Antipolo Church

Working in a BPO (call center industry) I was not privilege to spend Maundy Thursdays and Holy Fridays as "holy" as I wanted to be because of work. This is the main reason why I made sure I spend Easter Sunday or more appropriately (as Christian Catholic) Resurrection Sunday in Antipolo City.

My personal practice of spending Resurrection Sunday in Antipolo City started in 2008. I made sure to go up to this eastern city of Manila early morning to make sure the sun wouldn't burn much of my already tan skin.
After saying my prayers thru the holy mass, my earthen tummy calls for a celebration. And just outside the church food is a bounty. Suman, Manga and kasoy made this city known for. And annually I made sure I have a fix of these.

Although I'm not a fan of Suman I know if a suman is good or not. First Suman needs to have that natural sticky feel which is attributed from the glutenous rice which this labor of love food is from. Second, suman must have that natural sweetness coming from fresh water and/or the coconut leaves that is used in wrapping making sugar a non necessity. But Antipolo's suman coupled with they neighbor Cainta, Rizal's Coconut Jam, suman is a perfect hit.

 Kasoy brings back the childhood in me. I remember waking up on a summer morning and sweeping lola's house (in Pangasinan) just to pick up kasoy nuts discarded from the 'fallen' fruit. Lunch time means drying time for the nuts in order for them not to burst when cooking time comes. Late afternoon is the most exciting as Ate and I will burn coconut shells with the kasoy nuts. We were extra careful but there will always be a couple of nuts surrendered to the fire gods who might also wanted to have there share of this summer bounty. I don't know how Daddy does it when we were young that not a single nut goes to waste. Flavor is all natural, with a bit of earth aroma, woody taste and the natural sweetness making this nut my all time favorite among all protein rich produce. In Antipolo, you can have your kasoy nut salted, garlic-adobo flavored, or sweet.

Aside from kasoy and suman you will also find different types of rice cakes such as puto, pinais (rice cake wrapped in banana leaves), biko, etc.