Eating Albay: An afternoon crammed with tinutungan, sili ice cream, and halo-halo

In a single afternoon, I figured out that I would never want for a place to eat in Legazpi City, Albay.

 

A hop, skip, and a belch from the Legazpi City Airport is the aptly named Legazpi Airport Hotel and Restaurant, which offers an all-you-can-eat buffet at an advertised P145.

 

I was told the food was pretty good, though a food stop after having just landed seemed like bad timing. So, on we went to the first of the famous Legazpi City food stops—the 1st Colonial Grill along Rizal Avenue in the Old Albay District.

 

Fully prepared for a chili-heavy meal, I was a little disappointed with Colonial's take on those well known Bicolano dishes: Pinangat, Laing, and Bicol Express. The key ingredients in these dishes are the coconut cream and the sili. The best forms of these dishes that I've ever tasted had the cream cooked down to a clear oil, not left at the bottom of a bowl like a whitish soup.

 

Also, the spice in these dishes have a kick—a key trait that I've always equated with Bicolano eating.

 

Colonial Grill's version of these dishes were not up to my expectations. The Laing had the sweetness of the coconut, but none of the heat. The Pinangat was dressed with thick, pearl white coconut cream.

 

The Bicol Express was more pork than sili, the few slices of which looked more like garnish rather than being the main attraction.

 

It did cross my mind that, perhaps being the obvious tourists, the kitchen had dialed back on the spice to below what the locals would normally eat. But a quick query with the service staff made it clear that this wasn't the case. This was how they were normally seasoned. I would eventually find Laing that met my expectations. It caused a sweat to break out on my scalp, but I didn't find it here at 1st Colonial Grill.

 

However, there were some prize dishes at Colonial, the best of which was the Tinutungang Manok—chicken stewed in scalded or scorched coconut cream.

 

Maybe much like the fond in French cooking, the scalding brings more flavor to the dish. This flavor was unique and distinct—it’s a nutty earth flavor that provides a warm comfort, the way all good stews are supposed to.

Hot and cold

 

And then there was the Sili Ice Cream. I was fully prepared to get a full order, three scoops, of nothing but the sili flavor. Fortunately for me, smarter heads prevailed upon me to take a combination of sili, tinutungan, and pili flavors.

 

If there was shortage of spice in the earlier dishes, that was because all of it was concentrated on that one, red scoop of Sili Ice Cream. Fortunately, the other flavors, sweet and earthy, were a balm to the spice of that cold palate rocket. It's difficult to explain that singular sensation of raspy spice and cold temperature. The combined sensation made no sense. How can it be cold and spicy at the same time? Spicy comes with a warm dish. But this was cold!

 

I couldn't stop giggling. I was blind man who could suddenly see.

 

This wasn't the only cold concoction Legazpi had to offer. There was also DJC Halo-halo at the Landco Business Park, near the Metro Gaisano mall.

 

It has been argued that the best halo-halo is Razon's in Pampanga. A key feature of Razon's is the finely shaved ice that is so delicate and ephemeral that it disappears after a few pokes with the dessert spoon.

 

DJC has that same kind of fine ice. And if you've ever had other kinds of halo-halo where the ice looks like a gravel pit, you'll appreciate the delicacy that Razon's and DJC offers. But unlike Razon's, DJC belongs to the more-is-more school of halo-halo. The Halo-halo Special is a cacophony of sweets and colors: leche flan, cheese, ube, beans. Red, yellow, purple.

 

They don't skimp on the sugar treats—which, unfortunately turns a bowl of halo-halo into a trough of cloying sweetness. The solution, I was told, was to ask for another bowl of nothing but the fine ice. Since the ice melts so handily, combining the two is easy and you end up with a dessert that is just right.

Cena Una

 

There are other opportunities for face-stuffing in Legazpi City, from pili nut treats to toasted siopao to Emong's Malunggay pan de sal (which you can find in Metro Manila, by the way).

 

Unfortunately, with just an afternoon available and only being able to eat this much, I missed a chance to stop by a restaurant that even the locals can't get enough of—Balay Cena Una in nearby Daraga town.

 

Housed in a restored ancestral home, the fare served is by no means everyday Albay fare. Not to be seen are the straight up Laing and the Bicol Express. Instead, you have a "Pinangat-inspired" Pasta Cena Una, which has a King Prawn among its ingredients. There is the Grilled Pork Chop with Caramelized Onions and Apples and the baked Prawns in Tilmok Sauce. For the last dish alone, a local told me, this restaurant was worth repeated trips.

 

Among the desserts, you can finish with the house special was the Cena Una Chocolate Cake.

 

Just thinking about it all makes me want to sling my pack back on and head back. I could do with another hop, skip, and a belch. — VC, GMA News

The media familiarization tour of Legazpi City and Misibis Bay was sponsored by Misibis Bay resort, currently managed by Enderun Hospitality Management.