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A serving of puto (rice cake) and a cup of sikwati (hot chocolate) is a traditional ?painit? or snack eaten before breakfast for many Filipinos.
But those wanting to partake of the meal at any time of the day or whenever the mood or appetite hits them need only go to a small stall owned by Elisenia ?Senia? Cañal located 30 meters from the Basilica del Sto. Niño along Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City.
Cañal maintains her small stall which sells puto and sikwati all day long.
Puto is made from a mixture of boiled sticky rice (pilit) and coconut milk, while sikwati is a mixture of melted tableya (pounded cocoa seeds) cooked in boiling water and brown sugar.
Her small stall attracts churchgoers who attend dawn Masses at the Basilica, teachers of the Colegio del Sto. Niño and employees of several establishments in the area who have grown to patronize her food.
Senia's puto and sikwati even attracts Basilica priests who order about P200 worth of puto every Sunday and Cebu City Hall employees.
?Ang puto duna man jud nay sikreto para malami (There is a secret recipe to make a puto delicious),? said Senia.
She said what makes puto delicious is the amount of coconut milk mixed with the sticky rice.
She sells puto wrapped in banana leaf for P5, while a cup-full of sikwati sells at P10 and a half-cup would cost only P5.
Back when her four children were still young, Senia used to sell puto at the market in barangay Lorega, Cebu City.
She then sold puto for only P2 and sikwati for only P1 a cup.
Senia said she decided to sell puto and sikwati for a living because she didn't want to sit around waiting for her seaman husband to send her money.
But Senia was forced to leave her small stall and return to Dalaguete town, Cebu to provide a better environment for her growing children now aged between 25 and 18 years old.
Although born in Cebu City, Senia had roots in Dalaguete.
?A customer once advised me to bring up my kids in Dalaguete to steer them away from illegal drugs but what really prompted me was when a vehicle almost ran over my kids because I was too busy manning my stall. My husband scolded me so I decided to bring them up in Dalaguete,? Senia said in Cebuano.
Senia came back to Cebu City about six years ago when all her children were already in college.
?I had to sell our house in Dalaguete because no one would live there anymore. I have to be with my children while they're studying college,? she said.
About five years ago, Senia's sister, who had an eatery in barangay Sto. Niño, Cebu City asked her to take over her business since she was already old.
The eatery was put up on a portion of a 700 square meter lot which was rented for P30,000 per month by a businessman.
Senia eagerly agreed but she soon realized that the eatery didn't earn much.
Not even renting the space as parking area for offices could satisfy the growing financial needs of her family.
It was then that she considered reviving her puto and sikwate business. So Senia started selling puto and sikwati in front of her eatery.
?At first I only had a small table there but when the number of customers grew, I had a bigger table made for my puto-sikwati business,? she said.
Senia said she was happy that her puto-sikwati business clicked.
On weekdays, she cooks about 15 kilos of puto and the amount would go up to 40 kilos of puto on weekends.
During weekdays, Senia would earn about P2,500 everyday and P6,000 on weekends.
Senia said a 15-kilo puto would need P2,000 in capital while she would spend about P3,000 for a 40-kilo puto.
December and January are the busiest months for Senia's puto and sikwati business due to the influx of Misa de Gallo and the Sto. Niño devotees.
She cooks 40 kilos of puto everyday during that period.
A kilo of sticky rice would cost P38, while a tapul (colored sticky rice) would cost P90.
A kilo of tableya would cost P240, while brown sugar would cost P26.
Other things Senia needs to buy are the coconut milk and the banana leaves wherein to wrap the puto.
Senia sells two kinds of puto--one made up of tapul and the other made of ordinary white sticky rice.
?Never mind if I earn less (from the sikwati), as long as my sikwati is pure and not diluted,? she mused.
She buys all ingredients at the Carbon market in barangay Ermita, Cebu City about 7 p.m. everyday.
Senia used to wake up at 3 a.m. to start cooking the puto and sikwati.
Now, Senia has taught her nephew and nieces the secret recipe of her puto and they do the cooking for her.
?If I have some leftovers which happen rarely, I give them away to my neighbors as a way of also helping them out. I don't sell leftovers because I am scared that my customers might get sick,? Senia said.
She said that she separates what she earns from her puto-sikwati stall from the eatery earnings.
She said she has thought of putting up a branch for her puto-sikwati business.
Senia also accepts orders. For those interested to try Senia's puto and sikwati, she can called through telephone number 2544883.
