Food Trips | Batangas Lomi

 

Being a Batangueña, a visit to my home province would not be complete without visiting a lomi house and having a taste of pancit lomi, or simply lomi to most Batangueños. Lomi is an egg noodle dish in thickened soup stock with meatballs (sometimes squid balls) and slices of kikiam, pork and liver as toppings; sometimes, with chicharon and hard-boiled eggs, too. But definitely, no vegetables! That's what sets Batangas lomi apart from other lomi variety.

Lomi was made known in 1968 by To Kim Eng, a Chinese immigrant in Lipa City who served this dish to his mah-jong friends. Because of its good taste, he then started getting orders of lomi. Soon after, he, together with his wife Natalia, started their own Lipa City Panciteria, the first lomi house in the city. From then on and due to the dish' sudden popularity, more lomi houses sprung up around the city and the neighboring towns as well. (history source) Nowadays, most (if not all) local eateries or restaurants has lomi in their menu. It is a recommended dish for travelers and food-trippers alike. And, it has now become Batangas' icon, aside from Batangas bulalo, and of course, the famous kapeng barako.

Lomi is usually served with soy sauce, calamansi and chili pepper. It is the customer who then prepares his own seasoning mixture, depending on his preference. It is typically served in a medium-sized bowl filled almost to the brim. Non-Batangueños and first-time eaters of Batangas lomi were usually astounded by its serving size and often wondered how they would finish it. But for some Batangueños, the serving size is just enough because it serves as a substitute to their regular meal, what with its carbo- and protein-rich ingredients. It's a heavy snack-cum-meal at a price that's not heavy on the pocket. An order of lomi usually costs around 50PhP to 100PhP, depending on the toppings (regular or special) and the location of the eatery or restaurant.

 

Curious about this hearty and delicious noodle dish? Go food-tripping in Batangas. Try a steaming hot lomi with a super spicy calamansi-soy-sauce-chili-pepper seasoning and you'll have that sweat-and-mucus-dripping but definitely tummy-filling experience. Enjoy! ^_^