#malamawi

Marang-Marang is a village in Basilan. Marang-Marang is situated northeast of Santa Barbara, and east of Luuk-Buton. 

I had the privilege to try various Tausug dishes and delicacies that they offered to VP Leni. I remember asking them the names of the food and they gave me two different names because apparently, Marang Marang (or Basilan, for that matter) is home to different ethnic groups: i.e. the yakans, the tausugs, and a number of chavacanos. I tried listing them down, and I hope I got them right:

Hantak / Sikalang -  a native biscuit that resembles a pretzel and is glazed with sugar. The name, by the way, means something like "dumped" in the Tausug dialect because the dough is dumped onto the table as a kneading method.

Pitis/ Patanik - a must-try native tausug food! It is a steamed pastry made of glutinous rice flour stuffed with loads of sweetened grated coconut meat.

Junay/ Punjung - made of rice steamed in coconut milk and toasted coconut. Then wrapped in little packets of banana leaves like suman.

Bago-ngon - a local horn snail that has found its way to some popular dishes here in Mindanao. (Funny story, I was asked "Ikaw Jas, magaling ka ba sumupsop ng suso?". Hahahaha.)

Imbao (or commonly called Mangrove Clam) - delicious seared clams that are topped with cheese. Rapsa! 

I've been to more than half the 81 provinces in the country, and I've even been to some of the more famous beaches of Bali and Thailand, but Malamawi is probably the best one I've seen so far. 

Malamawi Island is about 30 minutes away from the capital Isabela City. The waters are crysal clear boasting of its turquiose color, and its white sand that is so fine that it embraces your feet with ease you could barely say no to staying for hours. The beach offers a shallow to deep shoreline at the center, and is perfect for daytime swimming. 

I wish I brought my goggles. I could have lived my merman fantasies.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon and it was the perfect time to sip our refreshing coconut juice under the wide shade of the surrounding trees. For lunch, we had newly harvested lobsters in garlic butter, and some spicy seared scallops aglio e olio. Talk about gastronomic feast!