Of strawberries, guitars and piayas

In the Philippines, each province prides itself with its own local delicacies and handicrafts which are perfect ideas for pasalubongs. For instance, you have those handcrafted wooden sculptures, hand-woven sweaters and shawls, fresh strawberries and peanut brittle from Baguio. How about Cebu? Well, you can’t get enough of their yummy danggit, otap, dried mangoes and crispy chicharon from Carcar. The nearby island of Mactan is famous for its guitars and ukuleles and you can see these carried by tourists in the airport who usually buy more than one.

My big bro’s family in Mactan would always remind us to bring them piaya, being one of Bacolod’s famous native delicacies. They were a bit disappointed when we failed to bring them some packs during one of our recent trips to Cebu. Another pasalubong that always bring a smile to our faces are the packs of yummy puto from Manapla given by Tita D every time they drop by our home.