Welcome to Puebla

MANILA, Philippines — Mole poblano, chili poblano… Where in the world do these poblanos come from? I finally discovered they all come from Puebla in Mexico.

I was fortunate to be invited recently to a coffee convention in Puebla. Located two hours’ drive from Mexico City, Puebla is rich in history and still keeps a lot of its old world charm as well as its traditions. The people are warm, courteous and one of the most helpful I have met in Central America.

It is easy to go around the city. Take the Turibus, a tourist treat of an open-top double decker bus that takes you around the different neighborhoods of Puebla for a whole hour. Or there is Uber and local taxis. The local cabs have no meters so some negotiation must first happen before you get onboard. Uber is much simpler and dependable, even late in the evening.

We had an invitation to a green park called Parque Ecologico where a national coffee chain interestingly called The Italian Coffee Company is located in a two-story open structure with a long balcony and outside al fresco seating. This is where we spent most of our first day enjoying the company of women in the coffee trade from all over the world.

Then in the evening we met the owner of the coffee company plus the governor of Puebla – Tony Gali, a most charming man who hosted us for dinner at the historic Hotel Boutique Casa Reyna. The courtyard was a perfect spot for dinner amidst shots of tequila and red wine, Mexican corn soup and hot vegetable salsa.

There was time during our five-day summit to go around the city and discover the local fare. Our first adventure was a stop at a public market where there were about 10 or more vendors of Cemitas – a national sandwich made with heaps of vegetables, onions, peppers, a choice of Milanese pork or cooked meats, a handful of unstrung or detangled Oaxaca string cheese and packed high between a split Cemita bread. I was in awe as I saw huge one-meter wide and one-foot high bread baskets filled with this special bread.

And then the cheese – five or six people just “detangling” wheels of cheese into string-like portions for the sandwiches. In another corner, three people were pounding the pork cutlets into thinner patties that would go into the Milanese version. As I was too early for lunch, I could just imagine the crowds that would come and partake of this iconic meal.

The other nice stop would be at the Centro Historico – a typical square designed by the Spanish colonizers in 1531 – that would have the governor’s palace, the cathedral and a plaza in the center. Apparently Puebla’s plaza became the model square that would soon be replicated in other places like Mexico City. All around the square are cobblestone streets that lead you to more churches and more branches of The Italian Coffee Company (they have 20 in Puebla and 200 all over Mexico) as well as souvenir stores for Puebla’s famous hand-embroidered blouses, dresses and men’s shirts. Famous souvenirs include their pottery and ceramic ware, plates and bowls in the typical Poblano style.

Puebla also has a penchant for sweets. You will find familiar sweetened caramelized peanuts and sesame candies, lots of local pastries in bright colors and coffee beans to take home. We had the chance to visit Restaurant El Mural de Los Poblanos to try a Nopal salad – which turned out to be cactus. It is a little slimy like okra but wonderful to the bite as a salad served with black sesame and rice nachos. I thought they were friendly green peppers, but was pleasantly surprised to try a cactus in my meal.

I was curious, too, about mole – not the mark on your face but the distinctive Mexican sauce. So a degustacion of mole (mo-leh) was in order – green pipian, adobo mole and three more samples increasing in heat intensity or scovills.

Still in El Mural, I walked by the trolley of mezcal and sotol bottles, different kinds of tequila-like spirits. I learned that all tequilas are mezcals but not all mezcals are tequila. It was also time to try a sotol, another agave liquor. The waitstaff first made me put some in my palm, rub it and smell it. Then he lets me decide which 40-proof drink I wish to try. Interestingly, tequila or good mezcal is chased with a tomato juice like mixture called a sangria served in shot glasses beside a shot of the clear spirit.

Another place worth visiting is the Cultura Café, across the Museo Bellas Artes. Here, Mario and Antonio will offer you coffees from different parts of Mexico – Altura, Vera Cruz or whatever you may want to try in an espresso, a macchiato or even an iced latte. The third wave café prides itself on promoting coffee they source directly from farmers around the coffee-producing state. It reminded me of our new cafés in Manila staffed by younger coffee geeks who teach you a thing or two about local coffee.

And finally, a dining place near our hotel was Moyuelo on Avenida Juarez. We had a tourist version of Cemita (for those who want to skip the market), a nice lentil soup and a very good arugula salad with beets and goat cheese. Also rated as one of the better restaurents in Puebla, Moyuela has an al fresco area and an English-speaking staff, which makes it easy for those struggling with Spanish.

A few days in Puebla can be fun and a food adventure. I still will want to go back for Chiles en Nogada, and more of the natural fruits like melon (cantaloupe) and mangoes (the Mexican kind), sweet and regular potato chips freshly-fried and smothered with chili sauce and sold in small carts along the roadside.

The people are warm and hospitable and would venture a “konnichi wa” thinking we’re Japanese or the more popular “ni hao” thinking we’re Chinese.  We taught them a little Filipino – “salamat” and “kumusta,” which comes from “como estas” – and shared with them our journey of also being a Spanish conquest in 1521. Many similarities between Mexico and the Philippines, indeed…no wonder we felt quite at home!