Adto na 'ta

The second item on my list of comfort foods is:  The Buko Pie.  When you go down south of Manila especially in Laguna , you will notice many ambulant vendors selling this, specially to bus riders.  This is a very common and tasty " pasalubong " when somebody is coming from Laguna area.  For Filipinos, bringing a present from where we went for a trip or holiday is part of our culture.  It seems odd if we don't get anything for the people awaiting our arrival and this is what we call 'pasalubong'.   Buko pie from Laguna is almost like a trademark of the province.   Laguna is not only known for being the hometown of our national hero , but it is also known for many delicacies, topping the list of these delicacies is the buko pie. Its main ingredient is of course the flesh of the buko, which is a young coconut when the "flesh" is still soft and tender.   It is best eaten when it is hot and fresh from the oven, and its sweetness goes well with ...

Filipinos are fond of eating.  As a matter of fact, we eat 6 or even 7 times a day.  We have breakfast, lunch and supper and in-between-meal refreshments .  Sometimes, we have a small meal before a big breakfast.  In the Visayas, they call it, " painit ".   We find a lot of reasons to celebrate and prepare food.  We have different food for different occasions, events and gatherings.  And we also have comfort foods.  These are foods that are associated to feeling a sense of contentment or home or anything that's familiar to us, like our childhood.  The Ilocos Empanada is one of the food that I consider comfort food.    It is a treat I give myself when I am in the pleasure of the company of friends. Nowadays, we can see a few stalls that sell Ilocos empanada in Quezon City, but this specialty originated from the Ilocos Region as its name would imply   There is empanada from Vigan and Batac (which is also called Laoag em...