Just a couple of weeks ago, I was visiting and touring around Argao Cebu, which is about 2 hours away from the city through taking a bus. One of the stores I dropped by in Argao, is of course the famous Chitang’s torta.
Chitang’s torta is like the commercialized version of torta in Argao, there are other torta makers there but Chitang’s torta is the store that really invests in marketing and promoting their product.
You won’t miss its store, though it’s about a 2 blocks away from the national highway. Just when you enter the town of Argao, you’ll start to see the commercial signs and the sign going to Chitang’s. Just tell the driver to make a stop near the pharmacy (I forgot if it was Rose or Mercury Drug) and you’re totally near from there. You can walk or take a tricycle from there.
There are a lot of ways going to the store, but if you're on the main highway side, then you'll be able to see this from afar.
But them, if you're coming from the other side, then you'll get a view of this side (below).
By the way, the yellow house just beside it is actually the house of the current owner.
When I actually arrived at the store, there these people there buying the Torta from them. They're that famous here. So I became really curious about the store now, and of course what their torta is like.
When the people cleared out, this is my view. They also have a FREE wifi there, but that time it seems that their internet connection is really slow that my internet on my mobile is a lot faster. But hey, their store is pretty clean!
If no one is there to attend you at the store, you can totally ring the bell at that Mr. Chef statue guy (lower right of the photo above).
Other than torta, they also have other products there. The (coconut) wine though is not theirs but they have podreda, suncake, browas and even polvoron. But since I came there for torta and my guide (and new found friend) Janine is a neighbor of the owner, and I was lucky enough to be given a chance to see the making of their famous torta de Argao!
First stop is here, it's here where they do the mixtures and do the last step which is putting the sugar on top and wrapping the torta. So the first and last step goes here.
Check out what they've done after the first step. Their secret recipe with raisins on top! And this one will go at their traditional baking of torta (below).
Nope! The torta is not on top, it's in the middle where the lady is sticking her stick into checking if it's cooked. It's totally hot in here though.
When it's all baked, it looks like this. It makes me want to take a bite but they're not done yet!
Someone else will also put the cheese on top after that. Then send it back to the area (first area) where they put the sugar on top and then wrap it for take out! And of course, my trip won't be complete and my visit to Chitang's Torta is not done without tasting it.
They served us with their famous Hot Chocolate milk (which Argao also have the best tablea maker, the Guilang's tablea) and of course their famous torta! I totally did have the best food of Argao that day!
Chitang's Torta - The Verdict
What's unique of torta de Argao is that they don't use yeast for it to rise but instead they use the bahalina or tuba (coconut wine) and I believe they use and actually sell a coconut wine there too which is also from Argao, it's actually called the Bahalmax owned by Mr. and Mrs. Nilo Sedon who I also visited on that day and share about their product here on the Exotic Philippines blog.The people of Argao proudly says something about their torta, "magkadugay, magkalami" which means the longer it is stored (not eaten) the better and best it taste. So we didn't ate it for a couple of days, but I was able to taste the fresh one at the store and the other we ate it 5 days later. And to tell you the truth, and I'm not paid or forced to say this but it actually taste a lot better.
So please note that my rating for Chitang's torta is based on my type of taste and I would rate Chitang's torta, torta with stars. The fresh one that I tasted from Chitang's torta is not that good, I mean I think that I'm just used with the traditional use of yeast so I could totally taste the tuba so I find it weird to taste it with the torta. It's still there even days after but the taste of the torta is a lot better, but then again I like the one using the yeast a lot better - probably because we're used with the torta version of Lilo-an's Titay's. But then again, it's my tongue, the torta is not my type of taste and the torta is Argao's best, so better have it a try.
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