Local traditions and culture in City of Manila

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Spanish influence is evident in many of the names of local Filipino baked goods, though the actual product differs from the Spanish original, which include lengua de gato, polvoron, leche flan, and brazo de mercedes.Lengua de Gato in the philippines differs in Spain since in Spain it is shaped like Ladyfingers and in France, is called Langues de chat, which are classic French cookies are oval buttery cookies, with a blonde center and lightly browned edges while in the philippines, it's a deliciously rich, tongue-shaped butter cookie. Hence, the literal translation "Cat's Tongue."

The Best Lengua De Gato in the Philippines are made by Tartland Baguio, Based in Baguio City in the Northern Philippines!

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The Philippine Carabao Mango is the world's sweetest and juiciest mango as certified by the guiness book of world records in 1995, specifically in the Zambales province. The meat is not fibrous or pulpy unlike the Tommy Atkins of florida or the the Ataulfo Mango of Mexico (which was cross bred from carabao mangoes coming from the philippines during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade in the 18th century) or the Alphonso Mango of India. Due to the controversy regarding the name manila mango, it is exported worldwide under the Philippine Carabao Super Mango Brand. It costs 60 pesos a kilgram here (about 3 to 4 mangoes a kilogram)

see pictures for comparion of the "original" Philippine Carabao Mango and Mexican Ataulfo "Manila Mango"

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Christmas is one of the best season to visit Manila because there will be lots of decorations, shopping sales and other Christmas activities happening in the city because Philippines is predominantly a Catholic country. I was in Manila in late November 2007, and already could feel the Christmas atmosphere (and the Christmas trees and decorations are great!).

However, there will be no snow but you get lots of beautiful beaches here :)

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First, a little background on pandan. The pandan leaf “comes from the Screwpine tree, which can be found in Madagascar, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the tropical areas of Australia”.

Aside from its aroma and flavor, pandan serves some medicinal value too. Buko or young Coconut isvery abundant in the philippines and we have more coconut based foods than thailand, vietnam, malaysia, indonesia or any other asian countries but we lacked the advertising and marketing aspect hence iam posting these yummy filipino foods here!

To make buko pandan, you can either use boxed pandan-flavored gelatine or the native gulaman (gelatine) bars AND bottled pandan flavoring. If using gulaman, choose the green-colored variety.

When buying buko (coconut), tell the vendor you want the mala-kanin kind (meaning soft) but thicker meat in contradistinction with mala-uhog which is much more tender but quite thin and runny.

NOW for the TRIVIA: this wondeful dessert was INVENTED by noted Filipino Foodie and Chef CLAUDE TAYAG in the 1980's and was initially served to Patrons of Cafe Adriatico in Manila labelled as "Claude's Dream" (Claude Tayag and the owners of the restaurant are bosom buddies). from then it catched on and it's popularity soared and is now a staple in filipino desserts but very few know that Claude Tayag invented it.

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The "sport fruit" of the coconut is the makapuno. It is a form of mutant coconut developed by the Philippine Coconut Authority. It has has developed macapuno trees that yield 80 per cent macapuno fruits. The trees grow in abundance in Albay where the Authority's research center is and its popularity to the other islands of the philippines. It will reach the popularity of Nata De Coco in a few years that other Asians will copy it like what they did to the Nata De Coco. (Thailand already has a macapuno island for the propagation of the coconut saplings from the philippines and vietnam is now experimenting with macapuno cross breeds in their coconuts!) Considered a delightful delicacy and largely used for making preserves and ice-cream, it cannot be kept in storage and will not germinate. It has three layers: semi-acid, soft and hard meat.

The macapuno fruit looks like the regular coconut except that it is bigger and when you open it, it has very little or absent coconut juice. Farmers have a way of knocking on the nut to determine if they have macapuno or coconut. The macapuno meat is as thick as the coconut but softer, making it easy to grate. Macapuno is cooked with sugar, sometimes with dayap for flavor, and served as a dessert. Local ice cream makers also have macapuno flavors which they sometimes add with ube (purple yam) and Pie Makers also Make Macapuno Pie!

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Buko pie is one of the most must-try product and specialty of Laguna Province. It is a traditional Filipino pastry style, young-coconut-filled pie. It has proven to be a popular dish for Filipinos. It is almost like a coconut cream pie, only it is made with just young coconuts (buko in Tagalog) and has no cream. The pie is made with buko meat of malakanin (soft rice consistency and texture). There are also variations of the pie, which are similar but use slightly different ingredients, such as macapuno pie (from Coconut Sport), that uses a special type of coconut which differs from ordinary coconut as it is thick and sticky. Ube (Purple Yam) can also be added to the pie to make it better!

To make your own buko pie, first make a pastry. To make the pastry, combine flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Combine egg yolks and ice water and blend into flour mixture until it turns into dough. Add a little more water if dough is still crumbly. Refrigerate for 30 mixtures. With a rolling pin, roll dough thinly, about 1/4 inch thick, on a lightly floured board. Make the pastry.

Bake the piecrust, set aside and cool. Combine pie-filling ingredients except cornstarch mixture in a deep saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When boiling gently, add cornstarch mixture, stirring fast, until combined mixture has thickened. Pour mixture evenly into prepared piecrust. Let cool, then refrigerate until firm. Top with toasted sweetened coconut flakes just before serving.

Collette's Buko Pie Makes the Best Pie in Laguna Province!

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Pancit Bihon (aka Bijon) is what foreigners traditionally associate with the word "pancit": very thin rice noodles fried with soy sauce and some citrus (kalamansi) and possibly with patis (fish sauce), and some variation of sliced meat (chicken and pork), wooden ear mushrooms, squid balls and chopped vegetables. The exact Bijon composition depends on someone's recipe but usually, Chinese sausage and cabbage are the most basic ingredients in a pancit bihon.

"Pansit" is stir-fried noodle dish, common in the Philippines, though of Chinese origin. This food is second in popularity to rice in the country. It's similar to Pad Thai thai noodles or yakisoba Japanese-style stir-fried noodles. The word pancit is derived from the Hokkien (Min Nan) word pian i sit, which literally means something conveniently cooked fast

The first pancit that landed in the Philippines is likely to have been made from wheat noodles brought as provisions by a Chinese traders from Fujian Province. Sometime later, another Chinese merchant probably tried his hand on making his own noodles when his provisions ran out. With inquisitive natives by his side, he may have experimented with batch after batch until he produced something that looked like what he may have had in his homeland. But since rice, not wheat, was on hand, he made rice noodles. Rice starch differs in nature from wheat, having less gluten that provides that familiar “bite.” Rice noodles are whiter in color and have less “muscle” in body. But that may not have mattered much to the homesick Chinese trader; pancit was pancit, and anyway rice noodles could be had in China as well.

There are lots of Variations for Pancit like Molo, Luglog, Palabok, Canton, Habhab, etc. it depends on the region or town you are going.

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Mango with sticky rice is a sweet south east asian invention. It is composed of Ripe yellow Mango with glutinous sticky rice and lye and sometimes flavored with brown sugar or coconut milk. I don't really know which country started it but it is the BEST DESSERT ever! Here in The Philippines it's called "Suman sa Lihiya at Mangga" and in Thailand, it is called "Khao Niaw Ma Muang" Look at the Pictures here for the similarities of Both! But however, as I said before, Philippine Carabao Mangoes are aknowledged by the Guiness Book of World Records as the Wolrd's Sweetest and Juiciest Mango.