Locally produced cheese

I couple of weeks ago Rose and I were riding through the streets of Calbayog city, me pedalling and Rose riding in the sidecar, when we saw a street vendor selling cheese. These little thin disks of cheese are made from the milk of the carabao (water buffalo) and are very salty. I don't know why they have to be so salty, and I wash them in clean water for a few minutes before eating them to remove some of the salt. It's the only local cheese, there aren't many dairy cows here.

We bought 100 pieces for 300 pesos (about $5.35). The vendor put his little tub of cheese down on the road, put a plastic bag over his hand for a glove and carefully placed the pieces in another plastic bag for us to carry. He told us they are made in Gandara, a town an hour's ride away, where Rose's brother Rody happens to be the District Judge.


Four piles of carabao milk cheese on our dining table