Northern Exposure Part 2

Our trip to Ilocos opened up a whole new gastronomical world for me. Oh, I was exposed to Pinakbet and Dinakdakan, alright. But when I tasted the orig versions, I swore never to eat rip-offs again. Good thing my Auntie is an authentic Ilocana, so I have someone to ask for the recipes.

While traveling up north, we came across several food items that really stimulated my curiosity. Here they are:

1. Soft Biscocho from Pasuquin Bakery - When someone mentions biscocho, I always picture a slice of bread baked to a crisp. It can either be sweet or just tasteless, depending on where it came from. For instance, Iloilo Biscocho is sweet because of something on its surface which I suspect to be condensed milk. Then, there's the Prima Biscocho, which has butter and sugar on top. Then, there's the bland biscocho, which is usually either ground and used as bread crumbs, or dunked in barako coffee (maybe to soften it) and eaten as is. But in a little town called Pasuquin, we came across a famous bakery, made popular by the soft biscocho.

On the outside, it looks like your typical Spanish bread, sans the crumbs and filling. Its texture outside is much like a mildly flaky croissant, and the inside is really soft and airy. And when I bit into it, it had that strong anise seed flavor that I've never tasted before! Oh, I've tasted anise seeds in putong puti, and I tell you, I didn't like it. But this one, I love!

2. Gamet - When I was a little girl, Mom & Dad used to leave us in Sta. Mesa in my Auntie Azon's house because we had no helpers at home. So each morning, they would drop us off, and then pick us up in the evening after work. Now, our lola, Inay Epang, lived with Auntie Azon's family. Being the GI that she is, she would always have this black disk almost every mealtime. She would tear off a portion, soak it in some warm water, and watch it grow! Then, she would slice some tomatoes and eat the black thingie with it and hot rice.

Turns out, the black thingie is called gamet. It is a bunch of dried seaweeds that have been formed into disks and sun-dried. We stopped over at Bangui to get some from the market, but it turned out that it wasn't market day, so there was none. One manong I spoke to on the sidewalk said that gamet is kinda expensive because those who get them literally risk their lives just to harvest these seaweeds. They usually get washed away on rocks where waves crash into. The harvesters need to be quick, at the same time be cautious so that they could escape the waves and keep themselves from hitting the rocks.

3. Ar-arusep - Basically, ar-arusep (or ar-arusip) is fresh seaweeds, quite the opposite of gamet. In Manila, we only see lato, or the "sea grapes", as some people call it. But in Ilocos, they come in different shapes and sizes. I eat lato, so I know how it tastes like (for those who don't or haven't tried it, imagine biting into a tiny grape, and having the flavor of the ocean burst in your mouth). So I'm imagining that whatever shape the ar-arusep takes, it all tastes the same.

4. Bottled UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) - I'm sorry, I don't know what they're called! In my state of shock, I failed to ask the tindera about these bottled stuff. But whatever they are, Ilocanos eat them.

They somewhat resemble bagoong, so maybe they taste like bagoong. But I don't want to make any more assumptions. If you happen to know what they are, just send me a comment and tell us. Please!

I'm sure there are lots more. But these are the only ones I've encountered so far. Anyway, this isn't my last tour to the north, especially now that I know that there are relatives who would be glad to see me when I come back to visit. (hahaha!)

As they say in Ilocoslovakia, "Haan ka nga Ilokano nu haan ka nga mangmangan ti." (translation: You're not a true blue Ilocano if you haven't eaten these. Or something to that effect.) So I better be brave and try Ilocano food that I haven't tried. And hopefully, I will live another day to write about that experience.