Just a few blocks away from the Chinese and Kodak theaters, where they do the Oscars and the movies premieres, Hollywood Blvd. looks ugly and sleazy. You see adult video stores, wig and souvenir shops, adult movie houses, and liquor stores. Vagabonds and their shopping carts are a common sight. Go a little farther  and  you start seeing lots of small Thai restaurants.

Six or seven years ago, Wongduan, my friend from work, took me to lunch in Thai Town, east on Hollywood Blvd. For dessert, she introduced me to Bhan Kanom Thai. It is a tiny, colorful, and really quaint place that sells Thai sweets. They make most of the stuff they sell. So what you get there is something you won’t usually see anywhere else.

I like going there. It’s an adventure for me. I typically buy queer-looking items with names I can hardly read right. I dragged my husband there, too. He loved it, especially the small coconut cakes that they make in front of you. Their taste reminds him of the bibingka (rice cake) made in Mohon, Oton, Iloilo.

Just before my family’s big move to the suburbs, I visited Bhan Kanom Thai. In a way, I was saying goodbye to one of my favorite haunts in the city that has been home to me for almost a decade. I was feeling anxious and a bit sad about the forthcoming change in our lives. I bought a few items and went away comforted, excited to try all the strange stuff that I got.

Banana Candy. “How different is this from my favorite banana marbles of Biscocho Haus Iloilo?”, I wondered. I tasted one, then two, three, and four. It’s a bit different , but just as good. It has coconut milk.  Now I don’t have to fantasize whenever I miss banana marbles.

The stuff on the the shelf above the banana candies are next on my list. I’ve forgotten what they are though.

Salty taro chips. I suppose they taste just like potato chips. They will have to wait til next time. I bought the sweet potato chips. My kids love them.

Colored puffed rice. Just like the stuff sold in the Dumangas (the town where I grew up) market, but this one has better packaging. I’m sure it’s just plain old Buti (puffed rice mixed with syrup and shaped into balls).

Rose Apple Candy. “What on earth is rose apple?”, I mumbled as I scrutinized the oval box. It tasted salty and sweet, much like the Kiamoy(preserved fruit). It’s okey, I guess. I’ve never really been a fan of  salty-sweet candies. Then I focused on the label’s picture…  Is it possible that rose apple is the tambis or the makopa of the Philippines? Illustration sure looks like it.

Ooops! Wave of nostalgia. I miss tambis, especially the tree that grows in my aunt’s yard in Dumangas. My mouth waters at the thought of red juicy fruit.

]]> http://chiquibaylon.net/2010/07/fave-place-in-hollywood/feed/ 5 http://chiquibaylon.net/2010/04/tinuom/ http://chiquibaylon.net/2010/04/tinuom/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:04:53 +0000 Chiqui http://chiquibaylon.net/?p=1816

Look at that pretty vegetable dish. It’s a recipe I picked up from a friend’s mom way back in 1992, when I stayed at their house in Lambunao, Iloilo. Very simple peasant fare. Goes well with steaming hot rice, pinakas (fried dried fish), or balingon uga (dried anchovies). Or just about any fried fish. Sampat!

It’s the Ilonggo version of the fritata or the quiche, without all the oil, meat, and cheese. Definitely healthier (that is if you have the strength of will to eat it without the sampat food that goes along with it).

Tinuom sampat with Balingon!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped tomatoes, 4 eggs, 4 cups leafy vegetables (lupo, or, if it’s not available, spinach is a good substitute), salt, pepper, banana leaf for wrapping.

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except for the leaf. Hold banana leaf a few inches above a flame until it changes color. This will make the leaf more pliant  and stronger. It will not break apart easily. Pour the mixture on top of the banana leaf . Gather the edges together and tie with a string. You can place it over hot coals or you can steam it. Cooking time is short. Just 5- 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Note: I tried making this years ago, using foil to wrap the vegetables in. It was okey, but it didn’t have the kind of taste that I loved when my friend’s mom cooked it. Banana leaves are  a must for this recipe. It adds another dimension of flavor to the dish. In the US, look for banana leaves in the freezer section of an oriental store. You can also check out Latino  markets. They use banana leaves for wrapping food.

