Gumaca, Quezon

We  had a ten minute break at the pit stop of Philtranco in Gumaca, Quezon. Based on the map, we're halfway done. But we've spent a good seven hours on the road already. This means the pace is going to quicken as we head on to Bicol. We're expected to be at Labo at 5:00pm. Then, we proceed to the Luzarraga Ancestral home for dinner  at 6:00pm.

At the pit stop, I was looking for local delicacies and John, our staff member, suggested I get the special tikoy, as it was Gumaca's specialty. What is unique with this tikoy is that it's neatly  covered by layers of dried palms that make it look like corn with the cover. I peeled off about four layers of palm, before I got to the tikoy, which was covered in plastic. It seemed like a lot of work so I told Macoy,  our maintenance guy in the office to get a knife to open the thing as I was getting impatient with it. Finally,  he hands it to me partially without the plastic. I got a pinch, tasted it, and handed the rest of it to Macoy to share with the others. Well,  it's tikoy alright, just a tad creamier than the average.

I settled for the chicharon balat ng baboy and got surprised as it could compete with Lapid's in the market. Excellent find here in Gumaca,  Quezon.