Aside from its magnificent tourist attractions, wonderful sights, elegant hotels and pristine beaches, Cebu is also host to a number of gastronomic treats. One of which is the masareal – a known delicacy, which originated from Mandaue City.
These sweet nibbles come in rectangular bars and are wrapped in paper. Made from peanuts and sugar syrup, Masareal is a delightful treat for kids and sweets-loving adults. In fact, this is a favorite delicacy for balikbayans to bring back abroad. Today, masareal is sold in various shapes and designs. They come in fancy silhouettes and contours.
Masareal is not readily available for our kababayans abroad. Apparently, no one exports Masareal. Guess they will just have to ask for their relatives in the Philippines to send them Masareal.
However, you can make your own Masareal by following these simple steps:
Prepare a kilo of peanuts, a cup of sugar and a cup of water. Place the unshelled peanuts in a pot full of water, and let the water boil. When the peanuts are cooked, let it cool down. Thereafter, shell the peanuts and grind them fine.
Prepare your sugar syrup by mixing the sugar and water in a pot over the stove. Once the syrup thickens, put the ground peanuts. Continue stirring the mixture until it becomes thick.
Afterwards, pour the thick concoction over a thin baking sheet. Flatten and even out the surface, and let it cool down. Lastly, cut them into rectangular strips, and voila! You now have your own Masareal.
The Mantawi Festival is a yearly event celebrated every May 7 in Mandaue City, Cebu. The festival is a celebration of Mandaue’s rich cultural and historical heritage and its importance today as a commercial and industrial center in Cebu.
Local historians say that the name Mantawi is a species of indigenous vine or tree that abundantly grew in a cove in the shores of Cebu when the explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521. The Spaniards eventually built a settlement on the site of the cove that later became the village of Tipolo, which today is one of the barangays in Mandaue.
Tipolo is the location of the first dry-docking facility in the country that serviced the galleons that carried the Philippines’ trade with other countries during the Galleon Trade from the 16th century to the early 19th century.
The local government of Mandaue conceptualized the Mantawi festival in 2002 to commemorate the historical value and economic significance of the founding of Mandaue to the history of the province of Cebu.
The activities of the festival include a grand parade of street dancers in colorful costumes and diorama floats showing the culture and history of Mandaue. The street dancers come from different elementary and high schools, barangays, and other organizations based in Mandaue and from other places in Cebu. A parade of giants made of paper, cardboard and carton showing the people who influenced the founding and growth of Mandaue is part of the parade.
The culmination of the festival is the awarding of prizes to the winners of the competitions for street dancing and float display. After the awarding ceremonies at night, hundreds of people would go to the Mandaue Plaza to witness the annual grand fireworks display.