]]> http://chiquibaylon.net/2010/04/tinuom/feed/ 2 http://chiquibaylon.net/2009/02/ilonggo-hiphop/ http://chiquibaylon.net/2009/02/ilonggo-hiphop/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:48:10 +0000 Chiqui http://chiquibaylon.net/?p=864

Are you from Iloilo? Check this out. Sadya. Groovable.

Catchy. And yes, this is very different from Iloilo Provincial Jail. 

Isn’t this a pretty bowl of laswa?

Can you spot the fish?

A steaming bowl of laswa is the best way to cleanse your  digestive system of  all that grease  from the not-too-good-for-your-health dishes served during the holiday season. It resets your mind  from party mode back to the realities of everyday life.    

Nothing screams “Ilonggo” louder than laswa. I dreaded seeing this on the dinner table as a child.  Funny how, when I grew older, I  found myself craving it whenever I was away from Iloilo.  This is my comfort food, I guess. For the past ten years, I’ve picked up some valuable lessons that have reinforced my  skill in cooking this dish.  No more tears now. ( I used to get so upset  when people didn’t eat what I cook. )  Today, I have the audacity  to claim that I am to laswa the way Bobby Flay is to grilling. (Eat your heart out, Daddy!) 

MY LASWA LESSONS

• It’s not as easy as you think. The first time I made it,I thought there was nothing to it.  What’s so difficult about boiling vegetables? Just drop the chunky ones first because they cook longer. Put some salt.  Drop the leafy ones last and voila – it’s all done.  The result— nobody liked it, including me. It’s so deceptively simple that it’s easy to  make a mess of it. The moral of the story is: don’t be overconfident when cooking  rustic, peasant food.  It can humble you in a big way.
• Use a small amount of water. One or two cups would be okey. A dear old lady told me this. She explained that while the vegetables are boiling they will release their own liquids, which will sweeten the broth. 
• I used to just put salt in the vegetables and couldn’t understand why there seemed to be something misssing in the taste.  I realized that I had forgotten all about the subak or the sahog.  Some people use fresh tiny shrimps or sura-sura.  Others use grilled fish.  Dried fish is also good. I like to fry or sanlag my dried fish before dropping it into the pot.  This way it doesn’t disintegrate easily. I put them in towards the end.  My favorite is dried lobo-lobo(silverfish). All these enhance  the broth, but no matter what subak I have, I always use patis(fish sauce).  A tablespoon or two  of this  offensively pungent liquid rounds out the flavor of the dish. It provides a good contrast to the sweetness of the vegetables.
• Laswa is best when cooked just a few minutes before sitting down to eat.  It is no good when it’s cold.  

My eldest sister had a delusion of grandeur when she was around 6-8 years old.  She used to boast that she was so special because the town of Dumangas, Iloilo  held a parade everytime her birthday rolled around on October 31.  That day holds a distinct place in my childhood memories for being the day when I would be brimming  with intense envy. I tried my best to look nonchalant even though deep inside I would be whining, ” Why couldn’t there be a marching band playing “Dahil sa Iyo” , smart CAT officers saluting with their swords, and baton-twirling majorettes in their puffy skirts on my birthday, too?” 

We realized, when we grew older, that the parade was not for her, but for the town hero, Col. Quintin Salas. That burst my sister’s delusional bubble and ended her bragging. Good.

Spending countless hours playing tikyo around the hero’s  monument at the town plaza taught me a thing or two about him.  He  was a revolutionario who fought against the Spaniards and then later on against the American colonizers.  Aside from these bits of info,  I  am ashamed to admit that I don’t really know much. I’ve always been curious why they held the parade on October 31. Why not have it on some other day? They could have spared me from so much mental agony.   Was it his birthday or death anniversary?  Do they still even  do it these days?  I’ve been thinking that if I am proud to call Dumangas my hometown, I must at least try to get to know my town hero a little better.  So I googled Col. Quintin Salas and  read up on my local history.  I copied the article and pasted it here. Read on if you feel the same way I do.

Filipino Patriot and Hero: Colonel Quintin Salas

Quintin Salas was one of eleven children born to Nicolas Salas and Nicolasa Dicen in Dumangas, Iloilo on the island of Panay on 31 October 1870.

