Whenever I go on a trip to the south or north part of the island–or to the neighboring islands of Cebu, for that matter–this is one of the first food that pops into my head. I’m talking about this yummy delicacy called bingka.
These yummy cakes are made with ground rice and can be found in most rural areas all over the Visayas, especially here in the island of Cebu. I’m not sure if this has coconut or not. The large flat round ones in Negros do have coconut bits…. that, I’m sure of. But these cute round and equally yummy ones, I’m not so sure. One thing is certain though, they’re both irresistibly scrumptious and filling. And they’re very affordable.
Now, I’m not really much of an expert on how this is made. All I remember hearing before is that it is cooked with heat coming from above and below the cake. When I was small, my naive head used to imagine hot coals hovering over the bingkas like some enchanted fireballs, and I’d have a headache trying to figure out how the bingka makers would do that. Hahaha.
So if you’re traveling on a tight budget, you don’t have to worry that you might go hungry because these delicious bingkas can be found in most bus stops and you can get a bunch for about Php20 to Php50. (My amnesiac tendencies have kicked in, so feel free to correct me if you really know how much. ^_^)
Yes, bingka is like a staple food for shoestring travelers here in the Visayas. So if you barely have any dough while on a bus to nowhere, never fear! Bingkas are here… or will be there, to be semantically correct. :)
