Psssst, anyone for Pancit Habhab (Pancit Lucban)?



Pancit Habhab or Pancit Lucban is a mouth-watering culinary delicacy of Lucban, Quezon made of  sautéed noodles (from rice flour), chopped pork, shrimps and vegetables mixed with white onion and garlic. It's like a typical pancit but with a kick of sourness from coconut vinegar served separately. It could be a substitute to calamondin which we normally mix in most types of pancit. Traditionally, it is eaten "habhab"-style like in a speed-eating competition. The dish is placed on a rectangular banana leaf and eaten without using any utensils of any kind but using only your mouth.

Dare?

Luckily, this one has been plated complete with a bottle of pink coconut vinegar (not in picture) because we ordered it from Hotel Aramin's room service. I had no chance to eat it habhab-style. With that, I have a reason to come back next year's Pahiyas Festival to really experience the so called Pancit Habhab.


Gastronomical Road Trip in Pretty Pennsylvania

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PA Tourism for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Pennsylvania  is full of rolling hills dotted with sloping vineyards, lush forests, picturesque grassy hills overlooking the rivers, and millions of acres of farmland. The thoughts of its Victorian-style pubs, Wineries, Breweries, as well as American and French Restaurants are sending me hard-to-decline invitation.  It is undeniably, the ultimate summer destination for food discovery, winery exploration, outdoor recreation, small town charm, vacation homes, historic landmarks, romantic getaways or any other kind of roadtrips I have in mind for the summer.

As we draft our summer getaway, my growing interest to visit this state on a road tripp with my cousins leads me to discover a Pennsylvania vacation guide website: pa-roadtrips. The website offers a  wide array of ready-to-ride roadtrips for local and international visitors. We've decided to take the "Taste Buds on Tour - Eat like a champ in Pittsburg". It is a two days and 2 nights gastronomical road trip in the city of champions - where eating is practically a sport and is a taste buds hot spot.

Fully packed with never-ending selection of fine restaurants to classic diners to farmers markets. Our day 1 itinerary includes a challenge to try the famous Breakfast Burrito in the 1970s-themed Deluca's Restaurant. It is loaded with seasoned eggs, melted cheese, crispy homefries, choice of meat and slathered in their specialty sweet-spicy sauce.  A taste of well-known gargantuan sandwiches and piping-hot, hand-cut French fries in Primanti Bros is what I'm looking forward to. For a nice change of pace, the itinerary also includes a "Just Ducky Tour" in Station Square using retired World War II amphibious vehicles to travel directly from Pittsburgh’s city blocks into its three rivers.  The tour provides an hour-long exploration of historic Pittsburgh. The day will be ended on a perfect place to check in for a night of luxurious R&R, the elegant Omni William Penn Hotel. Day two starts early with best cupcakes, lollipops, and custom cakes at Vanilla Pastry Studio followed  with a visit to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.Lunch would be at the state’s most famous Polish fare, S&D Polish Deli for some good old and home-style grub and the afternoon would be spent visiting the Andy Warhol Museum for a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of Andy Warhol showcasing Warhol’s captivating paintings and films, as well as other productions that contextualize Warhol’s artwork.

Just by my imagination, Im sure, I'll be coming back and avail more pa-roadtrips.