In the 1890s Quintin Salas was serving the Spanish colonial government as Teniente Mayor (Vice-Mayor) and later as Capitan del Pueblo (Municipal Captain) of Dumangas when he was made commander of the local Filipino volunteer militia. These voluntarios were organised by the Spanish to suppress uprisings against their authority as had already begun in Luzon.

In secret communication with the revolutionary leaders of the province, Quintin Salas, upon acquiring men and arms, turned Revolucionario and convinced his men to join the rebellion against Spain by leading the uprising in Dumangas on October 28, 1898.

Salas and his troops liberated the surrounding towns, confiscated the firearms of the cuadrilleros (police), set prisoners free, and seized public documents. He was commissioned a full colonel and designated chief of operations for the central zone of Iloilo Province by General Martin Delgado, general of the Ejercito Libertador (as the revolutionary army of Panay was then known). On December 5, 1898 the revolutionary government of the Visayas pledged its allegiance to the principles of the Malolos Congress.

But then, another foreign master came, this time the Americans as the victor in the Spanish-American war. The Philippines was ceded to the U.S. for $20 million with a guarantee to protect the property and business rights of Spanish citizens. The Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898. Eleven days later, U.S. President McKinley issued the “Proclamation of Benevolent Assimilation” which expressly indicated America’s intention to stay permanently and assume control and disposition of government – an open declaration of its war of aggression against the peoples of the Philippines.

Thus, armed hostilities between U.S. imperialism and the Filipino peoples began in a revolutionary war of national liberation and by the use of gunboat diplomacy the Philippines became a colony of the United States.

Salas was with Delgado when the revolutionary army entered Iloilo City on December 25. But while the Filipinos were attacking and capturing the few remaining Spanish garrisons, the U.S. was preparing to capture the Visayas.

When a U.S. occupying force was sent to Iloilo in March 1899, Salas and the other revolutionary leaders of Panay denied the American request to land in Iloilo and instead made preparation to defend the province. They dug trenches along a 10km battleline and waited, facing Guimaras Strait and the might of U.S. naval power. Salas was among the leaders at the battlefront.

From February to September, Salas held his ground in Balantang until American reinforcements arrived forcing his troops to retreat. He’d earned the respect of his people, and even the enemy called him “General” Salas.

With the fall of Cabatuan, the last capital of the revolutionary government in Panay, many of the Visayan leaders surrendered to the Americans, but Quintin Salas, together with six Ilonggo generals and the remaining revolutionary troops, chose instead to wage guerrilla warfare against the Americans. He surprised them with night assaults and daytime ambushes. The Salas guerrilla forays lasted for more than two years.

But finally, the generals and other guerrilla leaders surrendered and Salas found himself alone. He was persuaded to give up by his friends and former comrades-in-arms and, realising that further resistance would be futile as well as destructive of lives and properties, he laid down his arms in October 1901, nine months after his commanding general surrendered.

In 1908, exiled from Iloilo, he went to Manila, graduated from the Escuela de Derecho with a degree of Bachelor of Laws, was admitted to the Bar in 1912, and practiced law for a while until he was allowed to return to Iloilo. Quintin Salas died of tuberculosis on January 24, 1917. His only surviving child, Rosario, became the first Ilonggo woman lawyer.

What should be the first thing to do  when you get a disturbing dream that features a killer and two dead bodies?

The morning after, before you even attempt to make a psychological analysis, you go to the lotto station or your local jueteng bookie and make a bet.  It is important that the dream is fresh when you do it.  Dreams that you feel are significant to you could be very lucky in the numbers game.

“Aunt Sally’s Policy Players’ Dream Book” (above) is an indispensable reference tool in this undertaking.  It contains a list of objects and situations that you might find in your dreams.  Each item has a corresponding number.  So if you see a killer and two dead bodies in your sleep, check out their numbers in the book and use them when you buy your lotto.

Back in Dumangas, when I was younger, a kubrador (bookie, bet collector) would stop by my grandmother’s bakery every afternoon.  She’d check to see if anybody wanted to play the Deely Dubul (Daily Double/local jueteng).  The employees would then start talking about the dreams they had the night before.  It could be anything from shit, teeth falling off, weddings, bagat (evil in the form of an animal), etc.  The kubrador always had a number for it.  Next they would talk about the recent winners who won by betting on their dream numbers.  I wonder why I never had the slightest interest in it before.

