A Taste of Malabon: Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012

Yesterday, I have witnessed the launching of the Malabon Kulinarya Festival at Dampa sa Paseo which was held in celebration of the city’s 413^th Foundation Day. 

 Malabon Kulinarya Festival

Actually, it was my first time to visit Malabon and I was more than happy to be invited in this festival. Why? Because I’d like to know what it’s like to have a taste of Malabon and to learn more about the unique Malabon cooking style.

Honestly, I only know  two things Malabon is famous for: Pansit Malabon and their bilaos with colorful swirls of kakanin from Dolor's. But then, I discovered almost a hundred of homegrown dishes and delicacies from Malabon like pichi-pichi, pork binagoongan, okoy, lumpiang hubad, ginataang labong, and a lot more. It showcased the diversity of its rich culinary tradition. All the dishes were prepared and presented with a distinct touch and flavor of Malabon.

The food festival  is one of  the highlights of the month-long celebration of the 413^th Malabon Foundation Day.  In the opening speech of Acting City Mayor Lenlen Oreta, he explained that they want to share the culinary wonders and distinct taste of Malabon dishes to more people in the country through this festival. He also cited the innate talents and expertise of people in Malabon in the field of food  preparation and culinary arts. It is heartening to see that the officials are making such great efforts in maintaining its distinct food culture despite the continuous increase in the number of fast food chains in the city and impact of urbanization.

Ms. Annie Pascual-Guerrero

There was a cooking demo which was spearheaded by Ms. Annie Pascual-Guerrero, the founder of Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) and a native of Malabon.

She was assisted by Chef Mira Cruz who is also originally from Malabon. They demonstrated how to cook Sumpia and Adobong Pusit Malabon style.



The sumpia which is actually a "lumpia" were made of spring rolls with suahe or shrimps and assorted vegetables like cabbage,carrots, green beans, and kamote, added with ground roasted peanuts and sugar.

Not being a native of Malabon, I didn't know any of them so almost everything there was new to me.  And with a great number of vendors and booths lined up, there was a lot of eating and munching.   I didn't even know where to start digging, there were so many great food to try. 

Mind you, the amount of food was so overwhelming and it was very hard to sample everything all in one go. However, being the consummate foodie that I am, I managed to try just about everything I wanted to try. I elbowed my way to the crowd, grabbed tasty tidbits at every turn and get pretty full in the process. The food is TDF!


Some of the highlights of the food fest include:

Cheesy embutido

Chicken teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki from Jack’s food  haus. So far, this is the most tasty interpretation of chicken teriyaki that I can remember having. 

Judy Ann’s crispy pata. You gotta try it my dear, and I'm pretty sure your palate will be in a happy, happy place. Just, please, don't overeat or else... lol

I forgot the name of this dish ( My bad. Signs of aging, I guess. ) but I didn't forget the taste. The distinct taste is what made it memorable. Delish.

Nanay’s pancit Malabon. 

Nanay's broas, which I didn't get to try. Sadly, it was gone in 60 seconds.

Empananay's Empanada. Now this.. this is my baby girl's favorite. The owner was real sweet to give me a box of ham & cheese empanada. Maia loved them! As for me, I could eat this empanada all day. Good God, they were freaking tasty and how I wish they have a branch here in Mandaluyong, right next where we live.



Ginataang labong. This was the first time I've tried it so I didn't know what to expect, but it didn't disappoint. It was cooked just right and the gata was very flavorful.



I'm going nuts with this peanut butter. Soooo creamy.



I am not a big fan of puto or rice cakes, but these rice cakes changed my mind. lol These were soft, spongy and filled with so much flavor.


Other sweet and delectable attractions are the ff:



I just had one bite of this sweet treat and I'm still in the process of biting, chewing and swallowing it. I think I gotta have another bite for me to relish the sweet taste and texture of this cake. lol






These chocolate chip cookies had a great taste in the wonderful world of cookies. It was chewy, with crunchy edges and blended flavor. It'll definitely give a sensuous rush for chocoholic like me.

I couldn't get over this Turon pinipig. Surprisingly delicious. In fact, I loved it so much that I actually went back for seconds. This one is not to be missed!

Too bad I wasn't able to try the other dishes and just as I was nearing food coma after the food-tasting, we were invited for a sumptuous lunch at the VIP room with Mayor Lenlen Oreta. The lunch was delish. The pork binagoongan and lumpiang hubad were my favorites plus my all-time fave sapin-sapin from Dolor's and Arny-Dading's Peachy-Peachy.

Malabon is truly a place where you can experience the best lugaw, crispy pata, pancit, sumpia and other sweet delicacies without hurting your pockets. It has a lot to offer more than its famous Pancit malabon and it is up to us, guys, to discover these potentials when we travel to Malabon.

On a side note, there will also be a cooking contest on that seeks to discover and develop new talent in the field of cooking on May 21, 2012, to be held at the Malabon Amphitheater.

Overall, it was a fantastic food festival for food lovers young and old and it’s been such a pleasure coming  to this event.  It was a brilliant day, an awesome lunch, and great opportunity to enjoy good quality food with my fellow foodie bloggers, as well as discover new dishes from the city of Malabon. It was a far place for me to visit but it was totally worth it. There was not one dish I didn't like! That said, thanks and much love to Mhel of http://www.certifiedfoodies.com for the invite, I look forward to the next one. :)

So guys, get your grub on at Malabon and go on a hometown feast for all your senses.