MANILA, Philippines?In line with the celebration of Philippine Heritage Month, Hotel InterContinental is serving a rich array of Bicolano dishes at Café Jeepney. With the cooperation of the provincial governments of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur and the Metro Daet Development Foundation, the hotel has brought in a team of hometown cooks to prepare authentic Bicolano cuisine such as laing, sinanglang (tilapia cooked in coconut milk), chicken sinugba with coconut cream, chicken pininyahan (chicken with pineapple), rice with crabs, beef adobo sa gata, kinunot na pagui (stingray cooked in coconut milk), fish with latik, and numerous others.

On opening day of the festival, Daet Mayor Tito Sarion proudly showed off the sweet pineapples harvested in his province. In June, he said, the city will hold a pineapple festival, with activities that include the baking of the biggest pineapple pie ever, which they hope will make it to the Guinness Book of World Records. Mayor Sarion and his staff also brought in fresh pili nuts still in their shells.

Here?s a recipe for Bicol Express, a sweet and spicy pork dish served during the lunch buffet. From cooks Emma Cabanela and Maria Pacao, we learned that when cooking this dish Bicolanos use not bagoong alamang but a paste called balao, which is made from dried tiny shrimps and is not as salty as bagoong. Thanks to Mayor Sarion, who brought in a kilo of balao, I was able to kitchen-test the recipe using this special ingredient.

The buffet of Bicolano dishes is being served for lunch and dinner at Café Jeepney until May 31 (call 7937000). In addition, Bicolano handicrafts and delicacies such as pili tarts are for sale during those days at the hotel lobby.

BICOL EXPRESS

3-4 servings

3 tbsp cooking oil, divided

? k pork, cut into strips or cubes

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp chopped ginger

? c grated balao, blended with ? c water (see tips)

1 c thick coconut milk (see tips)

2-3 siling haba (finger chilies)

In a wok or large cooking pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil and brown the pork lightly on both sides. With a slotted spoon, remove pork from pan.

In the same pan, heat remaining one tablespoon oil and sauté onions, garlic and ginger about one to two minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Spoon out any excess oil.

Add balao and simmer, stirring with a spoon, until balao dissolves completely. Pour in coconut milk and add the pork and siling haba.

Continue simmering over medium heat until pork is fully cooked and oil starts to secrete from the coconut milk. Serve with rice.

Cook?s tips

Balao is a paste-like cake made from tiny shrimps or alamang and is sold in the wet markets of Bicol. You can order balao from Bicol Harvest (e-mail pinabest_bicol@yahoo.com, or call general manager Lanie Victa Moya at 0921-4473699).

If you can?t find balao, substitute good quality bagoong alamang, one that?s not too salty. Dissolve ? cup bagoong alamang in ? cup water before adding to the cooking pan.

There are some long chilies in the market that are not spicy. Ilocanos call this ?siling duwag? (cowardly chili). Since Bicol Express is supposed to be a fiery dish, make sure to buy the spicy kind of chili.

Bicolanos always use fresh coconut milk. Use the first pressing from grated coconut milk, which is thicker and richer than the subsequent pressing. A good substitute would be one cup canned coconut cream, available in supermarkets. (Note: Do not use canned coconut milk, which is too thin for this dish.)