Home » Food Trip, History
Snacks of my youth: Ampao and Pop Rice
24 September 2008
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37 CommentsI was at the KCC Mall of GenSan supermarket yesterday, doing my grocery when I came upon some familiar chichiria or what people now call as “junk food”.
These are the home made pinoy snacks, AMPAO and POP RICE, two of my favorite snack foods during my youth which I could easily buy at the neighborhood sari-sari store.
Presenting the cebuano delicacy, AMPAO, which look like these:
and these:
I remember an ampao costing 2 pieces for P0.10 before. When I checked the price at KCC, 10 pieces now cost P15++.
Biting into a a crunchy caramelized piece made me recall that it used to be one of my comfort foods. I used to eat so much of it that I usually had no appetite for lunch or dinner afterwards.
Now, the multi-colored POP RICE.
Actually called PUFFED RICE in English, It looks like these, packed inside small thin plastic wrappers, each one with a rubber band tied to its end…
..and upon closer look, they look like these:
Now costing P1.20 per bundle, I tried putting a handful of these pinoy version of Rice Crispies into my mouth and again, pleasant memories came rushing back to those days when we kids eat anything offered by the friendly vendor, not worrying if they have melamine, or MSG or if they have too much salt, too much fat, too much oil, too much cholesterol, too much sugar, or no nutritional value whatsoever, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Back then food was food for kids like us, and there was no such thing as junk. 
How about you?
What were the comfort food during much of your childhood?
.. i like ampao and pop rice also during my childhood days and even until now.. Ahehe! Meron nga akong stock ng ampao sa bahay.. Ahehe! Pero, ang palagi kong kinakain nong araw ay HEBI, bande, bukayo, captain sid butong pakwan ug katong candy na naay street fighter card.. Ahehe!
yahh i love it… mayaman sa coloring yan… ang switiee sugar… parang junk foods yan.., ala kasing sangkap pinoy seal?
me too, I luv ampao and pop rice. . . Those were d days na wala tayong narinig na batang nagkasakit sa kidney sa kakakain ng junk food, di ba. . . junk nga sila kung tawagin pero healthier naman yung version before.
We grew up with homemade ampao, espcially made by our lola. ansarap nun. I remember pa nga na ang ginagamit ni lola na pang flatten sa ampao ay yung napakalaking seashell (kinason) na galing sa Leyte.
and then, sino ang makakalimot sa walang kamatayang “TIMBURA” tag singko sentimos ang balot. . marami ngaun upgraded version na nun, meron na halo peanuts, green peas, etc.. .
comfort food?
hmmm… ice cream… hahaha… joke… i’m a cornik guy… hehehe…
bagsik ang mga food sa una;
yan-yan, bochoy, texas, caramel, tarzan, big boy, bazooka joe, bobot, leche con yelo, ice candy, polar ice drop, malabon ice drop, hebi, bandi, bukayo, dulce piedra, kiamoy, champoy, white rabbit (nga makaon ang wrapper), lipps candy, butter ball, ug daghan pa…
food trip na pud!!!
ang ampao diay kay specialty sa carcar (cebu), uban sa ilang chicharon…
ice drop of Snow White
ice cream of Eskimo
nutri-bun of our elementary school
… just to name a few
daxi weidas last blog post..The 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit
Wow! I like bukayo too. Super tamis nun di ba? Ang Captain Sid later na lumabas yan. Hehehe! Magkaiba nga tayo ng generation.
Anong Hebi? Anong bande?
Anong coloring kaya gamit nila? Kahadluk man diay. Hehehe!
Hi Jinky! Visayan snacks pala talga ang Ampao. How is this cooked? There was a time when Timbura was the only thing in my pockets too. Even if it’s kinda salty, wa kiyems! Kain ang mga batang lansangan! Hehehe!
Ah grabe! Super masiba ka pala nung una gensanite! No wonder chub ka rin! Hehehe! (joke)
From what you wrote, i most specially like LIPPS CANDY!!!! Hehehe! Nakakapula ng dila and lips. Then white rabbit before the melamine scare. Fascinating kasi nakakain ang wrapper. Then butterball which is still my favorite now altho I have shunned off sugar entirely.
What is dulce piedra? Texas is super gahi na bebelgam di ba? I dont like ice drop with monggo. I hated it then. I just love it plain. Hehehe!
Daxi, Eskimo was the first in the city to offer halo-halo topped with ice cream. Did you know that?
syempre, insumada ug cuks sa bettylou, hehe.
Ampao is delicious, I really like it. Never tried Pop Rice before, never even seen it.
Mindanao Bobs last blog post..Staying healthy while traveling in the Philippines
Grabe! two of my fave local chichira. ung fushia na ampao? me bilog din nun. bibig mo kulay fushia na.sama mo na doon ang hebi, ung prawn crackers (i forgot the name!), sunshine green peas, mga candies, gums na halos mag chip na ngipin mo.hehe..grabe. me mga candies na ginagawa pa naming lipstick! hahaha.we just ate a pack (12 in a pack ba yon?)of hebi at agawan pa.i brought a pack at the office today which my visiting sis bought at kcc (na miss nya!), ako pa ang pinaglitan dito sa office at un lang daw ang dala ko! darn!
wala man lang thank you..hehehe..kaka miss the old days…
penge kuya!
Ay naku noel! Bettylou deserves her own article here. Your hot pandesal are the most awaited at 3pm every afternoon, if i can still remember it right.
