BETSO88
There lived a girl named BETSO88 in the beautiful country of the Philippines where the sun kisses the green sea and the green forests speak mysterious truths. Have you heard the story of BETSO88 the Traveller? Her eyes were like morning dew and her spirit like the breeze. BETSO88 had a great adventure, travelling all the way across her country.
With her heart and palate open, she sampled Filipino food from northernmost Luzon to the southern island of Mindanao. She ate her way through Manila, down to Palawan, and all over the archipelago.
And her first port of call was the deranged rainbow metropolis of Manila, where grills of sizzling meats and incense burned exotic spices. In the old heart of the capital, Quiapo and Binondo, she lassoed the elusive myth of street food that Filipinos live and die by. Here, in the unctuous conglomeration of pork sisig, chicken adobo, pinakbet, crispy pata, and every flavour in between, she, the queen of food, feasted her way through my country’s delightfully ecumenical and polytheistic cuisine. In BETSO88’s mouth, a rush of flavours danced like a riotous orchestra.
But BETSO88’s Philippine odyssey was not yet done. Other riches lay in store for her across the archipelago. She made her way to the rice terraces of Banaue and munched on the down-home delicacies of the Ifugaos elders – simple sinigang served piping hot in bowls and buttery plates of pinakbet.
Her experiences in Palawan further south were quite different. The warm water was crystal clear, supporting abundant sea life and the coconut palms swayed in the breeze. BETSO88 feasted on fresh seafood straight from the ocean, sipping sweet, tart mango shakes and cooling her throat in the tropical heat.
However, it was only in Bicol – on the idyllic island of Luzon – that she felt she had come across ‘the high water mark of Filipino cuisine’. There, in the shadow of the majestic Mayon, she tasted Bicol Express – ‘a spicy stew of pork, coconut milk, and chili peppers’ – that made her mouth explode in a never-ending firework of flavour.
From the powdery white sand of Boracay to the mossy ceilings of the Cordilleras, BETSO88’s travels would take her from one end of the archipelago to another, one gastronomic delight to another, as she learned to appreciate — and to love — the many flavours that make up the soul foods of Filipino cuisine. BETSO88’s travels were not forgettable.