A Quick Stop in Roxas City

President’s Hotel, Roxas City—As a chef one of the most fascinating places in terms of ingredients, particularly seafood, would be Roxas City. We got to check in right in the center of the business area in a charming and friendly hotel called President’s Hotel on Roxas St. where there is a rather large collection of nostalgia and vintage pieces with every room being named after a President. Roxas City Public Market—The Roxas City Public Market is quite an exciting place to drop by daily because one will never know what is sold since the variety of seafood would range from small to big catches and harvests. On a first visit we were able to buy a lot of scallops and large brackish to freshwater eels. A rather rare mangrove snapper called Manga-gat though dark and rather ugly is known love to eat. Tomatoes here are more green than ripened and their chilies which look like cayenne but are milder and more flavorful when they are red and ripened shows lots of potentials for Asian and Mediterranean cooking.

The early Sunday market scene is very rustic in atmosphere with live young pigs weighed, sold, and carried off with their shrill squeals. Women lay out shellfish and jumping shrimps with pre-brushed fresh oysters as many are stripping and cleaning takway or young taro shoots. The scent of ricecakes, caramelizing coconut mixes with the wood smoke emanating from the bibingka makers who carry a metal drawer they top this oven with wood that smolders on the early chill of the morning.

The bibingkas differ from maker to maker such as some are doughy and bready while some are chewier because