The Sorry Loss Of A Binatog Vendor

I don’t know how will you react to what I am about to tell you. I am saddened by the disappearance of a certain vendor in town. Yes, I am serious. This vendor, I call him “Manong” (which is what we Filipinos often use to refer to an older man we don’t know, or “Sir”, if in a suit), sells the best binatog in town the whole world. I found out just now that his full name is Joel Angibat (from commenter Jimili here). For those who do not know what binatog is, it is a  warm concoction of boiled corn, coconut, sugar and milk. I don’t have a picture of it, unfortunately, so if you’re curious enough you can Google it for an image of how it looks like.

So as I was saying, I haven’t seen Manong Joel in his binatog stand in the last two trips I made to town, which was a week apart, so it must be a while since he last sold his delicious binatog. Sure, there are other binatog vendors in Baguio (in fact, immediately beside his old stand is another seller of binatog), but nothing compares to Manong Joel’s concoction. For a mere ten pesos a cup, you get a warm snack to comfort you on a typical cold day here in Baguio. Come to think of it, corn is my comfort food, so that must be the reason why I love binatog so much.

Now that he’s gone, I don’t know if I’ll ever look forward to going to town anymore. See, it’s been a habit to drop by his stand whenever I need to be in town for anything, so now that I don’t know where he is anymore, I don’t think I’ll enjoy eating binatog anymore. I’ve tasted almost all other binatog but nothing comes close to Manong Joel’s. I guess this post is kind of a silent (okay, not so) cry to anyone who happens to know where Manong Joel is now selling his binatog, because I sure as hell would go there to buy one if only I knew where.

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38 Responses

  1. ah yes, binatog does go well with baguio’s climate. i miss going up there, too. especially the part where i buy freshly ground coffee at the market before getting on the bus back home 🙂

  2. Hello! I feel so bad about the binatog vendor. the last time i had that was baka 1989 pa. Baka nanalo sa lotto tapos binatog magnate na siya sa makati. I saw your comment. Sorry, nakalimuten ko sa sobrang busy. andun na siya now, katabi nung Random WAHM thoughts. hirap with bravejournal, it’s so limited. we’re only allowed 25 linkS!!!

  3. hala baket kya bigla ako nasad for you.. sana nman bumalik na si manong joel sa pwesto nya ng mkakain ka na ulit ng binatog..

    alam mo feeling ko kambal tyan nten.. ask my father, big fan ako ng binatog.. ask yobib big fan ako ng nilaga or inihaw na mais.. ayan nga oh naglalaway na ko ngaun 😀 hahahah

    cheers sa cornys 🙂 hihih

  4. hi!

    wow ang bait mo pala talaga

    ako nga hindi ko na napapansin kung sino yung mamang sorbetero or mamang magtataho, magbabalot, etc dun sa lugar namen eh

    ang sama ko …

    pero na-miss ko tuloy yung binatog

    parang wala yatang nagtitinda ng ganun sa’men

    hehehe

  5. so sorry to hear that…yong disappearnce nya marce, is it because nagtransfer sya or really disappear that family are looking for him?

    1. i hope naman nagtransfer lang sya marce. baka nakakita lang sya bago pwesto. si marce kaye masyado lng nag-aalala. hihi

  6. they have binatog here in Thai style- boiled yellow corn, with margarine and white sugar…mukhang mas masarap yang binatog nyo jan. I haven’t tasted pa kasi yong binatog ng Baguio..wala ding ganyan sa aming probinsya…

  7. I heart binatog too. though manong is gone, his yummy binatog is still there, remember that good memory he left you, consider eating binatog as giving cheers to him because at some point in his life, he made someone happy.

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