Maui.

The Coastal Scenery of Maui

       Hours after arriving at Maui, the calm water and serene breeze from the sea is so inviting, they immediately took a dip. Unlike other developed beaches, the place is secluded and untouched. The beach area is composed of rocks instead of white or gray sands, but the coast is rich in aquatic vegetation and resources. It will be highly enjoyed by those who love to get in touched with the life underneath the sea. 

        Aside from the rich aquatic resources, there are also gigantic rocks with some small caves for spelunking. The place is so remote, you can easily escape from all the stress and busy schedule of the metro. It is a place to rejuvenate and recharge, all you need to bring is a sunblock lotion to make sure you can prevent your skin from getting too tanned. In the event you forgot to bring one, getting burned under the sun is a little price to pay, if you are to experience awesome happiness. 

                      

                            

                          

        Just like any other coastal area in the Philippines, a banca is a must. It is usually acquired by the locals to make use of the richness of the sea for livelihood. It is also a mode of transportation to other islands. 

        

        The coast in Maui is also a playground for the young. Without any formal training in swimming kids as young as two years old can already swim.          

                            

                           

                            

                            

                            

By the shore

        Spending a day by the beach is one of the things to enjoy in Maui. It may not have the fine white sands and modern beach activities, but it is charmed with the breezy and calm coastline that can definitely induced a good time for relaxation and reflection. Not to mention the exquisite swimming escapade with the rich underwater scenery. 

Picnic: The local way

        With not much to do in Maui, a picnic by the beach is one of the must do in the itinerary. With all the woods lying by the beach, creating a fire to broil some of the fresh catch is as easy as pie. 

        Local delicacies like Surahan and Sahang can just be caught near the shoreline. With some rice and some seaweeds a hearty lunch can be prepared without any hassle. 

        With the abundance of banana trees, washing the dishes during a picnic by the beach is way out of your travel chores. Just cut a banana tree and the "silverware" are prepared in an instant. In this case, instead of calling it silverwares, will greenwares be more appropiate?

Seascape

        One of the things to enjoy in Maui is diving. Just a few meters away from the shoreline, different marine species can already be viewed. It is actually a good experience for those who wanted to experience a slice of the seascape.  

                         

 

A Visit to Mayon Volcano

          A visit to Bicol will not be complete without visiting the famous Mayon Volcano. It is one of the best way to seal the long travel time to Bicol. 

                              

                                         

                             

                             

A Thumbs up

        After a 4 day vacation my husband came home with new memories and souvenirs for me and Rhian.  As for me and Rhian, we are happy that he is able to complete his plans to visit his hometown.

Just like what the shirt says -- We love Bicol. :)

Treats from the South: Bicol Region

For the past few days I wanted to finish my article about my husbands trip to Caramoran, Catanduanes -- but I just cannot find the motivation to do so. However, the treats that he bought home seem to spark tons of natural interest and memories.

Each one of this unique food items have a story. It forms a unique character that reflects the gastronomic treasures of Bicol.

Adobong Puti

First on the list is Adobong Puti. The credit for  the sample below goes to Nang Mary, the charming old lady from Caramoran. According to my husband, this type of adobo is cooked only with salt and water. It is boiled until the pork renders its own fat. Upon seeing Adobong Puti, I think the name came from the curdled fat of the adobo when exposed to low temperature. According to my husband, this type of adobo is done to preserve the pork that is intended to be used as "sahog" for other dishes. In their place, pork and other meat items are seasonal, thus, they buy in bulk when available and they preserve it thru the process of stewing it in salt and water.

Adobong Puti

          To remake the adobong puti I separated the pork meat from fat. I made another version of adobo called Honey Adobo.  The pork fat on the other hand is fried and mixed with vegetables like cabbage and carrots. 

Putyokan

          For the Honey Adobo I used the wild honey from Maui, Caramoran. They call it putyokan in Bicol instead of pukyutan. The putyokan is also known as wild honey. Unlike the usual honey that we buy in the supermarkets, the wild honey from their place is opaque and aromatic. According to my husband the color of the honey depends on the type of flower the the bee "kissed". The orange colored putyokan like the one below came from Narra flowers while the pinkish putyokan came from Makahiya flowers. 

Kulambutan

           It is my first time to see a squid as large as the one shown below. The second picture is the "sakay-sakay" of the squid or the hard part of the squid. The squid is huge. According to my husband the "sakay-sakay" of the squid is also called the squid "styrofoam" since they also use it as a floater. The "sakay-sakay" is also processed as parrot feeds. 

