Loboc: Feast for the Senses

Loboc Church Interiors & Chandelier

Laid back, off-the-beaten-track, and idyllic – these come to mind when one first sets foot in the town of Loboc, Bohol. A seemingly forgotten hamlet tucked between green hills and the mighty river, Loboc appears sleepy and forlorn. This impression of dusty inactivity is pleasantly dispelled with a visit to the Museo de Loboc, located behind the ancient limestone church of St. Paul. This is where the famed Loboc Children’s Choir holds their practices.

The Loboc Children's Choir practicing

Hearing their angelic voices wafting from out of the aged capiz windows makes one realize that Loboc has a vibrance all its own, evident in its musical traditions kept alive through the years. There’s something about Loboc that charms its way into one’s soul: a Pinoy pastoral scene that is at once both familiar and alien.

Loboc River Cruise

Meanwhile, just across the wide river from the church, the popular Loboc River Cruises carries tourists upstream in festive flat boats. In the river cruise, one can enjoy Bohol’s cuisine in sumptuous buffets while a bucolic musician croon a mix of old classics and Visayan love songs. The hour-long cruise takes tourists deep into the green heart of Loboc with occasional festive songs and dances along the riverbanks. Loboc - certainly a feast for the senses.

Lunch @ Loboc River Cruise

The Pleasures of Comfort Food

As I was fixing my blog labels two days ago, I realized I had no post about food yet, which is a shame because I love food. In fact, pigging out is one of my special talents. Hehe. Kidding. So for my first blog post about food, I decided to write about food that everybody loves – comfort food.

What is Comfort Food? As the name implies, comfort food is food that makes you feel better. It is food that reminds you of happy memories. It’s the food that can lighten your mood in an instant and make you feel cozy all over.

It's that particular dish you'd love to come home to after a long and tiring day at work. It may be the stuff that your Mommy or Daddy makes when you were sick back when you were little. It may be the snack your barkada loves to pig out on and constantly reminds you afterwards of all the fun times. It may be that dessert you and your loved one share when on a date. Comfort food mean a whole lot of different things to different people.

But comfort food doesn’t have to be expensive or exotic. Wikipedia defines comfort food as simple, uncomplicated and easy-to-prepare. In fact, the simplest dishes can be comfort food for anyone simply because it is more than just food. It is also about the experiences and memories that are forever associated with it.

As for me, I have a handful of dishes that I can call my comfort food. Here they are:

• Monggo – There’s something about these little green seeds that remind me of my childhood. Whipped up into a creamy, green soup with sprigs of sili leaves, some chopped pork and tinapa flakes, monggo soup for me spells comfort with a capital C. I especially love monggo soup when I’m feeling under the weather. Besides, it’s cool ‘cause its green and its very nutritious. LOL.

• Homemade Chicharon – Picture this sinful scenario: cubes of pork with slivers of fat sautéed in very little oil and salt till all the mantika is extracted from the bits of meat and rind. What’s left are dry, crunchy, salty (and definitely unhealthy) chicharon. But who cares if they're unhealthy. I can munch on these fritters all day long. Homemade chicharon is very different and way better than ordinary chicharon. They are tastier and more robust, often with slivers of meat still attached, unlike the dry and tasteless chicharon morsels sold everywhere. Sometimes, my father uses homemade chicharon as substitute for the pork in his version of Bicol Express. And the result is delish!

• Arroz Caldo – A steaming bowl of Arroz Caldo with bits of chicken and a garnishing of roasted garlic and chopped scallions is the perfect antidote to fever or colds.
  Just breathing in the fragrance of rice, chicken and spices makes me sigh with contentment. Maybe the reason why I love this dish is because it reminds me of the care and comfort that usually comes with it. My father, and also my Lola, makes Arroz Caldo when someone in the family is sick.
  

• Chicken Soup/Tinola – Simple chicken soup works wonders. It is no wonder that a popular series of books was named after it. It is really food for the weary soul. And Tinola, who doesn’t love sipping this concoction of chicken essence and ginger?

• Chocolate – I think the best way to eat chocolate is to take it in one bite a time, savoring its velvety texture and sweetness with a hint of bitterness - that is what you call indulgence.
  

• Champorado - This dish reminds me of my dearly departed Lola. She used to make the best champorado I ever tasted. My cousins and I, all dirty from playing all day, would wait impatiently as the scent of chocolate and glutinous rice bubbling in a pot wafted from the kitchen on hot and dusty afternoons. And then it's galit-galit muna until the last spoonful of champorado sweetened with some sugar and milk is consumed. Haha.
  

• Ice Cream – Need I say more? Hehe. Choco Ice Cream is a perennial favorite but Cookies and Cream comes in at a close second. But whatever flavor it is, ice cream is always welcome for yours truly, thank you very much.
  

• Gravy – Yes, you read it right. I love gravy! I can spoon a dollop of gravy over steaming white rice and I can already call it a meal. In fact, I usually order an extra serving of gravy at fast food restaurants to satisfy my craving for this salty and flavorful condiment. So don't give me weird looks. Haha
  

There you have it, my list of favorite comfort food – simple, uncomplicated easy-to-prepare and easy-to-find food that I love to eat especially when I’m craving for something or when I need something to make me feel better. Like right now, I have slight fever and colds but the creamy corn soup with halaan I had for lunch made me feel so much better. Of course, being a food-lover at heart, I have lots of other favorite food. But when it comes to simple and uncomplicated comfort food, the above-mentioned are my favorites. Ahh..the pleasures of comfort food.

How about you? What is your Comfort Food? :-)