FLORENCIO “Entoy” Escabas, one of the most popular cooks of Cordova town’s famous eel delicacy “bakasi,” passed away on June 15. He was 72.
Escabas was the proprietor of Ka Entoy eatery in Barangay Buagsong, which has been serving the much-loved dish since it opened in 2002.
His daughter Ginalyn Tura confirmed his death.
According to her, her father was admitted to a private hospital in Lapu-Lapu City on June 14 because he wasn’t feeling well. But in the early hours of June 15, he died.
Tura clarified that her father succumbed to acute coronary syndrome, a heart ailment, and not the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
They buried him on June 16 since current Covid protocol bans the holding of wakes.
Meanwhile, Tura assured her father’s customers that she and her siblings will continue to operate the eatery and serve the popular dish.
She said her father had passed on his recipe to someone else who have been doing the cooking these past few years, which explains why the dish tastes the same.
However, Tura said she hopes the eatery will remain where it is even though her father is already dead. She said they’ve been renting the space for the last 18 years.
Ka Entoy is once again open to customers, albeit for take-out orders only, after it shut down when the town was placed on enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status.
However, business has been slow since outsiders still cannot the town unless they are essential workers or are exempted from the stay-at-home order.
The Escabas family caught and sold eels in the 1980s before opening Ka Entoy in 2002. The eatery and Escabas’ “bakasi” was featured on the Netflix TV show “Street Food” in 2019. (GCM, PJB)