Recently, I was with my high school classmates from Lourdes College in a meeting at Bistro Mercedes. It is a lovely place to sit and reminisce about our good old days as we see through the bistro's glass windows the building of our alma mater that we fondly call "Lourdes."

My reminiscing stopped when my order came along with a cup of hot chocolate or sikwate served on a demitasse cup. I gasped at the small size of the cup for I'm such a glutton for hot sikwate since I was a kid.

Post your prayers and condolences for Cory Aquino's family

I held the cup close to me and sighed, "Sige na lang!" then took a sip. My eyes widened... Ahhh, the sikwate of Bistro Mercedes has a rich chocolatey taste. It reminded me of the old Kagay-anon special the "Sikwate sa Pari."

The bistro's sikwate brought back fond home memories. I remember our old cook, Lucia, who knew how to make the Sikwate sa Pari using the purest tablea, fresh carabao's milk, sugar, and a native egg or two. The concoction was placed on a special metal container for cooking sikwate and is cooked in high heat.

Lucia used a wooden baterol and deftly beating the thick chocolate mixture until all the tablea has melted. Tita Mimi Balinado remembers the real Sikwate sa Pari that is so espeso or thick that it is hard to pour it into the cup!

But why is it called "Sikwate sa Pari"? Ages ago, all the priests or pari were held in reverence and awe by the Kagaya-nons. In every house they visited, they were usually accorded the finest hospitality and served the most delectable foods. I think the usual hot chocolate drink of the local mortals was not good enough to be given to the priest. So they came up with this special hot drink.

The "Sikwate sa Pari" is best eaten with the soft and buttery ensaymadas. Then there are the cinnamon laden manticado (pronounced as manticao) bars and the masa podrida with ube filling.

Another perfect accompaniment to the sikwate is the torta española, the Kagay-anon Christmas cake. Our old family recipe for the torta includes a dozen egg yolks, mantika sa baboy (pork lard), Brunn butter and queso de bola.

I was thinking our torta and the "Sikwate sa Pari" would make a lethal combination! Those were the days when no one knew about such things as cholesterol, saturated fats and strokes. For the old folks, it was joy for them to eat rich food.

Funny how a hot chocolate drink can stir up old memories of food and home. As the saying goes, "We are what we eat." The cholesterol laden sikwate sa pari is part of the food culture of Cagayan de Oro.

I hope the next time Cohara hosts is highly successful "Kumbira", it will feature our local food for this will help promote awareness and appreciation of the Kagay-anon cultural heritage. (Prroa50@yahoo.com)