Village lays claim to ‘siomai’ fame

STREET performers brighten up the celebration of Barangay Tisa’s Siomai Festival in a bid to carve a niche distinctly its own. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Tisa, a barangay in Cebu City, has always been mistaken for its neighbor, Labangon. So when the village celebrated its fiesta on Sept. 18, it made sure visitors would know Tisa by holding its first Siomai Festival for 10 days to showcase its popular product—steamed pork dumpling.

Phillip Zafra, barangay chair of Tisa, said some residents would write down their address as “Tisa, Labangon” when paying their real property taxes, eventually depriving the village part of its share of the taxes.

“We are even bigger than Labangon (in terms of population),” he said. Based on the 2010 government census, Tisa had a population of 35,600, next only to Guadalupe (60,400).

The original

Tisa has been the destination for “siomai” lovers in Cebu. The steamed pork dumplings are sold on roadside stalls for P7 apiece, served with chili sauce and calamansi as perfect pair for hot steaming rice.

People simply call “Siomai sa Tisa” the dumplings which are distinct from other products for the chili sauce made of minced garlic, chopped chili pepper and cooking oil. The name stuck as brand identity.

Siomai sa Tisa has become so popular that other vendors claim that their dumplings are the ones made by Julmer Food Ventures, a company owned by Julie and Elmer Parba who developed the popular siomai. To distinguish its products from copycats, it decided to use “The Original Siomai sa Tisa” as a brand.

The Parbas started making siomai in 2001 through their exclusive dealer, Jeffrey Quillosa, who was then operating a “halo-halo” food outlet in Tisa, Julie said. Six months later, the siomai has become popular, gaining pa tronage not only from Tisanons but also from people all over Metro Cebu

Festival activities

The popularity was a pleasant surprise for the couple. Now, local officials are capitalizing on it to promote the barangay.

The Siomai Festival kicked off with siomai-making contests in the morning, and street party and fireworks display in the evening. Other activities included a boxing bout, the search for Festival Queen 2015, a singing competition, a sports competition dubbed Pinoy Palaro and the 2nd Karatedo Tournament.

In the street dancing contest, members of 13 contingents were dressed in colorful costumes and used props representing siomai. Tribu Kalanggaman won the grand prize and received P50,000, as well as two special awards for best in costume and best in musicality.

Tribu Zumbahanon placed second and got P30,000. They also won best in street dancing. Tribu Mauswagon of Zone 5 was third (P20,000).

Investment area

Aside from promoting Tisa as the “Siomai Capital of Cebu,” Zafra said he was optimistic that the festival would showcase the barangay as an investment place.

When he assumed office in 2013, Zafra said he wanted to increase the barangay’s income. In 2013, its internal revenue allotment share was P13 million and in 2014, P17 million. The amount is expected to be P22 million this year.

Tisa has been attracting investments, including a mall, a convenience store, a restaurant and a resort at the lower South Hills.

Zafra said he wanted to spread development to the other areas in the barangay. He said the council was negotiating with owners of a vacant property where stalls selling siomai and other foodstuff would be put up.

The festival also instills a sense of belongingness among the residents, he said.