The Philippines is composed of 81 provinces and every province has their own culture, traditions and culinary specialties to share. To discover one of the provinces of the Philippines, we took part in the Batangas Food Festival this year that was held in Matabungkay Beach Hotel in Lian, Batangas.
Batangas is blessed with abundant farmlands, bountiful natural resources, agricultural produce, mountainous topography, pristine beaches and rich history but many of us don’t know that Batangas is also rich in gastronomic cultures.
(Mt. Batulao, Nasugbo)
(Sombrero Island, Nasugbo)
Batangas Food Festival is held every year during the months of October to December. It aims to preserve and promote different Batangueño Cuisine.
They offer only the best gastronomic experience by appropriate cooking methods and using only high-quality ingredients that are sourced in the local towns of Batangas. Batangas Food Festival also aims to present modernised courses taking off from the traditional selection of Batangueño cuisine.
(Mrs. Charley Leviste Antonio and Chef Nancy Lumen Reyes officially opening the Batangas Food Festival)
To guide you on your next gastronomic journey in Batangas, let us share to you what we had feasted on.
For our lunch, we had Bistek Tagalog Crostini, Tawilis Tempura and Champayne as our appetizers.
Bulalo with Grilled Bone Marrow and Suam sa Mais for our soup.
Rodrigo’s Roast, Menudong Batangas, Crispy Adobong Manok sa Barako and Kalderetang Kambing for our main dish.
For our dessert, we had Tiramisu Ala Eh and Brillantes Halo-Halo.
They also featured their local beef called Angas Beef which is made from 100% grass-fed cows. You can only get them from the Boer Farm in Batangas.
After that very sumptuous lunch, we proceeded to a foodie tour that took us to artisan places where their famous bagoong and special bibingka are produced.
First stop is the bibingkahan. Here they showed us how to make their special bibingka. The bibingka is made of glutinous rice soaked in water. Sugar is also added to the mixture then after that they cook it on charcoals. Then once the bibingka is done, they will transfer it to
bilao and top it with Latik (Sweet Coconut Cream).
The second stop of our foodie tour is the Bagoongan. Anty’s special bagoong is made of fresh dilis that are sourced from different parts of Batangas. The dilis are then mixed with lots of salt and stored in big earthen jars called tapayan to ferment for 1 year. Regular mixing is also done so that the fish will fuse better with salt and making the bagoong taste more refined. After 1 year, the mixture will have two parts, one part is the bagoong and the other part is the patis.
After our fun and educational foodie tour, we headed back to the resort to have our Meryenda ala Batangueño style.
For our meryenda, we had Lomi ng Lipa, Bibingkoy, Bibingka, Brushetta with Smoked Milkfish and Tanglad Tea with Pulot. All of it was delicious and filling.
So after that, we had our free time. We enjoyed the resort by swimming in their pools and basking on the beach.
Dinner time!
For our dinner, they served us their version of Kilawin, Tinolang Manok soup, Adobong Manok at Baboy, and Buko Pandan. Again, it was good and our tummies were super full haha.
To cap off our night, we headed to the beach for the Barikan by the Bonfire. Barikan means inuman or drinking session. The baristas made us different concoctions of drinks and cocktails that are made from some of Batangas Specialties. Like the Batangas Barako Coffee.
We chose to end the night with Chili Mojito. It’s a very refreshing drink with a little bit of kick of spiciness in it.
Rise and Shine!
For the second day, we are set to have another tour. We headed to their local market in the town of Balayan to know more of Batangas’ Delicacies and other local offerings.
So, that was our Batangas Food Festival experience! Indeed, it was a weekend full of fun, cultural discoveries, and sumptuous meals.
Great news! You may also take part and experience what Batangas Food Festival has to offer.
Batangas Food Festival Package
For only P5,400 net, two persons can enjoy and savour the best of Batangas dishes and relax in the beautiful resort of Matabungkay Beach Hotel.
Inclusions are:
- Deluxe room for 2
- Festival Breakfast and Dinner
(Valid from November 10 to December 31, 2018 only)
(Valid from November 10 to December 31, 2018 only)
Just contact Matabungkay Beach Hotel in these numbers:
0917-8341269 or 752-5252
You may also reach them thru their website and email:
inquiry@matabungkay.net
We would like to thank our very generous host and sponsors for making this event possible and for having us as part of the Batangas Food Festival this year.
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