1. Biscocho (Liza's) and carabao milk pastillas (Marissa's) - Bulacan
2 Tempura like fried crispy mushrooms (Mom's Haus of Mushroom)- Bulacan
3. Sesame seed candy (Sonia's Sweets)- Zambales
4. Greaseless peanuts (Edelyn's)- Pampanga
At least these are the items I will gladly buy again if I see them again in the future.
There were other items that I bought like the smoked mullet (banak) from Bataan, mango leather and bamboo shoot pickles from Zambales and spiced cane vinegar from Tarlac. They were not bad but not specially good either. What I forgot to buy was the chili sauce made in Nueva Ecija which was reasonably good and well packaged.
In the crafts and furniture section, except for the molave root mortar and pestle from Aurora, I did not remember seeing anything remarkable. There were craft animals made from rice straws being sold at the Munoz City (Nueva Ecija) booth but the craftsmanship was shoddy. As for the wood furniture I saw, I wished that government will give them greater design and technical assistance to help participants come up with more attractive items.
For health reasons, I passed up the chance to buy a kind of pork chicharon from Nueva Ecija which was called inantala. It was the first time I saw this food item but I assumed its name was derived from the procedure of interrupting (antala) the cooking process so that the chicharon can be cooked to finish whenever by the end consumer..
Government sponsored trade fairs are a great way for the entrepreneurs to get exposure for their products. But for many of the products I saw, I hope the government can also help the entrepreneurs package and develop their products better. For the food products, I hope government can also come up with standards of quality to guide manufacturers and consumers alike.
Central Luzon or Region III is made up of the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. I hope I remember my geography right and did not miss a province.
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