Himamaylan Cacao Area
Description
Backyard and small-farm cacao cultivation in Himamaylan uplands. In Himamaylan, a mid-west coast city between cane country and the sea. Cacao here is backyard-scale rather than plantation — trees in house lots, beans dried on mats, then roasted, ground and pressed into tablea discs. Tablea is pure cacao with nothing added; it’s what sikwate and champorado are made from. Buy at the town market and ask for the local one rather than a commercial brand.
Tips
A working city on the southern highway rather than a destination — a reasonable meal and market stop when driving between Bacolod and Kabankalan, not a detour worth making on its own.
Stops
Western Coastal Food Chain
How to get there
On the southern highway between Bacolod and Kabankalan, roughly 2 hours from Bacolod.
Best Times
Early morning — markets, landings and roadside stalls all run hardest before 8am.