Continued from General Santos: Tuna Festival Culinary Expo 2009

Sarangani Highlands: Our first stop after airport arrival where we were going to have brunch.  Since my hosts already had breakfast (one was on a diet ), I didn’t feel like eating alone with everyone else just watching, esp since one of us was fasting, in observance of the holy month of Ramadan. Instead I asked for a fruit platter which I insisted on sharing with my hosts. This and the tuna bechamel I had at the Manila airport would tide me over until the real meal.

Lunch was worth the wait. Marasa Grill provided the perfect introduction to classic GenSan cuisine. Sutokil, taken from the Visayan cooking terms sinugba (grilled), tinola (boiled or cooked in broth) and kinilaw (ceviche). We had all three in the form of tuna panga (jaw, which was longer and meatier than my arm! above photo), a simple gingery soup and kinilaw na malasugue (below left), served together with a hefty shrimp dish for good measure. The tuna was marinated in lemon, seasoned with salt and black pepper, grilled for 25-30 minutes then served with chopped fresh tomato, onion and shrimp paste. Although the price/weight ranges from P350-P600/half to two kilos, according to owner/chef Kring Macion, individual portions can now be enjoyed for P165 (approx 200 grams).

I also learned that malasugue (blue marlin, slightly similar to swordfish in appearance) is preferred to tuna because its flesh is less bloody, looks cleaner and is generally less fishy. Kinilaw was a typical sight, as seen at the competition and in the restaurants we visited. Dessert came in the form of marang (right), a tropical fruit which I’ve always thought looked like langka (jackfruit). Served naked, I thought it looked like some baked garlic colony. I didn’t get to taste it because we soon had to convene and prepare for the next day’s culinary competition.

After the meeting, we were just going to have a quick peek at the The House of Cashews, grower, processor and exporter of organic cashew from Mindanao. Instead, we arrived to find the jolly Mrs. Fuentespina and her kids toiling hard at the kitchen, preparing hot and fresh meals for our group.

Cashew in all forms — whole or bits — on salads, kare-kare (in place of peanuts, P120), lasagna (P90), dessert and lobster.

A family affair: As with most food businesses in GenSan, Mrs. Fuentespina and her kids cook meals and serve paying guests at their family home. Looking like ordinary spring rolls, I underestimated daughter Kathrina’s fried lumpia, made of chicken, ubod (heart of palm) and cashew crumbs. Crunchy, tasty and cheap for just P60 at six pieces, these springrolls turned out to be my favorite in this surprise afternoon feast!

Dinner at Tiongson Arcade, a no-frills stretch of al fresco eateries famous for its barbecue (at GenSan, you can get barbecue for P3 to P5 pesos a stick!). At Gio’s Mongo Grill, we were served Mongolian barbecue (P150) and beef teppanyaki (P150) together with crabs from Gusteau’s next door, paired with rice wrapped in fresh banana leaves.

Never mind the pervading barbecue smoke, greasy tabletop and zero ambience, the Surigao crabs, which weighed 3 kilograms each (P700), smelled of sweet butter and roasted garlic, and were served bathed in their own beautiful juice. Ditching spoon and fork, I had fun tugging at the succulent flesh (which came off the shells with very little prodding), scooping the rich yellow fat and licking my flavorful fingers clean. Before Gensan, I thought I had the best crab meal here. Not anymore!

Hosts Kring and Nelson with Datu, me and what’s left of our crab meal.

Sarangani Highlands’ restroom view of Sarangani Bay

To be continued…

Catch the GenSan Food Festival at the Café Jeepney, Hotel InterContinental Manila until the end of October. Kring Macion of Marasa Grill and her group from East Asia Royale Hotel will be cooking buffet lunch and dinner.

Sarangani Highlands Garden and Restaurant
Purok Wal, Tambler, General Santos City
tel: (083) 3040752
cell: 0922 8590043
email: saranganihighlands@gmail.com

Marasa Grill
41 Kadulasan St., General Santos City
telefax (083) 552 4628/304 5785
cell: 0917 701 7336
email: marasagrill@yahoo.com

The House of Cashews
19 3rd St., Soriano Subdivision (going to Wizard school)
cell: 0927 849 1545 or 302 0499
email: fuentespinakasuy@gmail.com
Fuentespina Kasuy are available in Robinsons malls in Manila.

Gio’s Mongo Grill
Tiongson Arcade, Lagao, General Santos City

Gusteau’s
Tiongson Arcade, Lagao, General Santos City