Pangasinan Food Tour 2014: Mangaldan

Undying Filipino staple

One of the things that define our mornings as Filipinos is the undying breakfast staple, tapsilog, which stands for tapa, sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg).

Over the years and after several experimental touches, new versions have been concocted served as hearty meals to start the day of the hardworking Filipino. We started eating longsilog (longanisa, sinangag at itlog), tocilog (tocino, sinangag at itlog), bangsilog (bangus, sinangag at itlog) and other combinations dished up by the practical Filipino kusinero.

Mama Cela, however, stuck to tapa and made a living out of this original Pinoy pride. Mangaldan is a town in Pangasinan known for tapa. While others continue to sell the product in the public market, Mama Cela has stood out, established a one-stop shop for her products at the heart of the town, and became an empress of meat products and more.

Tapa, strips of beef, or carabao meat that are salted and seasoned, is what Mangaldan is known for. Ask where you can find the best tapa in Pangasinan and everyone will surely point you to this town.

Pangasinan Food Tour 2014: Laoac

A basket of sweet treats

It may be the youngest town in Pangasinan, but Laoac seems to have mastered the art of making their delicacies through hundreds of years of practice.

At our second stop during the Pangasinan Food Tour 2014, we were delighted to fill our stomach with sweet treats from Laoac. Their close to unique presentation of two of the most famous Pangasinan rice cakes proves to be a good quality of the town one will find admirable.

True, they might not have originated from Laoac, but their tupig and patopat can be considered one of the best. The town dared to be different and has been successful enough in its feat.

Pinalaka nga pag-text kadwa ni Dextr (Texting made easier with Text with Dextr)

Bagla ketdin,  maisa finger friendly nga keyboard para smartphones ken tablet. Nagado nariing nga smartphone owners interot lubong nga pakiramdam da ket haan isudo nauteken. Diba dapat nalaklaka ngem dagijay imununa nga cellphone? Apay ajay pindutan na ket nagbaset ngem idjay dalirek? Apay haan ko mai-tayp ajay naglaka nga sarita nga haan ko mapinpindot mali nga litra? Anya ajay nagrigat nga keyboard? QWERTY? Kwanko, WTF!

Dextr ket a Chile-based nga tech start up, nangipakilala ito balo nga keyboard, inararamed kasatno nalaklaka nga ag-tayp idjay smartphone ken tablet, napartak, nag-simple, ken nalalaing. Its radical innovation? kasla alpabeto nga layout. Wen, ABCD haan nga QWERTY. Dextr, redesigned ajay texting experience from scratch, adda flexible layouts nga para lima nga daliri, duwa nga hinlalaki ken maysa nga numero typing. Adda met iti features para kanyada nga kanwigid nga agsursurat. Maliban iti familiar alphabetic layout nga nalaka nga adalin iti users, adda met iti Dextr nga sakto tan size ken button spacing, napartak ken accurate nga predictive text systems idjay maket.

Imbaga ni john lambie, founder iti Dextr nga, "Iti makitkita mi nga maaramid dagitoy teknolihiya ket nalaka nga usaren iti amin nga tat tao. No dagado nga oras iti masapsapol you gapo laeng nga biruken iti "A" no "B" o ajay "C" nga pagpindutan na tapno maka-text, maka-tweet, maka-search, maka-chat, makaaramid iti email, maka-post, maka-comment o maka-tag, haan ka nga nalaing ah idta smartphone mo."

"Kaadwan nga managusar iti cellphone ket naiulo dan ata nga alphabetic key arrangement. Isu nga us-usaren da iti mano nga taon. Insulto garud kanyada nga pilitem isuda nga pagadalan ata nga makabutbuteng nga QWERTY system. Agdamag ka -- kaadwan nga tao ket addo nga aldaw iti masapol na tapno maiulo amin, mano nga bolan o taon. Apaya gamin ket ata nalaka nga sistema laengen iti pagadalan iti mano nga minuto? Apaya ket haan nga ata nga nalaka nga sistema iti nalaka nga ipakita kenyada tapno mabibiit, mas nalaka, mas bassit iti pagkakamali.

"Araramiden tayo ket atoy nga eksamin idtoy lubong: Kenya, Nigeria, China, India, Turkey, Vietnam, Venezuela, Argentina... Kala kastoy, adda agus usar idtoy Pilipinas nga naparpartak nga agtext, naparpartek ngem 99.9 porsyento idtoy planeta -- awan maadalan, mano laeng nga bulan nga usaren!"

Ata market iti aplikasyon iti touchscreen ket iso ti kaykayat iti tao isu nga ado gumatgatang. Uray ket nagrigat iti agtype idta touchscreen nga kasla met lang iti nakadakkelan tayo nga keyboard ken isu iti kaykayat da.

Of-offeran na ni Mr Lambie ni Dextr libre nga pagdownload para ayanti Android Smartphones and tablets. Available idtoy: http://www.textwithdextr.com/?lang=es.

Translated by Anna Khristina Orpilla and Anissa Natalie Meridith Pascua

Pangasinan Food Tour 2014: Alcala

When noodles become a healthy option

Innovations in technology have been prominent these past years. Everyone has always been enlightened on their benefits and the cool features these innovations entail.

What we sometimes miss are innovations being done on food.

We've always known noodles are unhealthy—that's a fact. Despite this, however, we still eat noodles during snack time. Sometimes, we even substitute a pack or cup of noodles to our lunch and dinner. This leads to the conclusion that noodles have been a part of our lives and removing it from our diet, though unhealthy, is a hard thing to do.

But, why do we have to quit eating noodles if something can be done to make it a healthy option?

Blessed year of savory mix

Whoa! Time is indeed quick! Year 2013 is over and we’re now greeted by 2014—another year of happiness and laughter, of sadness and pain, of excitement and energy.

When 2013 started, I wrote an entry on my previous blog about words describing each month of 2012. Now, I’m listing down 13 of the most significant and unforgettable events and experiences I went through and dealt with last year. We're now more than halfway through January, but I hope this post isn't late yet.

Tasting Pangasinan

In my last post, I talked about how wonderful it is to learn about stories of people you meet when travelling. Isn’t it heart-warming to feel how comfortable they are in sharing with you, a person whom they’ve just met, some of the most significant fragments of their lives?

This time, though, I won’t be talking about another story I was enlightened on during another travel. But this post is something about one of the most exciting activities you can do when travelling—food trip.

Cela's Tapa and Meat Products' version of the ever famous pigar-pigar. You can find that in Mangaldan, Pangasinan.

A story carried by the wind

Most tourists only find cool destinations, extreme adventures, scenic views and picturesque landscapes in places they visit. Little do they know that there are stories waiting to be told; simple realities that touch a heart and draw a curve on the lips. Simple realities made more alive by the characters figuring in every story.

One of these is the story of Aling Rosa—a story we learned about during our taping in one of the places we featured on Traveldotcom.