Apart from being a travel destination, Albay boasts of native delicacies that would surely whet your appetites. Pinangat and Bicol Express are popular Bicolano dishes that use coconut milk as ingredient. The town of Camalig is known to the maker and exporter of these native delicacies. Pinangat is a dish made of shredded young gabi or taro leaves, shrimps, pork and ginger, wrapped in whole taro leaf and cooked in coconut milk until done. Tinilmok is another version of pinangat but the difference is the filling—it is made of sliced young coconut meat and small shrimps. On the other hand, bicol express is an ultra-spicy dish made of chilli and pork cooked in coconut milk. And fortunately for travellers who are hooked at first bite, these delicacies are available in can, bottle or sold frozen along many souvenir shops in the province.
Another Bicolano delicacy is the kinunot. This dish is made from stingray meat and malunggay (horseradish) and is cooked in coconut milk. As with pinangat and bicol express, kinunot is added with chilli and spices for that fiery appeal.Albay also is known to produce its local version of sausages called longganisa of Guinobatan. The local sausage has a distinctive taste of saltiness and sourness. This dish is usually best served for breakfast dipped in vinegar or condiment of you choice. One can buy this cheaply at the Guinobatan market.Most definitely, Albay offers dishes that are generally doused in coconut cream and the added chilli makes it a filling gustatory adventure. One must be brave enough even to try bicol express as its fiery appeal can be truly overwhelming for the unaware eater.
