A heritage dish of Sagay City, Negros Occidental has been declared the grand winner in the nationwide “Pinasarap” contest of the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines.
Called “Ginataan Nga Ugbos Sang Balinghoy na May Banag”, the winning entry is made with locally-harvested ingredients from the village of Colonia Divina.
“Sagay’s Pinasarap dish captures the cultural heritage of Colonia Divina. This dish is made with a few ingredients but comes together beautifully,” ATOP said in a Facebook post, announcing the winners on Wednesday.
It has banag or suso (freshwater snails) cooked in coconut milk (ginataan) and pounded young leaves of cassava (ugbos sang balinghoy) with lemon grass, string beans, ginger, onion and garlic.
Last year, the Negrense dish was featured in the short film entry of Colonia Divina Integrated School’s Lente Films “Diri sa Sagay! Tourism Shorts Festival”.
According to ATOP, the dishes submitted for “Pinasarap” gave “a look into the various recipes and preparation methods that have been passed down from generation to generation that best represents the cultural heritage of each locality.”
The Municipality of Lucban, Quezon was first runner-up with “Hardinera” while
San Pablo City, Laguna was second runner-up for “Ginataang Hipon Palakpakin at Pinayte”.
The competition was part of the ATOP 21st National Convention themed “PinasForward! Let’s move as one to revitalize our country’s tourism industry”. – NLG
