Interesting Places I Visited in Batangas and my Food Trip Adventure

this image is taken from GOOGLE

One of the best thing that a Pinoy expat like me is looking forward to a month long vacation in the Philippines every year. For me, I spend most of time in Batangas province so I get a chance to explore the food and interesting places around Batangas.

Batangas is about 2 to 3 hours south of Manila and due to its proximity to the capital, many local and foreign tourists get the chance to explore its beaches, tried its food and see Spanish era churches. For me I may not be able to visit all the places in Batangas. But I would like to share with you, what could be at least a preview of what Batangas has to offer.

• Balot. Commonly sold as street food in the Phillippines, this developing bird duck embryo is eaten from its shell. The best way to eat balot is to crack a small hole and put the vinegar and little salt and drink the liquid.  After that, you can continue opening the shell and eat the whole piece. I am not sure about the nutritional value of egg but should be a good source of protein. Best to eat accompanied by San Mig Light or any liquor.

• Isaw, Betamax and Adidas. If you wish to get a possible dose of Hepa then try to eat barbecue sold in the open side streets. I don't know how the meat was prepared. I just completely trust the vendor. :) I don't really mind eating a few germs at all hehe. And they come with unique names too. Isaw is chicken or pig intestine. Betamax is cube shaped pork blood. Adidas is chicken feet.

• Lomi. Is a soup dish that comes with thick egg noodles and is famous in Batangas. Then a mixture of vegetables and meat like pork, liver or hotdog is added on top. Best eaten while hot. There are also other variations of the recipe. Corcolon Lomi House in San Jose, Batangas is famous for its double toppings lomi. It was on my To Do List, but never got a chance to visit the restaurant.

• Taal Basilica or Minor Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours. Is the biggest church in Asia. Previous churches were either destroyed by Taal Volcano eruption and earthquake in different locations. The present church was built in 1856 on top of a hill opposite Taal Municipal building. 

Church Altar

I assume that anyone buried inside the church occupied a high
status in the society during the earlier time

Few minutes from Taal basilica is the church of Our Lady of Caysasay which stands on the bank of a river and can be accessed by stone steps now known as San Lorenzo steps. There is also a miraculous well near the church called Well of Sta Lucia that many have attested to have healing and therapeutic 

powers 

The town of Taal is also known to be the Balisong (butterfly knife) capital of the Philippines. Although a dying industry as described by a documentary I watched on TV, there are still existing balisong shops along the road. 

Spanish era houses are still well preserved along the road.

------------------------

references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Saint_Martin_of_Tours

------------------------

• Tapang Taal. Don't forget to buy the well known Tapang Taal at the public market which is just a short walk from Taal Basilica. It is a thin slice of pork marinated probably with a mixture of toyo and spices. I searched the internet and found a recipe that claimed to be the original recipe of tapang taal. Maybe worth a try, though. Tapang Taal is sold between P 250-260 per kilo depending on your bargain skills. 

this image is taken from GOOGLE

---------------------------

source: http://www.kabatang.com/authentic-tapang-taal-recipe-ga-ang-hanap-subukan-na-areh-ayos-din/

---------------------------

HOW TO MAKE TAPANG TAAL RECIPE (ORIGINAL RECIPE)

Tapang Taal ingredients

1 kilong pork kasim, pideh ring lomo (ipa-tapa slice mo na)

1 tasang toyo

2 kutsarang bawang

2 kutsaritang pamintang durog

2 kutsarang kalamansi juice

4 kutsarang puting asukal

1 kutsarang Worcestershire sauce (kahit anung brand, basta Lea Perrins hehe)

1/2 tasang mantika pampirito…

Paghalu-haluin ang ingredients, lamasin, i-mix ng maigi at imarinade ng 3 oras o higit pa. Pideh nang piritusin pagkatapos.

---------------------------

• Kapeng Barako. Is a well know variety of coffee in Batangas because of strong taste and smell. The coffee is prepared by boiling the coffee and add brown sugar according to taste. Let the coffee stand still for few minutes and you can enjoy the dark and strong Kapeng Barako. Other people poured the coffee to the rice as an alternative to the soup. 

• The Shrine of Padre Pio in Sto Tomas, Batangas. Located in San Pedro, Sto Tomas Batangas is  the Shrine of Padre Pio, dedicated to the capuchin priest well known for exhibiting stigmata. He was beatified in 1999 and canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. More about this post in my next blog entry.

The Shrine of Padre Pio in Sto Tomas, Batangas