1. Laing
When we visited Caramoan islands in Camarines Sur, tasting their very own and authentic dishes as part of our itinerary. I am not a chef or a cook but according to some friends, I have good and active taste buds. Taray diba??? For the first time I will be a food critic. First is the famous Laing. This is a spicy dish with dried taro leaves, siling labuyo, and coconut milk as the main ingredients. There's a linamanam factor and the texture is smooth inside my mouth.
2. Pinangat
Second dish is Pinangat - one of the Bicol's best. It looks very similar to Laing and honestly at first I didn't recognize which is which, I only used the coconut leaf as a marker. The texture is the same because main ingredients are the same. For pinangat, there's some sort of a sauce or sabaw than laing (which is dry.)
3. Sea Foods
Third, I really don't know what's the name of this dish. Cooked by our bangkero in Caramoan, these crabs look mouth watering. I asked him what's its name and how he cooked this deli but he just answered: "nilaga ko lang yan." I can't believe and am really curious because the crab meat tasted good; it seems that they were marinated first before cooking. Crab meat tasted great when dipped into a sauce (vinegar, soy and chili).
4. Sinigang
Not a native Bicolano Dish but, this delicacy was cooked by our bangkero, it's Sinigang. Tastes like sinigang but no vegetables and other flavors included - just fresh fish and tomatoes. Since the ingredients are still secret, I respect that and I thank Kuya for making such a sumptuous delicacy for us. The name of this dish remains unknown.
5. Sili Ice Cream
As what I mentioned, Bicolanos are prominent about using coconut milk and spicy foods, so they made a unique
dessert that showcases their culture and lifestyle. They add siling labuyo to
most of their dishes to make it hot and spicy. If you’re traveling to Bicol,
one of the must tried desserts is the cute-looking sili ice cream. It looks
cute but when you taste it, you’ll be speechless because of it discriminating
taste. There’s a level of spiciness, from 1 to 3, to gauge the capability of
your tongue. How does Sili Ice Cream taste? It’s really cold because it’s an
ice cream but as it melts inside your mouth, you’ll feel that there’s an after
taste of siling labuyo – hot flowing in your esophagus and to your stomach.