@bariles -
dulce piedra - mura’g bato siya nga sugar; it looks more like tawas actually…
white rabbit - da best in the world kaayo sa una; fascinating gyud kay makaon ang wrapper - not unlike its toffee counterpart…
texas and tarzan - gahi gyud sila nga bugolbam; kalit lang pud sila “na-laos” when bigboy came into the picture… gahi pud nga toffee candy ang caramel, tapos modikit pa gyud sa ngipon…
ice drop - i have to agree with you on this one; i like the violet-colored polar ice drop better than the brown with monggo… bagsik pud sa una ang glory ice cream/sorbetes…
hi bob! pop rice tastes like kellog’s rice crispies but less sweet. as you can see, they’re multi-colored too. hey! will you be back here for the bloggers summit? bout time you hook up with your old buddies here and kumpares.
one more thing…
mabuhay ang mga sari-sari store!!!
guyzz!!
careful sa ampao coz it’s more on glucose!!take note..bugas ug sweeteneer naa dha…ang katam-is taas kaau..which is unhealthy sa mga kids…
pwde mokaon gamay lang…tilaw tilaw pero kung pun-on jud nimog nganga imong baba ug um-um anang ampao…diabeteson jud ka ana…
mas maau hinay hinay…pero dili ko kontra ha…
.. Ang hebi junk food yan na maliit ang packing kulay orange.. Tag duha 25 centavos lang yan noon. Ngayon, parang piso 50 centavos ang isa.. di ko na alam. Ang “bandi or bande”, parang bukayo din yan pero instead of coco, mani ang gamit.. Ahehe!
yeah, i almost forgot pala, worth mentioning talaga yung ensumada tsaka pandesal ng Bettylou. . ajejeje, after mag pa spa sa mga sinehan with all the pawis na gadagayday sa mga likod og agtang, adto dayon sa bettylou para makita ang crush ajeje(joke!) palit palit pandesal/ensaymada na talaga namang napakasarap.
finally BARILES REPUBLIC is back! i got the scare of my life! imagine out of reach of pangunahing source of info ng gensan… hehehehe!
ang paborito ko na pagkain noon…
1) suman and tsokolate sa palengke - yung suman hahati-hatiin ko to small pieces then ilalagay ko sa isang mainit na tasa ng tsokolate… then eat ko dahan-dahan…sarap!!!
2) pansit canton ng ceballos - every sunday after the evening mass, dun kami magdi-dinner ng family… that started my love affair with pansit canton.
3) tira-tira - maremember ko talaga ito… long thin strip of caramel candy na ang tigas… even then enjoy talaga ako namnamin ito.
4) zamboanga buko bar - soooobbbrrraaannnggg adik ako nito noon.
5) hot pandesal ng joans!!! need i say more?
ormans last blog post..nakakapagod.
i agree! without them, kids would be bored to death when at home.
naxjo, hello. Sakto na…hinay-hinay lang gyud dapat basta tam-is. Anything in excess is not healthy.
Hi blackmeat. Ah…now I knowwhat bandi is…. BUKAYO!!!! hehehe! Super sweet coconut strands coated with sugar caramel. Gosh! Thanks kiddo, este, blackmeat.
Jinky, uy!!! Who was your crush at Bettylou Bakeshop before? Hehehe.
Orman, you reminded me of Mommy and Daddy again. Mommy was the one who took us to the palengke for the sikwate and joans for the hot pandesal plus halohalo with ice-cream. Dad introduced us to ceballos.
Happy birthday on Sunday nga pala sis ! Malaki ka na! Pero sexy pa rin.
@Jinky - correct ka dyan Jink Timbura at eat bulaga napakayummy yan sakin in my childhold days.
Ang sarap balikan no marami nga ngayon masyadong commercialized na di katulad dati. I remember also chitcharon na red in color ang sarap2x yan dati. HMMM sana maging bata tayo uli hehehehehe
hi there! thanks for posting this. Reminds me of my childhood too. This is nice!
I grew up with ampao and pop rice- kapitbahay kasi namin dati sa Balimbing Street ang gumagawa ng mga yan. I still enjoy eating it every now and then. Each time I do so, I am flooded with childhood memories…
Comfort food for me would include SARISA or ARATILES. Ang saya-saya ko kapag nakakakita ako ng puno na tadtad ng bunga, lalo na kapag ako mismo ang pipitas! I remember making caramelized delicacy out of it.
Sarap balik-balikan ang mga magagndang alaala at masasarap na pagkain…
Joana Graces last blog post..How To Savor A Blueberry Snow Frost
Kuy Avel, ang bande/bandi yung mani na sinama sa melted muscovado sugar, tapos pag natuyo na ang sugar, korteng bilog of different sizes.
Masarap rin ang tinagtag na gawa ng mga kapatid nating muslims. parang sweet crispy bihon!
Not to be forgotten yung mga sinangag na mani na binalot sa newspapers na korteng cone. binebenta ito sa loob ng orchestra ng sine dito. Kunsumisyon ng janitors sa sinehan ang mga balat ng maning ito! ajejeje
I love tira tira hehehe later it evolved into the famous tootsie roll. Tobacco size dati ngayun super mini bite size na hehe. and who would ever forget the leche con yellow with a lot of coloring! the cotton candy too. then type ko rin yung chivalry na pusit and the dried beef (i forgot the brand name.
Timbura is the pre cursor of boy bawang di ba?
Those were the days……….
@archmykel - it’s no wonder why we both love tootsie rolls, mike! hahahha!
ormans last blog post..nakakapagod.
bukayo…!
NOON: t’was 25 cents per piece and take note…big sizes pa…
NGAYON: 3 - 5 pesos na….depending on the size that you want…
waaaaaa!
I like fanta softdrin huhu 5 pesos pa yun sya…
yahh HEBI full of betsin
noon pag may piso kang baon… makakabili ka na ng coke and cheeseburger! maililibre mo pa ang bespren mo!
ormans last blog post..nakakapagod.
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