Negros Occidental, officially the Province of Negros Occidental (Hiligaynon: Kapuoran sang Nakatungdang Negros (Negros Occidental; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Kanlurang Negros, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically situated and grouped under by the Philippine Statistics Authority, but remains politically independent from the provincial government. It occupies the northwestern half of the large island of Negros, and borders Negros Oriental, which comprises the southeastern half. Known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", Negros Occidental produces more than half the nation's sugar output.
Western Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces and two highly urbanized cities. The regional center is Iloilo City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Aklanon and Capiznon. The land area of the region is 20,794.18 km2 (8,028.68 sq mi), and with a population of 7,954,723 inhabitants, it is the second most populous region in the Visayas after Central Visayas.
Christmas is one of the biggest holidays in the Philippines. As one of the two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia, the Philippines celebrates the world's longest Christmas season ; Christmas music is played as early as August. The holiday season gradually begins by September, reaching its peak in December during Christmastide, and concludes within the week after New Year's Day, more specifically on the Sunday of Epiphany; however, festivities could last until the third Sunday of January, the feast day of the Santo Niño de Cebú. Liturgically, the Christmas season is observed by the Catholic Church in the Philippines from Christmas Day to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Filipino cuisine are from the food traditions of various ethnolinguistic groups and tribes of the archipelago, including the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano, and Maranao ethnolinguistic groups. The dishes associated with these groups evolved over the centuries from a largely indigenous base shared with maritime Southeast Asia with varied influences from Chinese, Spanish, and American cuisines, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago, and adapted using indigenous ingredients to meet local preferences.
Calasiao, officially the Municipality of Calasiao, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,471 people.
Bibingka commonly refers to a type of baked rice cake from the Philippines that is traditionally cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.
A balikbayan box is a corrugated box containing items sent by overseas Filipinos. Though often shipped by freight forwarders specializing in balikbayan boxes by sea, such boxes can be brought by Filipinos returning to the Philippines by air.
Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew usually of pork offal and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar.
Kalamay is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine, peanut butter, or vanilla. Kalamay can be eaten alone; but is usually used as a sweetener for a number of Filipino desserts and beverages. It is related to the Chamorro dessert called Kalamai.
Puto is a Filipino steamed rice cake, traditionally made from slightly fermented rice dough (galapong). It is eaten as is or as an accompaniment to a number of savoury dishes. Puto is also an umbrella term for various kinds of indigenous steamed cakes, including those made without rice. It is a sub-type of kakanin.
Mamón are traditional Filipino chiffon or sponge cakes, typically baked in distinctive cupcake-like molds. In the Visayas regions, mamón are also known as torta mamón or torta. Variants of mamón include the larger loaf-like version called taisan, the rolled version called pianono, and ladyfingers known as broas. Mamón also has two very different variants that use mostly the same ingredients, the cookie-like mamón tostado and the steamed puto mamón.
A polvorón is a type of heavy, soft, and very crumbly Spanish shortbread made of flour, sugar, milk, and nuts. They are mostly produced in Andalusia, where there are about 70 factories that are part of a syndicate that produces polvorones and mantecados. Under the name mantecados, these sweets are a traditional preparation of other areas of the Iberian Peninsula and other Spanish-speaking countries as well.
Pastel de Camiguín, or simply pastel, is a Filipino soft bun with yema (custard) filling originating from the province of Camiguin. The name is derived from Spanish pastel ("cake"). Pastel is an heirloom recipe originally conceived by Eleanor Popera Jose and the members of her family in Camiguin. She started to commercially sell it from 1990. It is primarily produced at the time of family's special occasions and gatherings.
Bacolod–Silay International Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Metro Bacolod, located in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.
In Filipino cuisine, moron is a rice cake similar to suman. It is a native delicacy of the Waray people in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines, particularly in the area around Tacloban City in the province of Leyte and in Eastern Samar province. Other parts of the Philippines have their versions of it, however. In fact, the moron was adopted as one of Mambajao, Camiguin's locally produced products.
Sayongsong is a traditional Filipino steamed rice cake from Surigao del Norte and other areas of the Caraga Region of northeastern Mindanao, as well as the southeastern Visayas where it is known as sarungsong or alisuso. It is distinctively served in cone-shaped banana leaves. Sayongsong is a type of puto.
Uraró, also known as araró or arrowroot cookies, are Filipino cookies made from arrowroot flour. They have a dry and powdery texture and are usually flower-shaped. They originate from the Tagalog people of southern Luzon, particularly in the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, and Marinduque.
Cansí is a Filipino beef soup originating from Iloilo which is spread across the rest of the Western Visayas region. It is made with beef shank and bone marrow boiled until gelatinous. It is uniquely slightly soured with fruits like batuan or bilimbi. Cansi is usually cooked with unripe breadfruit or jackfruit, lemongrass, tomatoes, garlic, onions, fish sauce, and siling haba or labuyo peppers. The soup is usually orange in color due to the use of annatto seeds (atsuete). It is also sometimes called "sinigang na bulalo" in Tagalog regions, due to its similarity to sinigang and bulalo.
Pan de siosa, also called pan de leche, is a Filipino pull-apart bread originating from the Visayas Islands of the Philippines. They characteristically have a very soft texture and are baked stuck together. They can be eaten plain with savory meat or soup dishes, or as a dessert brushed with a generous amount of butter and sprinkled with sugar and grated cheese. In Bacolod, they can also uniquely be toasted on a skewer and brushed with oil, margarine, or banana ketchup, and then eaten paired with inihaw dishes.
