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Did you know it is a norm in Filipino culture to bring home gifts when one returns from an out-of-town or -country trip? Homecoming travelers give these gifts, or pasalubong, to family and friends waiting to welcome them back home.
If you are in Cebu, Philippines, or planning to visit the island, you'll be delighted to know it's loaded with must-try native delicacies. The snackable treats on this list are all packaged foods with a long shelf life — so you can pack them cleanly and bring them home still fresh and delish!
Whether you're looking for something filling or comforting, sweet or salty, or chewy or crunchy, here are some Cebuano local delicacies that will thrill your taste buds and give you a piece of Cebu to bring back home.
1. Dried mangoes
Top of our list is the world-famous dried mangoes. This tropical delicacy is handpicked from the island's best mangoes, which undergo a special process of drying, sweetening, and preservation. Cebu dried mangoes are regularly exported to many countries worldwide. This favorite snack item is lusciously sweet, chewy, and juicy — plus, it packs a punch of vitamins and fiber!
2. Otap
Another Cebuano delicacy you should know about is the otap. This oval-shaped, sugar-coated biscuit has been likened to French palmier cookies. The otap is thinly and tightly layered, making it light but also crusty and crispy. Its magic lies in how it readily melts in the mouth, leaving a satisfying sweet taste that keeps you wanting more.
3. Rosquillos
Rosquillos take their name from the Spanish word rosca, which means 'ring.' And true enough, these are flat round butter cookies with a ring-shaped hole in the center. These home-baked goodies are light-brown, crunchy, and moderately sweet. Rosquillos are perfect whether for an early-morning snack with a hot cup of joe or a late-afternoon munch with a cold glass of soda. Yum!
4. Chicharron sa Carcar
When Cebuanos mention chicharron, Carcar comes to mind. It can't be helped that this municipality makes a sinfully good version of this popular pork rind snack. Carcar is especially famous for its crispy pork belly chicharron, which still has a strip of meat, compared to the classic pork skin chicharron.
Many Pinoys like to dip their chicharron in vinegar or chili sauce; some eat it as a part of a regular meal, and others use it as a garnish for soup dishes. More popularly, it is eaten as finger food (pulutan) during beer o'clock. You can find Chicharron sa Carcar in plain, salty, spicy, and other flavors.
5. Masareal
Who knew finely ground peanuts make for a perfectly satisfying snack? Masareal (masa, dough; real, fine) originated in Mandaue City, Cebu. This humble delicacy is made with simple ingredients, mainly peanuts, milk, and sugar.
Masareal is tender and melts in the mouth in a rich paste of sweet peanut flavor. This nutty confection is well-loved as comfort food, and it's pretty easy to spot in supermarkets or anywhere with its traditional white paper packaging.
6. Ampao
You might think of Ampao as rice krispies - Pinoy version. Rice is cooked, sun-dried, and deep-fried in oil to make ampao. It's also sugar glazed to make for a crunchy, sticky-sweet, and incredibly filling snack.
This sweet puffed rice snack is usually rectangular-shaped and white-colored, but you can also find it in exciting hues of pink, green, and other variants. Add in an extra ingredient of roasted peanuts, and it's a match made in heaven!
7. Bocarillo
Bocarillo are chewy coconut strip candies. They are made from the "meat" of mature coconuts and caramelized in sugar. These candied coconut strips crystallize to give the bocarillo its distinct flower petal shape.
This delicacy is yet another product that's distinctly Carcar. Bocarillo in Carcar are famously multicolored, and the pink, white, yellow, and green variants are familiar specialties.
Conclusion
You know what they say — the best way to know a city is to eat its food! With these local delicacies, you can let the folks back home know you remembered them while you were on the road and also give them a piece of Cebu they weren't able to experience.
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