Before bread, pancakes, and even cereal invaded the Cebu and Visayan breakfast tables, there was puto and sikwate.

Puto in Cebu is steamed sticky rice which is gradually mixed with coconut milk while being cooked. To taste, sugar, small amounts of salt, and ginger are added. Sikwate, on the other hand, is hot choco drink from chocolate tablets called tabliya made of dried and pulverized cacao seeds. Sometimes, the puto was occasionally paired with ripe mango which is also a very abundant fruit in Cebu (one of the popular local delicacies are dried mangoes).

*image sourced from georgeparilla of flickr

Now don’t be confused, puto may also be referred as puto maya wrapped in banana leaves because in some other parts in the Philippines, puto can be steamed ground rice or puto mamon which does not include rice.

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