Food is one of the main motivators for tourists to visit a certain place. You won’t be visiting a Café to just experience its ambience wouldn’t it? Of course you’ll also want to try and taste their best of the best menu and capture it for the Gram’. It is the same when you are travelling to famous attractions and destinations, to perfect that travel experience you will also try to taste that certain destination’s famous and mouth-watering dishes and delicacies. Kalibo is known for its famous Ati- Atihan Festival which is considered as the mother of all Philippine Festival, also it is known as the main transportation hub to the pristine island of Boracay. But do you ever think of exploring Kalibo for not just its amazing attractions and events, but also because of its foods? In this article I will take you to a food trip and introduce the vibrant, tasty, and unique dishes and delicacies that is worth trying and a must that will make you want to visit this Vibrant City of Kalibo!
The most unique and a dare- worthy food that you can try here in Kalibo is the “Tamilok”, this is an elongated clam or a wood worm that is found in Bakhawan Eco- Park and is living in a dying bakhaw tree stumps in the mangrove forest. They have a designated place to raise this wood worms which they named as Tamilok Culture located at the end of the Bakhawan. After your eco- walk in the 1 kilometer pathway bridge that features a wide stretch of thick mangrove plantation and arrive at the end of the path where you can enjoy the breathtaking view of the beach, you can now try this dare- worthy food. You can try it cooked but trying it raw is much of a challenge wouldn’t it? It looks very unfamiliar which makes it exotic but its taste is somewhat similar to talaba or alimango. The staff will give you a short tour to how they remove it from the tree and clean it. You can also ask the staff there to where you can try cooked Tamilok dishes like grilled tamilok, Kalibo Express (a spicy dish like Bicol Express), and the saucy tinuom na tamilok. Despite how it looks, it is very clean and have that distinct seafood taste, it still has that unique flavor that differs it from talaba. It’s even more delicious if you dip it to their offered saw-sawan (sauce), which is composed of vinegar and some spices. Eating it raw is the best to add to your experience, it also goes really well with rice and eating it by hand of course!
The next must try food here in Kalibo is the “Inubarang Manok”, which is a signature native dish here in Aklan. It is a stew-like dish which is composed of native chicken and “ubad” (the core of a banana stalk) that is cooked in gata (coconut milk) and lemongrass. You can try this local dish in Saylo Cuisine located in Andagao, this restaurant is famous for serving authentic Aklanon dishes and have over 30 dishes in their menu. It is also available in multiple restaurants here in Kalibo.
Another unique Kalibonhon/ Aklanon dish is the “Linapay”, which is composed of pounded ‘ueang’ (freshwater shrimp) and gawud (young coconut flesh), which is wrapped in gutaw (taro) leaves and then cooked in coconut milk. It is available on the wet market and restaurants, but we locals usually buy it from a neighborhood seller who goes around houses and shouts “li—na—pay—“. It is a perishable food that needs to be eaten on the same day it was cooked which is why it is usually offered to neighborhood houses. You can try this dish on multiple restaurants in Kalibo, it also available in Saylo Cuisine.
The dish that you should not really miss trying while you’re in Kalibo is their signature “Binakol nga Manok”. It is an Aklanon native chicken dish that is cooked inside of a fresh bamboo together with onion, lemongrass, and eabihig leaves (a common souring ingredient). The earthy/ nutty flavor of the bamboo infused with the spices and the chicken broth gives the dish a unique kalibonhon/ aklanon taste.
Kalibo has a sweet version of longganisa that marked in various nearby cities and provinces. You can buy this as pasalubong together with other processed food like chorizo, tocino and embutido. They also offer a variety of rice- based delicacies, you can try their steamed glutinous rice with coconut milk and is wrapped in coconut leaves called “Ibos”. They also have “Suman”, one of the oldest authentic Filipino delicacies. There is also the “Ambueong” or “Ambolong Suman”, instead of rice flour the ingredient use is a native palm flour, this is widely eaten in Aklan. And “Latik”, a glutinous rice cake that is topped with caramelized coconut strands. “Cassava Bicho- Bicho” (caramelized fried cassava cake) and “Cassava Pichi- Pichi” (cassava cake with grated cheese) is also famous here in Kalibo. Most of this delicacies are available on the local market and pasalubong centers.
There is more to Kalibo’s foods and delicacies but these are the must try and the food that you should not miss while you are here in Kalibo. Trying these foods means having a taste of the authentic Aklanon and Kalibonhon cuisine, so visit Kalibo and taste these mouth- watering dishes to taste our Aklanon culinary heritage!
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