Aside from being known for its
rich history, Taal Batangas has a wide variety of foods and crafts that Taaleños
(people of Taal) are really proud of.
Upon visiting Taal Batangas, be sure to experience tasting their native products such:
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Empanada, this consists of ground pork with potato and carrots wrapped in a soft and
delicious crust is considered to be one of the best-tasting versions of this
Filipino version of the pocket sandwich.
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Longganisa, has a distinct taste from being marinated in secret ingredients. The
meat is flavoured with adobo marinade and garlic. The meat is not
finely-ground and contains chunks of fat. It is slightly salty and would fall
into the deredaco garlicky (or mabawang) category. This can only be bought at the Taal market.
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Panutsa, It’s Batangas version of
peanut brittle – made of caramelized brown sugar and whole peanuts. This
sugar-loaded delicacy will surely give you enough dose for a sweet fixation. It may sound
common, but Taaleños boast that their
peanut varieties are tastier. . It comes in different sizes, most commonly
in the size of an 8 inch plate.
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Suman
or rice cake, this is wrapped in banana leaves is also
something one should not miss. They say what makes it extra tasty is the fact
that it was mixed for several hours in order to achieve a desired consistency.
The suman
salehiya which is made of boiled sticky rice is a
perfect merienda specially
when eaten with tsokolate brewed
from tableyang-taal, the distinct chocolate ball ground
from cacao mixed with brown sugar.
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| Photo credit: http://www.pinoyphotography.org |
Burdang Taal (Barong
Embroidery), refers to the long
tradition of hand embroidery since the turn of the century executed on fabric,
especially on jusi and pina, and more popularly sought for the Barong Tagalog
worn by the Filipino gentleman. Burdang Taal is also done for ternos and gowns
and has a wide range of clothing lines from infants to adults, for both the
male and female customers. Other fabrics are also used like cotton, linen and
ramie. It is also used to accent garment accessories and home décor items.
(Source: http://www.wowbatangas.com)
Taal is known for, Burdang Taal , its
fine hand-embroidered Barong materials,
pillow cases, bed covers, table cloths and napkins. The finest burdang Taal are found in workshops and stores at
Barangay Niogan and at the public market. The most popular embroidered
materials are for making the barong tagalog and saya , the country’s traditional costumes for
men and women respectively. There is a wide choice of materials from the
expensive semi-transparent Piña made
from pineapple fibers, jusi made
from silk, gusot mayaman from
ramie, cotton and synthetic fibers.
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Balisong
(Butterfly Knives), this is a another Batangas’ pride. In the wikipedia, it is
described as: a Philippine folding pocket knife with two handles
counter-rotating around the tang such
that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. In the
hands of a trained user, the knife blade can be brought to bear quickly using
one hand. Manipulations, called flipping, are performed for art or amusement.
One would usually find batangas
butterfly knives stalls on the highways of Lemery and Taal where one could
directly buy balisongs. These knives are of various sizes, from a
key-chain to beinte nueve – (the standard size) up to a gaden-cutter size. (Source: http://www.wowbatangas.com)
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Aside from bulalo, lomi, and kapeng barako which Batangas is known for, there’s
another must-try when you head down here in the province – the tapang Taal.
Usually, when you here the word
tapa, you would think of beef. But in Taal, their tapa is porkmarinated
in soy sauce with garlic and calamansi. Last week, I had tapang Taal for three
straight meals. It’s best paired with fried rice and kapeng barako. Have it
dipped in vinegar with onions and chilis. Yummy!
The best thing about having a
delicacy or a dish that became a best-seller is the opportunity for the locals
to have it as their own livelihood. There are lots of Taal locals selling this
tapa and eventually they have been gaining frequent patrons from other
neighboring towns and even from other provinces.
(Source: http://www.wowbatangas.com)