Last year was the first time I started playing the lotto (matindi ang pangangailangan). I did it everyday but never won a cent.  That was also when I began wishing that I had bought the dream book I had seen being sold on the sidewalk of De Leon St.  in downtown Iloilo. Just before I got married (OMG! ten years ago), I was on my way to Shanghai Store when I spotted a withered hag squatting beside a large kalalaw (woven square tray) full of strange and colorful wares. I stoped to look at them.  There were white, yellow, and black crystals; lapad (wide) bottles filled with tiny roots, oil, and colorful crosses; bronze amulets; tiny prayer booklets; and pamphlets on different topics.  Among those pamphlets was a dream book.  I thought to myself that this must be the kubrador’s bible. 

I should have bought that book ten years ago.  If I had, maybe I’d be a millionaire by now.  Lately I’ve been contemplating whether I should purchase  ”Aunt Sally’s Policy Players’ Dream Book”   over the internet.  I really really want to. However, there was something in the seller’s website  that held me back. The site was called “Hoodoo in Theory and Practice” . 

Hoodoo. Voodoo. Black Magic. Occult. That can be scary.   I don’t want to be in league with the forces of darkness. I will have to be content with my lot in life.  Me-not rich, not poor, just okey.

 Is this a TURAKSOY?

Ever heard of  Linagpang nga Turaksoy?  Or is it Turagsoy ? (Ka bantot nga ngalan! It sounds like something that comes out of your nose when you have a cold.)  When I was a little girl in Dumangas, Iloilo  I would listen to the AM radio everytime Manang Pelay would come to our  house to wash our clothes. I would always hear this song.

Ang siling sang nakatilaw

Sampat gid ang timplada mo

Linagpang nga turaksoy

Manamit higpon.

These days when I buy fish at Seafood City, this tune would pop up in my head and go on and on like a broken record. I’ve often wondered — what is a turaksoy?  I know it’s a fish but, how does it look?  What on earth is a linagpang? I know it’s a dish, but how do you make it? I sure would like to cook one.

No, this isn’t the kind of gulaman that we have at home in Iloilo.  All I know is that it is a large seaweed shredded into very thin strips so that, from a distance, it looks almost like our very own gulaman. I had this for dinner with some fried fish. That would be “Sampat”, perfect combination.

Reminds me of Jaro market days. We always had ensalada nga gulaman for lunch every Thursday way back when I was in High School.

How do you recreate this dish when you’re across the pacific, miles away from home, in Los Angeles? Go to any asian store and look for dried seaweeds. You’ll usually find it near the Japanese Nori. Get the thinnest shredded dried seaweed. That’s the Roxy brand. Priced at around a dollar, it’s really quite cheap. One thin pack would be good for four people. Next, you reconstitute it by immersing it in boiling water until it becomes plump and tender.  Drain. Mix with chopped tomatoes, onions, and a little ginger.  Put some shredded green  Mexican Mango (almost as good as the Indian Mango). Make sure it’s bagnas (not ripe). Sprinkle some pepper and sugar to taste. Pour some vinegar, maybe 3-5 tablespoons. The best vinegar for ensalada is rice  vinegar. It’s a little on the sweet side. I’ve always used Marukan. And voila… ensala nga gulaman. It’s a Thursday again for me and I’m having lunch  at my Lola’s house in Jaro.

Nice, huh? What you think? It’s a bit too photographic-looking and not stylized enough like the Byzantine mosaics I admire, but I like it nevertheless.

This one was done by an Ilonggo artist, RJ Juarez.  He lives in Barotac Nuevo and  finished a business course at UP Visayas. He does this type of work for a living and promotes it out of a  small store space at the upperground floor of SM City Iloilo. (I wonder how he’s coping after Typhoon Frank flooded the shopping center?)  

The huge mosaic above is the image of St. Anthony de Padua, patron saint of the Barotac Nuevo parish church.  It was  donated by the artist to his hometown. Pretty generous of him! What makes this and all his other works noteworthy is that he sources his materials from trash and construction scraps. That must be very time-consuming and difficult. Smelly. Dirty. If you’re just rummaging through garbage bags for the materials you need, how can you be sure you’ll have enough for your work? My hat goes off to him! He is living the green ideal.  I hope he keeps it up.