                        

             In their place this type of squid is only sold for 50 pesos per kilo. It is indeed a treat. On the other hand, it took me 30 minutes to process one squid. I have to sigh numerous times as I battle with the tough skin of the giant squid. 

         After 30 minutes I successfully divided the squid into four portions. It was cooked as calamares, squidsilog, chopsuey and adobo.

                                      The squid above is cooked in four different ways ways:

 Squid Calamares

Squid Tapsilog

Chopsuey

Adobo

Kugita

             The kugita looks like and alien from a sci-fi movie. Since it is my first time to clean and cook kugita, it took a while for me to dissect this sea creature. For this delicacy, I grilled the tentacles and the rest of the kugita meat was frozen for pancit palabok or pancit luglug. 

                                  

                                                        

                                                                               Grilled Kugita

                                                       

Pili

     

              A visit to Bicol is not complete without Pili. It is my first time to taste the salted version and I think the sugar glazed is way much better since Pili is not  crunchy like peanuts and cashew. The caramelized sugar added a good texture to the Pili. 

                                                       

                                                                                Salted Pili

                                                       

                                                                         Sugar-glazed Pili

Pinais

   

             This is actually one of the best treats of Bicol. It was bought in one of the bus terminals. It is sold for only 30 pesos per serving. Each serving have two stuffed taro leaves. it is filled with some spicy white fish and coconut. It is cooked with vinegar, thus the taste rendered a flavor similar to kesong puti. It is gastronomically heavenly.

                                                      

                                                      

                                                      

Cassava Suman

        This version of cassava suman is not intended for dessert, it is quite different from the one that we used to eat at home which is yellowish and sweet. This version is more timid in taste and flavor, it is best paired with something savory like Pinais. 

                                                                             

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                   

                                                  

                                                                     

Fish, Fish, Fish  

            I am not familiar with the local name of this fishes, but just by looking and smelling each specie I can already tell a perfect way to cook each one. For the first fish, I deep fried it and smeared it with sweet and sour sauce. Among the three, that was my favorite. For the second fish, it is boiled with calamansi to make a citrus like broth, it is the favorite of my daughter. Lastly, for the third fish it is simply deep fried in oil. 

  

Sweet and Sour Fish

Sinigang sa Calamansi

Pan fried fish

Longganisa de Guinobatan

             This longganisa version are midget in size but huge in flavor. Unlike the typical longganisa, it can already be cooked without boiling. It has two variations: original and spicy. It is best paired with sukang tuba.

Cocoa

             This version is different from the one that is bought in the supermarket. It is very mild in taste. I tried cooking it for a chocolate drink but it did not work well. By trial and error, I discovered that it is perfect for tsamporado, as it renders a very dark chocolate color with a very mild chocolate taste.

                Just like any other place in the Philippines the above treats have their own version of "taste", it just needs to be discovered by an adventurous palate. :)

Family Night Out at Max’s

We decided to spend the weekend at home in spite of the long APEC holiday. Rhian was a bit feverish so we decided to boost her immune system with some healthy food and relaxation.

After a day my daughter’s play mode is again -- activated. It is indeed a good sign that she was able to get some good rest to recuperate.

To enjoy a bit we went to Max Restaurant in Paranaque for dinner. The ambiance of the place is still nice and cozy. It is one of the best branches of Max.

To complete our bonding night, we ordered some of our favorite dishes that we do not normally cook at home.

We love Kare-kare, but most of the time we only cook Kare-kare during family gatherings. With just me, my husband and my daughter, it would be more practical to eat out for Kare-kare instead of cooking at home. This is to avoid leftovers; we definitely cannot eat Kare-kare for a couple of days. Satisfying our craving is the key to the happiness of our palate.

Aside from the satisfying taste of Kare-kare, it reminds us of all the happy memories that we had before we get married. After resolving our differences, we intensify our bond with Max’s bowl of Kare-kare. The meal taste a lot better knowing that we are able to resolve our conflicts.  It simply means, we still wanted to stay together and spend the rest of our life with each other.

My daughter on the other hand is not a fan of Kare-kare, for her, the only tasty stuff out of peanuts is peanut butter. So for her, we ordered the Fiesta Plate Meal (Max's quarter fried chicken with Fresh Lumpiang Ubod, rice, Caramel Bar and a refreshing drink).

Finally for Rhian’s sweet tooth, we also ordered Ube Leche flan shake. 

 After dinner, we went to SMBF to stroll and shop in order to unload all the calories. :)