Bicol’s iconic dish takes center stage

LONG LINE Children feast on “pinangat” laid on a long bamboo table during the Pinangat Festival in Camalig town, Albay province. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

CAMALIG, Albay— “Pinangat,” one of Bicol’s iconic dishes, took center stage here last week as hundreds of residents and visitors feasted on 3,000 of these delectable taro wraps prepared by local makers on a long bamboo table that stretched 600 meters from the town center to the national highway.

The event, called “the longest line of pinangat,” was a highlight of the celebration of this year’s Pinangat Festival on June 11 in Camalig, a third-class municipality (annual income: P35 million-P45 million) in Albay province with a population of over 63,000 (as of 2010 census), which has drawn fame from the dish.

Pinangat is made of “gabi” (taro) leaves wrapped around morsels of dried fish or pork and stewed in coconut milk, with or without chili pepper. Unwrapped, it is known as “laing.”

The festival, which has been going on for 15 years, showcased a variety of other locally made products and a parade. Last week, the municipal government decided for the first time to lay out the popular dish a la boodle fight and involve 35 pinangat makers.

“We need to value the makers because the pinangat dish is becoming famous not only in the Philippines but in the international market as well,” said Jed Villanueva, municipal tourism officer.

Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo said the pinangat-eating event was one way of promoting and recognizing the dish, which the municipality listed as its top offer under the Department of Trade and Industry’s “One Town, One Product” program.

Judith Solano, 37, who has been making and selling pinangat for 10 years, was among those honored during the event. “With this recognition, our morale is boosted and very much inspired to come up with a delicious product for the satisfaction of our customers and of our beloved town as well,” she said.

Domingo Negrete, 67, said that even though he had been eating home-cooked pinangat practically daily, he was still excited about the food. “I’m here because I would like to check and taste which of them were the most delicious and the hottest pinangat in town,” he said.

Albay tourism officer Dorothy Colle commended the officials of Camalig for coming up with the unique activity. “The idea of pinangat eating surely promoted the local culture,” she said.