Showing posts with label pasalubong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pasalubong. Show all posts

Laag-Laag sa Cebu (Part 15): Taboan the Pasalubong Center of Cebu City

Taboan Market Pasalubong Center of Cebu

"Bili ka ng danggit" - is the usual spiel of my Beloved Wife Lei whenever I have a trip to Cebu.

What the wife commands the good husband obeys so I dedicated a day to visit the pasalubong center of Cebu City, which is none other than the Taboan (Tabo-an) Market.

Taboan Market in Cebu City

I have been to Cebu so many times but I still have a hard time going to Taboan Market. There was an instance that I reached Carbon Market instead of Taboan. Losing my way was not a total disaster since I got the chance to visit the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.

My visits to Taboan Market are dizzying experiences not only because of the strong odor of dried seafood but also of the variety of dried fishes for sale here. First time visitors will be amazed by the sheer volume of dried goodies.

Dried seafood for sale in Taboan Market, Cebu City

I thought that Taboan was so called because dried seafood is "tabo tabo sa sobrang dami!" Well, I was wrong.

I read from the article of Clarence Paul Oaminal in Freeman that Taboan Market was established after the Tres de Abril Battle between the Katipuneros and the Spaniards. The revolutionaries lost the battle and the colonial government arrested almost all the residents of the San Nicolas District where many of the Katipuneros came from.



San Nicolas became a ghost town since the residents fled to the mountains to avoid arrest and interrogation.

The responsibility for reviving the town fell to a certain Teniente Indong and some San Nicolas officials who were released from the prison in Fort San Pedro. They revived San Nicolas by establishing a market in a place called Tagbu-an, where the consumers from the city and the vendors from the mountains would meet.

The place eventually became the center of trade in the Visayas where produce from the seas and mountains are sold. In time Tagbu-an became Tabo-an.

Buyers of danggit and other dried seafood in Taboan Market, Cebu City

I thought that danggit is the Visayan word for "dry" or "dried". Lei laughs at me whenever I ask if she wants the "danggit na pusit" aside from "danggit na isda". I was wrong because danggit is the local name for rabbitfish.

Dried Danggit in Taboan Market in Cebu City

I bought dried danggit for Lei and I also bought dried squid, which is my favorite. We usually fry them and then dip then in vinegar. It is best paired with sinangag.

Aside from dried seafood, I also saw other Cebu pasalubong like the langgonisa hanging like fat hair strands.

Longganisa for sale in Taboan Market in Cebu City

Those sausages are enticing but Lei didn't want it because they are exposed to the elements and flies.

I also saw Cebu pasalubong sweets from like broas, otap, and dried mangoes. However, I didn't buy from Taboan because I prefer to buy directly from Shamrock. Souvenirs such as key chains and ref magnets are also available in Taboan.

Souvenirs for sale in Taboan Market, Cebu City

A visit to Taboan is truly overwhelming. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of dried seafood. I was also overwhelmed by the fishy odor that sticks to my shirt.

If you are a visitor to Cebu, I suggest that you drop by Taboan and buy all your Cebu pasalubong in one go.

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Pili-made Pasalubong from Camarines

Whenever I travel from far-away places, it is customary for me to bring home some pasalubong. My trip to Camarines is no different and I also bought some pasalubong items that can be found in the area. Pili nuts are commonly found in the Bicol that is why most of the pasalubong items their made of pili.

In a previous post, I talked about pili tart that is the usual pasalubong of my Bicolano office mate whenever he go back to the office after a vacation in Bicol. I am not a fan of pili tarts that is why I did not bought any of it in Naga City. The pasalubong items that I bought are pili bar, glazed pili, pili coated with linga, and mazapan de pili.

Pili Bar

Daday's pili bar.
Pili bar is a sort of bread made of grounded pili. This is my most favorite pasalubong item that I brought from Camarines. My family and beloved liked it too and it is the pili-made pasalubong that first go missing into their mouths. Pili bar is not too sweet and this is what I liked about it.
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Brown-colore pili bar. Yum yum.

Glazed Pili and Pili with Linga

If Baguio City has peanut brittle, then Bicolandia has glazed pili. This pili-made pasalubong is made by cooking the meat of pili nut with sugar syrup until the mixture became golden brown. The Pili with Linga is cooked similarly but with the taste enhanced with linga seeds (sesame seeds).
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Sweet glazed pili nuts.
Glazed pili and pili with linga can be bought from vendors at the Naga City Bus Terminal. These pasalubong items are usually wrapped with plastic and sold to passengers at the bus terminal. If you want to buy these pili-made pasalubong items, I suggest that you haggle with vendors so you can buy them at cheap prices.
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Pili nut with seasame seeds.

Mazapan de Pili

Mazapan de Pili is a pili-made bread, like the pili bar. The difference is that it is softer and easily broken to pieces as compared with the pili bar.
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Mazapan de Pili.
I don't like the Mazapan the Pili much because it is easily broken and much of it fell to floor. I was forced to use a spoon just to eat Mazapan de Pili from its box.

I bought a lot of pili-made pasalubong during my visit to Camarines. I know that Bicolandia has more to offer when it comes to food. These pili-made sweets are preview to the other sweets and dishes that Bicolanos love. I hope that I can taste more Bicolano dishes when I return to Bicol.

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Do you want to know more about pasalubong? Read about the pasalubong items I brought from Cebu.
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