 |
| (Image Source: Facebook/Lipa Status) |
Republic of Taste, a new book showcasing the finest local cuisine from
different parts of the country, paid a visit to the city of Lipa after the
celebration of its 72nd year anniversary as part of its book tour
which was held last June 21, 2019 at the SM City Lipa Event Center and shone
the spotlight on Batangueño cuisine. Gracing the said occasion are two renouned
chefs Nina Daza and Nina Maralit who have showcased some of the modern ways of
cooking through a demonstration.
Nina Daza, daughter of veteran chef and restauranteur Nora Daza, showed
spectators how a foreign recipe can be naturalized as a Filipino dish. Using a fried
and crisped molo wrapper as crust and lumpiang
gulay as toppings, Daza showcased how she turned an Italian dish into Filipino
food. It captured the irk of the book's author and advocate of Filipino culture
Ige Ramos which intimidately asked, "How do we make this food Filipino?"
On the other hand, Maralit showed how to pickle the green mango and discussed
the importance of having a Filipino cooking dictionary. The food consultant for
some of the city's well-loved cafes including Cafe de Lipa exemplified the
words nilabon and nilaga that while the ladder can be used
for nilabong itlog and nilabong saging, it can't be used for nilabong baboy or nilabong baka.
Since the Republic of Taste book tour in Lipa City focuses mostly on
Batangueño cuisine, some of the provinces' best tasting delicacies were showcased
all throughout the event including lomi,
gotong Batangan, sinaing na tulingan, and tamales ng Ibaan. It just so happens that the tour in Lipa was the
final stop on the Republic of Taste book tour as it has already made stops
since March 8th across several SM Supermalls in South Luzon including Bacoor,
Rosario, Lucena, San Pablo and Naga. This was one intriguing event that I
didn't know it happened, but I would imagine myself taking a trip at the tour
and read the book afterwards.
Authored by award winning
book designer, visual artist and food writer Ige Ramos, Republic of Taste is now
available at all National Bookstore and PowerBooks branches nationwide. You may
also shop online at www.nationalbookstore.com.ph.
