Street Treats of Cebu Part 1
Street Treats of Cebu Part 1
Cebu does not only boast beautiful places, beaches and great people but also when it comes to chows or snacks usually sold on the streets. Oh yes, you heard it right. These street treats can be categorized as Cebu’s premiere fast food, only cheaper and you can eat it anywhere and anytime you want.
Tahó
Firs of, let’s start with the Cebu breakfast treat; the tahó. This is also known as the Cebuano version of tofu. You’ll recognize one when you hear a yell that says; “tahooooo!!!” early in the morning. The three main ingredients are the Cebuano tofu itself, a syrup and sago (tiny balls that I think made of gelatin). I usually feel nostalgic when I eat one since it brings me back to my early days.
The vendor begins to round up his (for years, I’ve seen only male tahó vendors) daily route at 4-5am in the morning. I’d still be dreaming at that time but they usually sell those up to 9 to 10am, but that wouldn’t be fresh enough for me. Anyway, the tahó costs only 5 pesos and that’s an enough price to call it a morning. Some people actually think that it can boost your manhood when you eat tahó every morning. Hmnn… now that’s kind of new.
Pungkó-pongkó
I usually take my lunch break in a restaurant but, mostly, I don’t exactly have that wealth. So, I pleasure myself with the street restaurant called, pongkó-pongkó, which means crouch or duck. This is so since they provide small chairs where you have to sit way below than the average sitting level. This is the place where you can choose from a long line of entrées like fried eggs, chicken drumstick, fried fish, longganisa (fried sausage), lumpia, ngohiong, fried squid, hotdog and others. They either match any entrée combination with a plateful of rice, or the famed pusó (hanging rice), and a bottle of softdrink. On another note, there is no fork and spoon involved when you eat in pongkó-pongkó. Instead, you are given a pair of plastic bags to be used as gloves. Also, the stalls are installed usually along the streets so I guess advertising is not a problem for them. Anyway, a meal would cost you around 30-40 pesos but if you’re too hungry and craving for more, it could reach above 50 pesos. That’s way below the usual 100-150 pesos I pay in fine restaurants at the mall. Pongkó-pongkó is usually the place to eat when Cebuanos are stiff on budget.
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