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| Inubarang manok sold at a carinderia in Kalibo |
Days before I went to Aklan, I asked my frequent traveler friends about where, in its capital municipality and gateway Kalibo, could I sample Aklanon food. “Try Saylo Cuisine,” suggested by a fellow travel blogger. Saylo, according to him, serves authentic Aklanon dishes.
So, from Aklan's local museum, Museo it Akean, where I learned a lot about the delicacies through its galleries and stories from its friendly staff, I hailed a tricycle to take me to the said restaurant. But, unfortunately, where Saylo supposedly stood was now occupied by a samgyeopsal house. It had ceased operation even before the pandemic, according to the waitress from that Korean barbecue restaurant.
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| Pastrana Park in Kalibo, Aklan |
The museum stands at an intersection, right across Kalibo Cathedral and the town’s main plaza called Pastrana Park. It is in these crisscrossing streets where the Ati-atihan dancers and revelers converge during festival. Along the adjacent avenue, at the back of the cathedral, I found some of the local dishes I was looking for: inubarang manok, laswa and chorizo de Kalibo, being served at the carinderias that stand abreast.
Inubarang manok—“inubaran” meaning “cooked with ubad”—is a version of ginataang manok (chicken cooked in coconut milk). Native chicken meat, shredded core of a banana stalk (locally called "ubad"), gata (coconut milk), lemongrass, and libas leaves (Spondias pinnata) used as the souring agent, are the main ingredients needed to whip up this chicken stew that is truly Aklanon.
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| A small serving of inubarang manok |
Laswa, on the other hand, is the sinabawang gulay (vegetable soup) of Western Visayas region, similar to the dinengdeng of the Ilocanos, but milder in taste.
“Baka mahirapan po kayong hanapin yung ibang dish, yung iba madalas sine-serve lang kapag may okasyon” (You may find it difficult to look for some of the dishes, because some of them are usually served only during special occasions), said our museum guide when I asked him about Aklanon cuisine.
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| A bowl of laswa |
Such a dish was binakol (or binakoe), also of native chicken (usually young ones), lemongrass and souring leaves like in the inubaran, but binakol is traditionally cooked in a bamboo vessel. It is a steamy sour soup dish comparable to the sinigang of the Tagalogs.
I ordered inubarang manok and laswa for an early lunch. For dessert, there is Aklan’s wide variety of kakanin (rice cakes) and where to find these local delights, said the museum guide, was inside Kalibo’s public market, which was a five-minute tricycle ride from the carinderias.
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| At the kakanin section of Kalibo Public Market |
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I braved the searing market alleys to check the local kakanin section. Inday-inday, made of ground sticky rice with bukayo (sweetened coconut) filling; inomoe, sticky rice cooked in coconut wine and wrapped in banana leaves; ibos, Aklan’s version of suman; and latik, rice cake topped with bukayo and wrapped in hagikhik leaves (Phrynium interruptum) are among the available finds. I bought them all.
I was not able to finish my kakanin haul in one sitting because of the heavy carinderia meal earlier, but they made a great midnight snack by the end of the day.
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| Chorizo de Kalibo |
The next morning, at the bus terminal before I left for the neighboring province of Antique, I had the salty sweet, rice-paired chorizo de Kalibo, the town’s version of longganisa (Philippine sausage), for breakfast.
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