Barquillos and Ice Cream for Merienda

Today, Macrine and I had Barquillos( rolled milk wafers) and ice cream for merienda ( afternoon snack). This reminded me of my teenager days in Iloilo. This nostalgic memories reminded me of my Father, Dr David Jamili Javellana K(C)atague from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippnes. In the late 1940's just after the American-Japanese War in the Philippines, the third class town of Barotac Viejo did not have an ice cream store and bakery. So every week, my Father and I would take a 2 to 3 hour ride by bus to Iloilo City to purchase our monthly supplies of groceries and bakery goods. The roads at that time from Barotac Viejo to Barotac Nuevo were not paved and the bus trip was very bumpy. During the rainy season some parts of the national road is flooded.

However, in the early 2000 when my wife and I visited Barotac Viejo, the roads were paved, so the 60KM auto trip from Iloilo City to the town took us only about 55 minutes.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2014/12/where-heck-is-barotac-viejo-iloilo.html

If you are not familiar with barquillos: Barquillos are thin rolled cookies of Spanish origin. In the Philippines, Iloilo is particularly known for its barquillos. They are made by pouring a thin batter is onto a wafer iron (barquillera). Once the wafer is cooked to a light brown it is immediately rolled while still hot. It becomes a crisp rolled cookie when it cools. Barquillos are now available in local flavors like ube and pandan. Sometimes they are filled with polvoron powder to make a sweet called barqueron. Here in Nothern California, Barquillos are sold in our local Pilipino grocery store. They are imported from the Philippines. Here's a short video in how to make barquillos or rolled milk wafers.