Last Sunday, I decided to pursue a new hobby and found myself strolling down what is known to be the oldest existing street in the Philippines: Colon.
Colon or colon?
You don’t pronounce it like the punctuation (:) or, worse, that other name for the large intestine.
It’s more like cologne, but make the second o sound like a shwa rather than a long ō.
A bit of history
The street is steeped in history. Named after Italian explorer Cristobal Colon, a.k.a. Christopher Colombus, Colon Street is a national road. In fact, it is known as the shortest national road.
It was part of the original town plans of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish explorer who arrived in Cebu in 1565 and built the Philippines’ first Spanish settlement.
In its heyday, Colon (as the street is commonly known now) was the central business district of Cebu. It was the place for high-end shopping and business transactions.
Back to the future
Today, it stands as a piece of history. What was once elegant and expensive is now run down and cheap. Just like Escolta in Manila.
Colon may no longer be a glamorous place to buy goods and food, but it is still the place to buy goods and food.
When people say “Colon,” they are not just talking about the street. Colon also means the whole area surrounding Colon Street.
The place to find any and all finds
This is where people find fresh fruits, vegetables, popular snacks like bananaque (saba bananas cooked with brown sugar in oil and then skewered on a stick), adobong mani (peeled peanuts roasted with garlic and, sometimes, chili), nilagang mani (roasted peanuts in their shell), fish balls (on a stick) and just about any kind of Pinoy street food.
We were about to leave (shopping accomplished) when I just couldn’t help myself and bought from a lady who was peeling green mangoes on the sidewalk.
Sidewalk drool factor
One piece of peeled unripe mango (P20) was already sliced and came with a small packet of spicy bagoong (that foul-smelling, but mouthwatering shrimp paste).
What really made my mouth water, though, was the rock salt with dried chopped chilies. Ate (a way of addressing an elder sister or any woman; in this case, the lady vendor) let me sprinkle this simple and divine condiment on my mango, myself.
You won’t believe how good the sour mango tasted with the chili-infused salt and the spicy-salty-sweet bagoong.
I bought only one mango, but immediately wished I got two instead.
The place for finds and food
If you ever find yourself on Colon Street in Cebu looking for something, try some of the sidewalk fare. You can also have large guavas and sweet corn. You often see how the food is prepared, but just be careful. Street food in the Philippines (or anywhere) can be not entirely safe. I wouldn’t buy anything submerged in water.
That said, have fun and enjoy some street food!
finds and food 