What’s in Samar dining table?

Depending on the occasion and which place in the province, Samar offers a wide array of food – many of them are family heirlooms that were passed from a generation to the next.

In the town of Jiabong, the green mussels capital of Eastern Visayas, tahong dishes include relleno, barbecue, lumpia, oven-baked with cheese and garlic, or grilled, which is a bunch thrown to open fire until the shells open up to indicate that it is already cooked. In recent years, the town also developed tahong chips.

Anywhere in the province, a fiesta table is not complete without delectable tamalos (braised pork belly wrapped in rice dough), humba, bola catalana (a local variation of meatloaf) and callos.

A drink over a gallon of bahalina would be paired with a kinilaw of anything – meat, fish, shells, sea snail, and even banana blossom.

Garcia said The Secret Kitchens of Samar is a product of immersive research across the province, capturing the untold stories of Waray home cooks, local artisans, and generational recipes that are often passed down by memory and tradition. Each volume serves as both a cookbook and cultural anthology—preserving Samar’s culinary soul for future generations.

The Secret Kitchens of Samar was funded by the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, with technical support from the Department of Tourism regional office, as part of the Spark Samar program, the tourism initiative of the provincial government of Samar.

In a statement, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan said the Secret Kitchens of Samar serves as a cultural and gastronomic chronicle that documents the traditions, recipes, and community life across Samar’s diverse towns, placing the province—and the Philippines—on the global culinary map.