Why this lady thinks you're missing a lot in your travel

Philippine gastronomy explorer Clang Garcia presents photographs from her travels all over the country at the IFEX Philippines 2024 at the World Trade Center in Manila May 11, 2024. Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News

There's this familiar expression, we often say, that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

For Clang Garcia, nothing can be more true. She swears there is no better travel experience than getting to taste and learn the local dishes in the places we go to.

During the last International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines held at the World Trade Center in Manila earlier this month, Garcia greeted guests to the expo with her photo exhibit on Philippine Food Holidays, pictures from her travels all over the country. What is different about the exhibit, indeed the travel that she espouses, is the focus on the culinary experience. 

"Food goes beyond sustenance; food is culture, food is history. It gives us identity as a people and as a nation. If we are not going to document it, who else will," Garcia explained.

Big words for a petite lady. But this dedication to an existential cause was born out of her experience as a writer, a traveler, a tour operator and eventually an ambassador of gastronomy travel.

Clang Garcia, writer, explorer, tour operator and food ambassador presents the culmination of her work at the IFEX Philippines 2024. Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News

Garcia traces the roots of her dalliance with travel to her first job after graduating from college with Mabuhay magazine, Philippine Airlines in-flight magazine, from 1994 to 1997. It was there that she was able to go to other places in the country for the first time. 

Fast forward to 2008, she founded Jeepney Tours, a tour service that takes visitors on a gastronomic trip to several predestined towns and cities, carefully mapping the journey to include a deep dive into the local cuisine. The business made her a member of PHILTOA, the Philippine Tour Operators Association, where she eventually became a member of the board.

In 2015, Madrid Fusión Manila took place, the trade exhibition that featured the finest Filipino products, world-class ingredients, and fruits alongside Spanish goods. The Department of Tourism was looking for someone to provide culinary tours for the international celebrity chefs and gastronomy media. The task landed on Garcia's lap. 

"That changed the game for me when I had the chance to tell the stories of our people, food, culture, and history while I observed their fundamental interests, points of curiosity, and the questions they asked," recalled Garcia.

Clang Garcia's photo exhibit at the IFEX Philippines 2024 is a collection from over 15 years of travel to culinary destinations in the Philippines. Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News

Combine all these experiences and you will understand how her love for Philippine travel, food and culture got instilled in her and how this further crystallized to what she thinks is her true calling, culinary heritage tourism.

"When you travel it's very important to try the local traditional dishes because it gives you a glimpse of the local culture and the way of life of the people. You can never say you have visited a destination until you try the local food, because it's a window to the soul of the locals."

Take for example Bicol. We all marvel at the majestic Mayon Volcano, whether it is during its eruption or even when it is inactive. But did you know that around the same mountain are grown some of the taro crops for the local dish, pinangat? The rich volcanic soil and the stream that flows down from the mountain nourishes the taro leaves that go into the pinangat. That environment cannot be easily replicated, that is why the most authentic dishes can only be had if you go to the local source.

"I enjoy palengke. Everytime I visit a destination I make sure bumibisita ako ng palengke at kumakain ako sa carinderia. That's my gauge, because those are the repository of local culture," mused Garcia.

The second edition of Clang Garcia's Food Holidays was recognized at 29th Gourmand Awards as “Best Food Tourism Book in the World." Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News

The exhibit also gets its inspiration from her book, "Food Holidays." First published in 2016, the one of a kind Philippine travel book features travel details to several destinations around the country, combined with authentic regional cuisines and recipes that celebrate the country's culinary treasures. The second edition, published in 2023, won the 29th Gourmand Awards as “Best Food Tourism Book in the World."

Garcia's roots in gastronomy however goes all the way back, from the time that she would loiter around her grandmother's carinderia as a young teener in Pasay City, experiencing her cooking style and absorbing her influence in the kitchen.

Clang Garcia conducts a cooking demo at the IFEX Philippines 2024 where she shared cooking techniques while preparing her "Binukuhang Mangga." Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News 

When we caught her doing the cooking demonstration at the IFEX, she shared a style from her 'Lola Taba' of not slicing the tomatoes that go into the broth of the dish, instead mashing it by hand to squeeze out all the juice. The end product was the Binukuhang Mangga, that in her own words would be malinamnam (rich, umami) instead of just plain delicious, making sure to differentiate between being delicious to "tasting all the essence of the ingredients and spices that go into the dish."

Early this year, Garcia was named Philippine Ambassador for the World Food Travel Association (WFTA), a global authority on culinary tourism, further cementing her goal of being a champion of the Filipino culinary culture worldwide.