5 things to eat before you die

Over at Melissa's Traveler’s Lunchbox, I chanced upon her entry, and decided to ask myself, “What five things have I eaten that I would recommend that others try?”

This question became pillowtalk for Y and me the other night. And not that I intend on dying any time soon, but life does seem extremely short when you look at 1,560 (and growing) different foods that other food bloggers feel we should try before we die!

Although limiting my additions to just five was pretty difficult, Y joined in too. I noticed that our lists had one thing in common – that they are based on unadulterated natural flavours, flavours that just cannot be duplicated. Tasting these flavors it its basest, rawest forms is truly an experience in itself.

Y’s list, which I leave to be more or less self-explanatory:

• Raw sea urchin


• Freshly roasted baboy damo or wild boar


• Anteater. He tasted this on a trip to Palawan. The anteater was momentarily a child’s pet, but despite any worries about making the child cry, Yeng swears it was delicious.


• Wild honey and honeycomb, straight from the hive. Lucky lucky man to have tasted freshly harvested wild forest honey, complete with chewy honeycomb. I’m jealous.


• Kesong puti. This is a local cheese made from carabao (water buffalo) milk.

And now my list, with more gab than necessary:

• Fresh raw oysters. How can I describe the sublime taste of a beautifully fresh raw oyster? You wrestle to get that ugly shell open, and there it is, glistening in its shell, just waiting to be savored. Truly ambrosia.


• (tie) Durian and Ripe Philippine mango. My favorite tropical fruits which unfortunately not everyone can get a hold of. Durian, ah durian. While one may love/hate it with a passion, I have yet to come across someone who does not like lusciously sweet, drippy mangoes.


• Fresh buko. Or young coconut, freshly harvested from the tree. This brings back childhood memories at my grandparents. We’d watch, with bated breath, as someone clambers up tree and drop down those green coconuts. Then, getting thirsty at the mere thought of that sweet coconut, impatiently wait for a few deft blows of the itak on the green coconuts … allowing the coconut water flow into a waiting container. It really quenches the thirst! Of course the experience wouldn't be complete without splitting the buko, getting a “spoon” carved out from a piece of the shell, and greedily eating the young coconut meat.


• Green tea ice cream. Not the commercial stuff. But ice cream flavoured with Japanese macha, powdered green tea used for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Astringent, sweet, delicious.


• Fresh carabao’s milk. Slightly odorous but with an oh-so-lovely creaminess not possible with cow’s milk.

Come and join in the project!