I have been looking forward to this event after it was first launched some years ago. When pandemic hit, a lot of events have been canceled including this one. I think it was last year when they did another event like this but limited the attendees. I only saw the posts about it online. They held a cooking competition I think to for this event.
This year, since restrictions have been lifted, it is about time for another "Mangan Taku" Food Fair. "Mangan taku" means let's eat. The city had become a hub of diverse flavors and food from different regions and countries. However, the tradition of the Cordillerans called "watwat" is still highly celebrated here.
"Watwat" is/are chunks of boiled/raw meat mostly pork distributed to guests in events like wedding, thanksgiving or any celebration. It is present in every Cordilleran event. However, it is not just all about the meat. It is about coming together and celebrating together. It is a way of sharing what we have and also being grateful of what we have. It's about unity and taking care of each other.
Thus, it is but proper that the theme for this year is "watwat." In spite of what happened to us during the pandemic, it is a Thanksgiving still that we are here.
This is my entry to 
The food fair was held for only three days this time. I only came to know about it during the second day. On the last day, we were able to make it. The event was held at the Wright Park lake. I didn't know what to expect. When we got there, I saw that only one side of the lake was filled with stalls.
This is what greets you at the entrance - a hut with vegetables in kayabang (basket). Benguet is known for its highland vegetable produce. There is nothing in the hut though but maybe because it was the last day already and we were in the afternoon so I guess they started packing up.
There were a lot of people that time. The limited space left for us to walk is crowded. We were actually looking for a particular product that we have been wanting to buy for so long. It is an Ifugao sausage called pinuneg/pinunog. We first tasted this one of the restaurants here in the city that unfortunately closed. We haven't found a seller online of that kind of sausage. When I saw that there was an Ifugao stall and they have this sausage, it was what the main purpose of our visit to the fair.
Fresh and organic vegetables can be seen sold at that time. I was curious of these though.
They look like mushroom fries. I bought the medium pack of mushroom grissini that is sour and cream flavored.
We then continued to check out other stalls.
Rabbits are gaining popularity here in the city and all around the country. Now, rabbit meat is being sold everywhere. According to the Department of Agriculture, they are promoting rabbit meat as an alternative source of meat. This was met with oppositions from some groups but, then meat is meat. I support this initiative of the DA.
There are giant mangoes and hot chili sauce. There was also clay pots and beads from another province being sold. These colorful accessories are pricey. They start at USD50.00. It may not be expensive to some but that's big money for me already to be spent for that but considering the beauty of it, it is worth it. I just don't have the money for it.
This is the Ifugao stall. Notice the picture in the background. Ifugao is famous for their rice terraces. They have varied cookies and other baked goodies, some pickles and other delicacies. Unfortunately, they were out of sausage. They were serving rice meals there too. When I checked their menu, I didn't see if there are sausages that you can buy separately and I don't see anything displayed so I asked one of the staff there who informed me they ran out of sausages. So we the moved on.
Aside from rabbit, cocoa is another product that is gaining ground here in the city. We have one particular chocolate producer that I really like their products. They know have varied kinds of chocolates. They even have a chocolate spread. It's good that these chocolates are sold everywhere in the city so I can just buy some whenever I wanted. I would have loved to buy some right there and then but we still have lots of chocolates at home that we haven't consumed.
Of course, coffee is always present. Every region has their own kind of coffee.
If you have noticed in some of the photos above, there are different textiles used as covers. Each region has their own pattern. Here in Abra stall, they showcased their different patterns and designs.
This is one of the stalls that we wanted to try but everything was sold out. Business is doing good!
And we have now come to the end of the food fair stalls. There were fewer participants this year but glad to see them all.
At the back of the park are these souvenir shops. Art can also be seen displayed in between stalls.
This is how the mushroom grissini looked like. I honestly was disappointed with it. It's dry and nothing sour and cream about it. I had to look up what grissini means for I don't know what it means. So it was breadstick and it's supposed to be dry? Anyway, now I know what grissini is.
All in all, it was nice going there. We may have been disappointed for we didn't get what we came for but it was a fun visit all the same. There was no "watwat" too for I think they did that during that opening of the fair.
Looking forward to the next Mangan Taku food fair!