10 Drool-Worthy Delicacies to Try in Negros Occidental

(SPOT.ph) A visit to Negros Occidental is like stepping right into a crossroads of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, and distinctly Negrense cuisines. Though the province has dishes that are shared with most other places in the Philippines like lechon, inihaw na manok, and kinilaw, these are given their own twist.

Lechon is oftentimes flavored with batwan, a souring agent used in Panay and Negros; kinilaw has salted egg mixed into the vinegar; and their own version of grilled chicken, the chicken inasal, includes atsuete in its marinade and basting sauce. Its long history with the Spanish and Chinese has seen dishes like empanada and lumpia seep into the local culinary scene and given their own Negrense flair.

Every trip then to Negros Occidental is not only a step back to Spanish colonial times, it’s also a peek into the gastronomic wonders of a province with a proud culinary culture. So when in Sugarlandia, here are some of the dishes and delicacies you absolutely must have a taste of.

Also read: Catch Some of the Best Negrense Eats at This Year's Negros Trade Fair in Makati

The Negrense food not to miss when in Negros Occidental:

Chicken Inasal

No food guide to Negros Occidental is complete without chicken inasal. This Pinoy favorite is especially popular in Bacolod where there is a dedicated Manokan Country right across SM Bacolod.

Since 1980, inasal vendors have come together on this strip of land to sell not just chicken thigh or breast, but every part possible—isaw (intestines), baticolon (gizzard), atay (liver), puso (heart), and isol (ass). For the marinade, garlic, soy, vinegar, salt, atsuete, and sometimes Sprite, are used. The meat is then skewered and roasted over hot coals before being served on a banana leaf. Its signature yellowish color derives from its basting sauce which is atsuete based.

The Hiligaynon word inasal means “grilled” and can pertain to any food, not only chicken, that is first skewered then grilled. When in Bacolod, make sure to try the chicken inasal at the Chicken House and Gina’s Seafood Restaurant where you can also get excellent seafood.

Piaya

This unleavened flatbread is a popular delicacy across Negros Occidental. It’s usually filled with muscovado but in recent years it has seen some exciting transformations. There are ube-flavored ones and those with mangosteen and durian fillings.

In the upcoming Negros Trade Fair this September, chorizo piaya will be making its debut at the Ereñeta-Manaloto Chorizo de Bacolod booth. During the trade’s pre-launch for the media held in Bacolod from September 5 to 7, participants were given a taste of this one-of-a-kind piaya that strikes the perfect balance between savory and sweet. Who knew that piaya and chorizo could go so well?

Though usually already pre-packaged when bought, piaya is best eaten fresh off the griddle when you’ve got the chance. A branch of Bongbong’s in Mandalagan, Bacolod has its own fresh piaya station outside the main shop where you can buy and feast on these goodies while still soft and warm.

Napoleones

Napoleones is a buttery puff pastry layered in between with a smooth custard filling. Local lore has it that Conchita Conlu-Cuenca, who comes from a family of sugar plantation owners, was the one who invented the recipe.

After a visit to France during the off-milling season, Conlu-Cuenca had a taste of either a mille-feuille or croissant. She loved it so much that she tried to recreate it with a Negrense twist, making it sweeter with the addition of custard and topping it off with a sugar glaze in homage to the province’s sugar fields. She called it Napoleones after Napoleon Bonaparte and made it into bite-sized pieces so it can be easily consumed while enjoying a game of mahjong. 

The very first commercial production of Napoleones was by Roli’s of Bacolod, a fusion of the names of sisters Romualda and Lilia Locsin, who acquired the recipe from their cousin Conchita’s cook with her permission.

If you’re visiting Bacolod, you can get napoleones from pasalubong shops/bakeries like Roli’s, Merczi, Bongbong’s, and Virgie’s Homemade Products. In Manila, you can get your napoleones fix from Quan Native Delicacies in Makati and Roli’s in Quezon City.

Kinilaw

The city of Sagay is synonymous with kinilaw. In fact, this love affair with this beloved dish and pulutan gave birth to the city’s pride—kinilaw master Vicente “Enting” Lobaton.

Enting makes kinilaw that’s so divine, it caught the eye of renowned food figures that include Doreen Fernandez (who wrote about him in an essay) and Susan Calo-Medina (who featured him in her travel show). Fans of the dish would even go on a pilgrimage to Sagay to meet him and taste his creations.

A true blue kinilaw virtuoso, Lobaton learned from his father who taught him how to make the dish in the simplest, most straightforward way—slicing up freshly caught fish or seafood, washing it using seawater, and flavoring it up with garnishings. Enting perfected his craft through experience and a singular discerning taste.

