The first time I learned about kinalas, a popular noodle dish in Naga City, I was queasy. The thought of eating pork brain gives me goosebumps. It is one part of an animal that I avoid and this one is said to contain this organ. But my curiosity got me and I didn’t look back.

I was overwhelmed with its taste. A hard to grasp but distantly familiar flavor exploding inside my mouth that I just have to close my eyes and revel in gustatory ecstasy. Ibos-ibos, a fusion rice concoction of a Filipino native delicacy at Chef Doy’s was one of two unforgettable experiences I had in Naga City, Camarines Sur.