When you hear the word Leyte, the first thing that would come in mind is Binagol and Chocolate moron. These delicacies give the province its identity. Here are the top five delicacies that you should not miss if you get the chance to visit Leyte.
BINAGOL
It is a sweet delicacy that has a different taste and a distinct packaging. Binagol is made from Glutinous rice and taro pudding with nuts, it also has an exciting part in the middle. There is a sweet mixture of coconut and “Kalamay” (an alternative for brown sugar) in the middle. It is called as BINAGOL because of its packaging that is in a coconut shell, which is “bagol” in Waray-Waray. Tourists often associate binagol to Tacloban City since it is said that your visit to Leyte is not complete without buying Binagol and other native delicacies.
You can find it in Tacloban City; “Pasalubong” Stores in Downtown, market, and in the stores near the airport. It is worth Php100.00 for 3 pieces.
CHOCOLATE MORON
It is an exquisite chocolatey ‘kakanin’ that is wrapped in a banana leaf, a combination of white coating and chocolate mixture. Moron is always present in all occasions in Leyte and Samar. The technique to make a delicious chocolate moron is that you have to balance the chocolate mixture and the white coating mixture so that you’ll get the perfect play of textures. Like with Binagol, you can buy chocolate moron in pasalubong centers in Tacloban City.
SUMAN-LATIK
Suman-Latik is another version of rice cake that is made from glutinous rice, coconut milk, brown sugar or Calamay, which makes the taste distinct. Just like with the other delicacies in Tacloban City, Suman is also wrapped in banana leaf. The latik, (it is a mixture of coconut milk and brown sugar or calamay) is topped in suman to have a sweet taste in it. You can also order it at pasalubong stores in the city.
SAGMANI
Sagmani is made from cassava and taro but, some are using sweet potatoes. It is similar to Binagol, the texture is smooth and sticky. It is a combination of sugar, coconut milk, peanuts (boiled) and fresh banana leaves (heated).
ROSCAS
Roscas is almost similar to a fortune cookie, this delicacy came from Barugo, Leyte. It is made of flour, sugar, eggs, anis and shortening. These cookies have a different taste because of the “Anis” that is added to the ingredients.