This festival is a celebration of the founding anniversary of the town that showcases the rich culture and display the wide variety of local resources and delicacies of the people lived in Cabiao called "Kabyawenos". The acronym "PaIsTiMa Ka" is from: Pa (Palay), Is (Isda), Ti (Tinapay), Ma (Mangga), and Ka (Ikaw).
Puno Ice Cream and Sherbet was founded by Atanacio and Simeona Puno in an effort to send their nine children to school. Today, it has become one of the well-known products of Nueva Ecija. This is why I felt fortunate to visit its plant during our Lakabay Norte trip.
What’s interesting about Puno Ice Cream is the unique flavors they offer. We were able to try Cheese Cashew Macapuno and Buko Sherbet with Lychees.
Pinapaitan is a traditional delicacy from the Ilocano region, which consists of various goat innards such as liver, intestines, and heart. In Nueva Ecija, there is a local version where the broth is cooked with alibangbang or butterfly leaves, which gives it a slightly sour taste similar to tamarind leaves. This version is not as sour as the traditional Ilocano papaitan, which uses bile, but it tastes more like sinampalukan, a sour soup dish. During a special catered lunch at Minalungao National Park, this dish was served along with other interesting side dishes like ensaladang labanos (pickled radish salad), biya (goby), and ulang (crayfish).
Boodle fight. The military style of eating where food is prepared on a long table for people to eat with bare hands has become a culinary experience it itself, especially for city folk and balikbayans who have never tried it. Viands and rice are usually arranged on top of banana leaves for diners to choose from and eat with their bare hands. Meals like these, which usually consist of grilled meat, fish, local vegetables, salted duck egg, and pancit, are best for big groups.