When in the city make sure to drop by Enting’s Special of Sagay restaurant where you must try his signature crab, prawn, and squid kinilaw. His fish kinilaw made from tanigue, tuna, or other fresh catch are out of this world, too.

El Ideal’s Guapple Pie

El Ideal is such a Negrense food icon that it deserves a special shoutout. Silay’s oldest bakery serves some of the province’s best pastries from cookies and breads to cakes and Ilonggo dishes.

What put this humble bakery on the culinary map, however, is its Guapple Pie. This one-of-a-kind twist on the classic Western apple pie is so well-loved in the city that every local you meet will recommend that you try it at least once.

The filling is made of guapples, or oversized guavas, with a dash of cinnamon. The crust is crisp, flaky, and pleasantly crumbles as soon as you sink your teeth in it. It’s not too sweet—which is why, before you know it, you’ll find yourself reaching for your third or fourth serving. Top it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream for an even more indulgent treat.

Fresh Lumpia

One can’t go to Silay City without having a taste of their fresh lumpia. Always prepared fresh in the morning, usually with the coconut tree felled only hours before preparation for the sweetest, juiciest ubod. It’s then sauteed in pork and/or shrimps with a generous sprinkling of garlic. The concoction is already so savory that you won’t need to dip it in sauce anymore.

Silay’s fresh lumpia is smaller compared to what’s commonly served in restaurants in other parts of the country. The egg wrapper is smoother and thinner; it almost melts in your mouth.

El Ideal Bakery also makes some of the best fresh lumpia in Negros Occidental. It’s perfect as a gift, too, but make sure to consume as soon as you can.

Ilonggo food

Many of the usual foods eaten by Negrenses are Ilonggo, not only because of Panay Island’s proximity, but also because many of the locals’ ancestors are Ilonggos. In the 19th century, Negros saw the scions of wealthy Ilonggos relocate to the provice to take advantage of the sugar boom. This in-migration saw them bringing the flavors of Iloilo to the shores and fields of Negros Occidental.

When in the province, you can treat yourself with Iloilo’s best—kansi, KBL, pancit molo, and of course, La Paz batchoy. Cafe Uma in Bacolod serves authentic and to-die-for kansi, while El Ideal’s La Paz batchoy is pure comfort in a bowl. The bakery also sells Ilonggo delicacies like hojaldres (a thin, flaky, subtly sweet pastry) and bizcocho (twice-baked toast sticks, similar to Italian biscotti).

Don Papa Rum

This is another Negrense discovery that deserves a spot all its own. Made from the fabled sugarcane of Negros and aged in American oak barrels for seven years, its flagship eponymous product is sweet with notes of vanilla, honey, and candied fruits.

They also have Don Papa Rum 10 which is aged for three more years and has a softer taste and hints of tropical fruits and caramel. They make a total of 10 variants including one which is inspired by the Masskara Festival. Don Papa Rum is distributed in about 30 countries worldwide and is also available online.

Panara

Bago City’s version of the empanada has a much thinner exterior; it’s so papery thin, you can almost see what’s inside. It’s filled mainly with vegetables, usually togue, and some ground meat.

Like its more Ilocano counterpart, Bago’s panara is deep-fried and is best dipped in sinamak, the local vinegar. You can buy panara anywhere in Negros Occidental; it's usually sold by street vendors called manuglibod along with other merienda favorites like assorted rice cakes.

Pastries and sweets

Any trip to the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines means that you’re in for a serious case of a sugar rush. Surrounded by sugarcane fields to a distance as far as the eye can see, it’s little wonder why the province makes some of the best pastries and desserts in the country. It’s home to well-known bakeries: Calea Pastries and Coffee, famous for their cheesecakes; Felicia’s, popular for their ensaymada; and Clara’s, which makes goat milk barquillos, barqueron, and galletas.

Certain cities and towns have their own specialties, too. Bago City for one is known as the "Rice Granary of Negros Occidental." Local delicacy makers use their local rice and sugar to make kakanin like bitso-bitso, ibus, kwakoy, but-ong, and suman latik.

San Carlos City, meanwhile, is becoming famous for their peanut pastillas and skinless baked peanuts. The city grows several varieties of peanuts in the uplands with many micro-entrepreneurs engaged in peanut processing these days.

Where to Try These Eats in Manila

For a taste of the best of Negros Occidental without leaving the Metro, make your way to the 36th Negros Trade Fair at the Glorietta 4 Activity Center, Makati from September 20 to 25. The theme for this year is “Hidlaw”, the Hiligaynon word for longing, yearning or missing something or someone.

The fair will feature over 60 exhibitors from various sectors such as natural and organic food, garments, fashion accessories, furniture, décor, houseware, agriculture and tourism represent the industries which provide for and sustain the people of Negros. Some of the establishments mentioned in the story will be participating in the event.

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