The province of Antique is not really known for its cuisine. I haven’t seen that many restaurants during our Manggad Kang Antique Heritage Tour, our meals usually hosted by Flord Calawag of Tibiao Fish Spa. But we did get to eat on some of the local eateries in the province once in a while. Emphasis on the word eatery. This is quite understandable since Antique’s tourism is still in its relative state of infancy.

Here are some of the food places we got to try while in Antique.

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Dipping your feet on foot-high water and having it nibbled by three-inch fishes is not for everyone. It may look as simple as say, having your nails trimmed, but for some people, it’s as unbearable as having a mountain lion gnaw your arms.

Well, okay that’s too much.

But heck, the screeches I heard from some of my companions while we’re having our fish spa would really make you think twice before dipping your foot down for them fishes to feast on.

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A moustached manong wearing his cap backwards was up on a tree, oblivious to everything. He was plucking rambutans from way up, throwing them down on a patched pail on the ground as soon as his hands become full. We were at Nica Farm in Antique and it was my first time to see rambutans on its native settings.

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A CARABAO TETHERED TO A RAMBUTAN TREE

The day was slightly overcast as we arrived at Barangay La Paz in the town of Tibiao, but we never did mind. Nica Farm is located on a lush patch of land in Antique. While my idea of a farm, growing up in Cabanatuan City, is of rice fields; this particular one, while has its share of carabaos, has no fields at all.

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The first thing that comes to one’s mind when one mentions pottery-making is Vigan City. But unbeknownst to most people, a small town in Antique also has the same industry. On our second day of touring the province, we not only got to visit their place but we also got to try our hands on molding clay pots.

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KIDS FROM UP VISAYAS

The day started early. From the Zipline Inn, the group drove down to Barangay Malabor for a leisurely breakfast at its pebbly shore, the same spot where we experienced Lambaklad Fishing the day before. We then headed to Barangay Bandoja right after, it was time to get our hands dirty.

CLAY POTTERY IN TIBIAO

Tons of orange bricks greeted us as we alighted from our van. The place is about a fourth in size compared to Vigan City’s pottery shops, but it’s no less compelling. Together with students from the University of the Philippines Visayas, we all swarmed through the complex, taking snaps and basically just gawking at this seemingly archaic way of building stuff.

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BRICKS AND POTTERY

Bricks are generally not used as building materials here in the Philippines, the hollow block, being the preferred choice. It’s probably due to the lack of clay material to use, which is unfortunate since bricks are really beautiful.

You can’t say that for the town of Tibiao though as they have about half a million metric tons of clay reserve. I just wish they’d start using bricks more as building materials. Just imagine a whole village made of brick houses in this town and the tourism it would bring.

A LADY POTTER AT BARANGAY BANDOJA

After everyone settled down, the lady potters of Barangay Bandoja started to do their magic. Molding, spinning, trimming—transforming a block of unwieldy earth into something useful and beautiful.

POTTERY-MAKING CONTEST!

To make things more interesting, the guys from Katahum Tours conducted a building contest of sorts with the college kids. Grouped into four and guided by one potter, they’re asked to build a pot of any kind. The more unique the better.

We also tried to get into the spirit of things, getting our hands dirty and all. But building a clay pot is not an easy job. Clay is an unwieldy element. But that didn’t stop us from having fun and making our own design, deformed as it may be.

Tibiao Pottery and Bricks
Address: Barangay Bandoja, Tibiao, Antique
Contact Number:
Opening Hours:
GPS Coordinates:

Are we there yet? Our vehicle meandered through the dark and narrow roads of Barangay Tuno in the town of Tibiao, Antique. Coming from a very entertaining cultural show at the University of Antique, we were now on our way to our beds—the said beds, on a seemingly remote and unreachable part of Antique’s hilly area.

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A PATHWAY INSIDE ZIPLINE INN IN ANTIQUE

The lights were out as we finally alighted from our van. At last we were at the Zipline Inn, but we can’t see anything. It was brownout in the area and the staff had to lead us with lamps to our rooms. I have absolutely no idea what the place looked like until the next morning. All I know are there are trees and greeneries all around, lots of them.

The waves slapped my legs as I clumsily tried to board the two-layered balsa. A group of almost twenty persons were already on board the bamboo raft, a mix of tourists and legit fisherfolks outlined against the slowly setting sun. Before the afternoon ends, we got some fishing to do, lambaklad-style.

LONGSILOG BREAKFAST ALONG THE SHORE OF BARANGAY MALABOR

I was ruminating through this experience as I slowly chewed on my morning longsilog meal. We were at the exact same spot along the shore of Barangay Malabor in the town of Tibiao. It was the second day of Antique’s Katahum Tour and so far, it’s been a blast. I didn’t expect Antique to hold so much promise when it comes to tourism, being foreshadowed by its more popular neighbors of Kalibo and Iloilo.

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