facilities like pools and an obstacle course. Horseback riding, rappelling and wall climbing are offered aside from a host of water activities. The management is religiously Christian, thus smoking and drinking are not allowed; rooms are a tad austere; and there is a Bible study session if one wishes. But these tourist facilities can only hold momentary attention. The town center still remains fascinating, with its folks, rural living and some gastronomic delights. Kesong puti, espasol, buko candy and ginataang hipon are Lumban’s native food items. Kesong puti, literally “white cheese,” is like cottage cheese, made from carabao’s milk. Made at home, the milk is simmered, a pasteurization process, and added a cow’s inner stomach lining, which contains rennet, the enzyme responsible for turning milk into cheese. With a dash of salt, the coagulated milk is then pressed to squeeze out excess liquid; cut into squares; and wrapped in banana leaves. Some find their way to Manila restaurants or being sold by men, tied together in a pole. Early morning on Gil Puyat Street in Makati City, near the terminals of buses going to Laguna, one can find these men selling kesong puti. The town of Santa Cruz has appropriated the kesong puti as its banner product with a festival to go with it. It must be remembered that Santa Cruz was once part of Lumban. In presentday Lumban, two families are still making traditional kesong puti, the De Lunas and the Del Valles in the barangay of Maracta. The espasol is the tube-shaped sweet made of toasted ground rice, coconut milk and strips of coconut meat. The sticky delicacy is dusted with toasted rice flour. Espasol is also prepared in many towns in Laguna such as Alaminos, Nagcarlan and Pagsanjan. Some say Los Baños makes the best kind. But Lumban folks are particularly proud of their ginataang hipon.
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EXPERIENCE Travel and Living Volume 5, Number 3, Nov-Dec 2009
Shrimps in Coconut Milk Perly Palay operates a makeshift store at the front garage of her nondescript house along Bonifacio Street in the barangay of Primera Parang. Really, a table was set up by the door laden with her famous specialty, the ginataang hipon or freshwater shrimps in coconut milk. A tarpaulin banner that reads “Perly’s Ginataang Hipon and Atchara” loosely hung by the grill gate. Lumban hails the ginataang hipon as its unique dish, and Palay is considered by many as one of the best makers of ginataang hipon in town. Balikbayans regularly order from her when they are to return to other countries, a delectable reminder of home. A large talyasi or wok nearby is where she cooks the dish. If one is early, one may catch her preparing it. A fisherman delivers the shrimps, fresh and jumping, caught from Laguna Lake or the river. Each is about an inch or so. A kilo of the small and slippery crustaceans requires milk, the purest as possible, extracted from ten coconuts. The coconut milk is let to boil while constantly being stirred. Salt and one-eight cup of sugar are thrown into white and fragrant liquid, still being stirred. Upon boiling, the shrimps go in, their jumping more furious but short-lived. Their grim death amuses the customers. There is more stirring, and the mixture will be done in an hour and a half, when it turns rusty brown in color and oily. The dish, not really attractive, is sold for Php250 per kilogram. But what it lacks in appearance, it makes up for taste—sweet and rich. The texture can be a challenge—grainy, crunchy and chewy—with the shrimps cooked and eaten whole, shells, heads and all. Chew well. A dash of calamansi juice gives tang to the dish. Lumbeños prefer eating it with bahao, cold leftover rice. Palay’s enterprise was inspired by her mother, who sold already prepared dishes, which were well patronized. She started with merienda fare and later decided to specialize in atsara or pickled green papaya and ginataang hipon, her version taking three years to perfect taking cue from customer comments. One of her techniques is the use of kakang gata, the purest coconut milk possible, and the constant stirring. The old way