Leyte Island (Philippines)

Leyte (pronounced /ˈleɪtiː/ in English) is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.

The island measures about 180 km (110 mi) north-south and about 65 km (40 mi) at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by theSan Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km (1.2 mi) in some places. The island province of Biliran is also to the north of Leyte and is joined to Leyte island by a bridge across the narrow Biliran Strait. To the south Leyte is separated from Mindanao by the Surigao Strait. To the east, Leyte is somewhat “set back” from the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Samar to the northeast and Dinagat to the southeast forming the Leyte Gulf. To the west are Cebu and Bohol.

Leyte is mostly heavily forested and mountainous, but the Leyte Valley in the northeast has much agriculture.

Politically, the island is divided into two provinces: (Northern) Leyte and Southern Leyte. Territorially, Southern Leyte Province includes the island of Panaonto its south. Biliran Island, to the north of Leyte Island, was formerly a sub-province of Leyte, and is now a separate province, Biliran Province.

The chief cities of Leyte are Tacloban City, on the eastern shore at the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf, and Ormoc City, on the west coast.

Leyte today is notable for the geothermal electric power plants near Ormoc.

However, Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in the World War II. On 20 October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying “I have returned”. However, the Japanese did not give up so easily, as the ensuing Battle of Leyte proved, and convergence of naval forces resulted in the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history.

Areas of Interest

The Leyte Provincial Capitol is the seat of the provincial government where historic viewing of a mural depicting the First Mass of Limasawa in the Orient and the landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur can be done.

The Leyte Landing Memorial in Red Beach, Palo, marks the spot where American liberation forces landed it also has a lagoon where the life-size statues of Gen. McArthur and his fleet stands.

Lake Danao is a violin-shaped lake hemmed by cloud-capped mountain ranges. It is a hunter’s paradise where wild animals roam the surrounding forests. It is also said to be the home of a giant eel.

Calanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte is a virgin island with pure white side. It has two long sandbars. The ecological atmosphere of the island had been preserved by the municipality.

The Sto. Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum boasts the painting of the 14 station of the cross done by Filipino artists and a bas-relief of the legend of the first Filipino man and woman (Malakas and Maganda).

The San Juanico Bridge is the longest and the most beautifully designed bridge in the Philippines. It features the picturesque San Juanico Strait with a thousand whirlpools, lovely islets and view.

Leyte Island is the birthplace of the “Tinikling” dance, which is very popular throughout the Philippines.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyte_Island

View This Poll

Among the said delicacies, which do you like best?

Vote and pick your choice. =)

♥ Photo credits to:
gerryruiz.wordpress.com
gitaasuncion.blogspot.com
mjbuhion.blogspot.com

Let’s not forget the next sweet side of the dish, Pastillas. So now, it’ll be the recipe for the Yum 3: Pastillas. Just follow the ingredients and procedures and you’re sure to have a heavenly experience when you’ve made your very own pastillas.

The ingredients are:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh milk
• 3 Tbsps. sugar
• 1 tsp. butter
• 5 Tbsps. full-cream powdered milk
• 1/2 cup sugar for rolling pastillas

Procedures:

1. Boil milk and sugar into a paste.
2. Add butter and powdered milk. Mix thoroughly.
   
3. Let the paste rest until firm enough to handle.
   
4. Divide into 20 pieces and roll into small cylinders.
   
5. Roll in sugar.
6. Wrap in colorful papel de japon (Japanese paper).

source: http://www.philippinecountry.com

Now we’ll go slurping and yum-yum . I’ll be showing here the procedures on how to make your own moron. Well this might sound funny huh? “Making a Moron” *hahaha* but just think of it how fun it is to know how to make this treat.

We just need the following:

• 1/2 cup malagkit rice
• 1 cup melted chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups ordinary rice
• 1/3 cup latik
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• banana leaves
• string

Instructions:

1. Soak overnight rice and malagkit. Grind both grains the following day.
2. Soak the ground rice and malagkit in coconut milk until soft.
3. Add the sugar and chocolate.
4. Cook over low fire. Stir constantly until thick. Cool.
5. Prepare the leaves for wrapping by heating over low fire. Brush the leaves with butter.
6. Put 2 tablespoons of the mixture in every wrap. Put latik on top of each before closing.
7. Tie with string and cook for half an hour in a double broiler container or a pan over a pot of boiling water.

source: http://www.filipinodesserts.net/

Did you wonder how binagol are being made? How the look of the binagol in the picture is very mouth-watering? Well, now to get your curiousity out into creativity, i’ll be showing you the recipe in cooking this divine treat.

All you need are:

• 3/4 cups shredded raw gabi (Taro root)
• 1 cup rich coconut milk (2 medium coconuts)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 clean medium coconut shells (4-1/2″ diameter and 2″ high)
• 1/2 can (1 oz) full cream condensed milk
• 4 egg yolks
• Wilted banana leaves
• String for tying

How to make binagol:

• Mix first three ingredients and cook over moderate heat for 6 minutes, constantly stirring. Lower heat and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
• Add condensed milk and cook over low heat 20 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Fill each coconut shell with mixture. Make a well in center and drop raw egg yolk.
• Cover top with tuber mixture and spread until smooth, very close to brim or shell. Cover whole shell with two layers banana leaves and tie securely with strings.
• Steam half an hour 12 servings.

source: http://www.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com/

I guess, people who are first-timers of eating this treat would really get addicted of it. There’s just this simple warning I could share if you’ll be eating too much of this pastillas, “YOU CAN REALLY FORGET YOUR DIET!”

In the next blog posts of mine, i’ll be showing you the different steps on how to bake this tummy-rumbling treat, for you to be able to have a chance to make your home-made Pastillas.

Binagol is a delicacy from Tacloban. It may not be a household name yet, but this distinctly Pinoy fare is about to take a major leap into the local and international markets now that it will be introduced to the market.

Binagol (Sweetened Taro Pudding with Nuts) is a mouthwatering delicacy derived from talyan, a species of gabi that grows in Tacloban. Made from ground sticky rice flavored with rich dark chocolate, grounded gabi and a mixture of coconut milk, sugar, milk, eggs, butter and seasoning. Dagami town in Tacloban has been known as the producer of this native delicacy.

source: http://www.globalpinoy.com

I could say that this is the most delicious sweet treat i’ve tasted in our city, so far. My tummy won’t stop rumbling everytime I see a binagul. My mother often buy me a binagul because of my cravings. *hehe. So one thing I could conclude with this delicacy is “FEET UP!” :p

MORON

This mouth-watering and stomach-rumbling delicacy is known for its very sweet taste which is made from rice flour (pilit), chocolate paste (tableya), and is rolled with banana leaves which is either steamed or boiled. This delicacy can be a very nice pasalubong to your loved-ones.

Moron is one of my favorite food. I consider this as a very good desert after meals because of its heveanly taste. In the next posts of mine i’ll be showing you how Moron is made.

For me, this stable web blog site, specifically WordPress, has its very own features which I find very useful in blogging. The widget section in wordpress is very interesting because it doesn’t only make you get connected with other people, adds new apps to your page, but it also beautifies your blog page. Let’s take the twitter app as an example. The twitter application for me is very useful and interesting because this helps my friends to communicate without me logging in to the website of Twitter.