Filipino dish Bicol Express is trending in the Twitterverse. It began when user @joshquising shared an image of a dish made from a local establishment, Cres Snack Inn, Legazpi in Albay, and made a claim to its legtimacy. It reads:
Dear Manila, ito yung itsura ng legit na Bicol Express (courtesy of Cres Snack Inn, Legazpi).
See how different it looks from your ginataang baboy masquerading as “Bicol Express”? HAHAHAHA pic.twitter.com/FeODjkWALD
— Josh (@joshquising) July 13, 2023
“Dear Manila, ito yung itsura ng legit na Bicol Express (courtesy of Cres Snack Inn, Legazpi). See how different it looks from your ginataang baboy masquerading as “Bicol Express”? HAHAHAHA”
The post started a hellfire of reactions, as spicy as the dish itself, with more than 773K views and 463 retweets. A good number of netizens agreed since it was also how they cook or enjoy the classic Filipino dish. Others, however, heavily weighed in on the matter. One user even replied with another photo of a Bicol Express claiming it to be authentic since it was cooked by his wife who was born and raised in another part of Albay.
Dear Josh,
Ito ay itsura ng legit na Bicol Express (courtesy of my wife, born and raised in Oas, Albay).
See how it looks different from the Bicol express you posted? I wont say yours is masquerading though. Katulad ng ibang ulam, magkakaiba tayo ng paraan ng pagluluto. pic.twitter.com/10FXiglSAV
— tweetnitito (@tweetnitito) July 13, 2023
“Ito ay itsura ng legit na Bicol Express (courtesy of my wife, born and raised in Oas, Albay). See how it looks different from the Bicol express you posted? I wont say yours is masquerading though. Katulad ng ibang ulam, magkakaiba tayo ng paraan ng pagluluto”.
Some people, most especially those with Bicolano roots, also chimed in to voice out the version they’re familiar with:
My lola’s Bicol Express is different, and she’s from Sorsogon. Yung siling green ang pinakagulay, ginayat ng slanted na medyo maliit. Tapos merong ilang siling labuyo na ginayat. May konting baboy at bagoong at nagmamanti-mantika dahil sa gata.😊
— OAV (@MomkulitV) July 13, 2023
Bicolano here. There are different ways of preparing bicol express. But honestly the best ones are prepared from actual bicolano homes not restos.
— Sanjoe🇵🇭 (@SonjoePH) July 13, 2023
Bicolana here. I’ve tried diff. versions ng bicol express growing up, parang adobo sya na every household has their own recipe. Samin, it includes gata, fatty pork, a ton of chillies, pineapples, tomatoes, “balaw” or the bagoong made of small shrimp.
— Anj (@anjarmeab) July 13, 2023
Bicolano ako (Legazpi City, Albay). Hindi ganyan ang Bicol Express na kinalakihan ko. Also, hindi sa Bicol nag-originate ang “Bicol Express” — sa Malate, Manila.
— Ralph Revelar Sarza (@walphs) July 13, 2023
Some also raised the fact that the dish isn’t even authentic Bicolano since it was invented in Manila (during a cooking competition), which was even reported by the BiteSized team a few years ago:
Ok, so we’re calling out legit recipes right? So pinoy carbonara isn’t real carbonara. It’s literally bacon or ham with cream sauce.
— Jack Preacher (@Humanporchini) July 13, 2023
Ah ok. E di congrats sa u at nakakain ka nang “legit” na Bicol express. Meanwhile, kakain muna ako nitong minatamis na pasta masquerading as “Spaghetti”.
— ᜐᜒᜆᜁ (@zeetae) July 13, 2023
Wag niyo naman sapawan ang mga Kapampangan sisig purists.
— Panlinugun (@panlinugun182) July 13, 2023
One tweet though raised the most valid question:
Ano ba punto mo?
— Ilowilow (@Ilowilow2) July 13, 2023
In the end, this conversation can go on and on like the hundreds of thousands of ways to cook Bicol Express. All that matters is, it’s a dish we Filipinos have all come to defend and love.
How do you like your Bicol Express? Let us know! In the meantime, here are some of our creative Bicol Express recipes you’d want to try for yourself:
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