I recall my sister got hospitalized once when she ate too many batwan. She loves to eat sour fruits she could lay her hands on and so, upon seeing a plastic full of batwan in our kitchen, she grabbed it all, along with salt and sinamak, her favorite sawsawan and retired to her room to feast on it. In the middle of the night, she woke up with a severe stomach ache and so she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

On the side note, she was the best cook amongst us three siblings. She inherited my father’s cooking skills that everytime she visits me here in Manila, I would send her to talipapa for some tilapya to be cooked into paksiw which is her signature dish.

I’m station in singapore for 18 yrs now and unlike others I’m consider a local na so I’ve been to all the markets here and you’ll be surprise that you actually find everything here to cook a mean filipino food which include bangus, isdang dapa, lapu lapu, dulong, galunggong, sting ray, kamias, bayabas, dayap, pirurutong, bulalo, etc…. Tekka Market is good as well as Tiong Bahru. They also have this wholesale vegetable market as well Woodlands and jurong fish port where you can buy fresh seafoods.

For imported hard to find ingredients you can go to Tanglin supermarket or Jones the grocer @ Dempsey hill who have an incredible selection of cheese. They have also jamon iberico now here