Antipolo is well known for its Suman. This is a rice-based dessert found in Antipolo. In fact, because of its popularity, the word Suman holds a spot in one of the syllables of Antipolo's annual City festival, SuMaKaH. The first to letters stand for Suman. People from other places come to Antipolo not only to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, which is a famous Antipolo identity but also to buy and try these Sumans

Today we are going to share with you this Antipolo dessert named Sumang Yapos. Its name was derived from how it appears. These are two pieces of a Suman tied together. That is why it is called Sumang Yapos because it seemingly appears that the two suman are embracing each other. "Yapos", a Tagalog word meaning embrace... a sign of love..signifying affection. Aside from its appearance, what makes Sumang Yapos more unique is its special sauce. This sauce is made from coconut cream blended with panutcha, a type of Filipino sugar. Just like @juviemaycaluma said in her blog contest entry, you will keep on coming back for more.

Basically, there are many types of Suman. Sumang Yapos also known as Suman sa Lihiya is one of the types. We already featured Suman sa Ibos and Suman sa Ibos with Langka. Simply click the food name to know these two famous Antipolo delicacy.
Other sumans are named as Suman sa Antala, Suman sa Kamoteng Kahoy, Suman sa Ube at Suman sa Muron. If you want to more about this other types of suman, kindly visit @marjen04's contest blog entry. She featured all the suman in her blog.

Sumang Yapos is not easy to prepare. Definitely, this is the main reason why it is really delicious and the cause why a lot of people go to Antipolo just for these embracing delicacy.
We bet you want to know it is being prepared.
In this blog, we are going to quote the winning entry of @juviemaycaluma with respect to her efforts.

How to cook Sumang Yapos/Suman sa Lihiya

Ingredients

For the Suman

• 1 1/2 Kilos Glutinous Rice
• 4 cups water (where we will soak the Glutinous Rice)
• 1/2 tbsp. LYE water or LIHIYA
• 1 whole banana leaf, cleaned and cut into sizes (approximately 8x10 and 4x5)
• THIN cotton STRINGS for tying of the two suman

For the Sauce

• 3 cups coconut cream
• 2 cups panutcha
• 1 cup brown sugar

How to Cook

Suman

1. Wash glutinous rice once, then just soak it in water. Leave for 30mins. Make sure that the glutinous rice is fully submerged in water.
2. While waiting for the glutinous rice to be ready, prepare the banana leaves for wrapping
3. Strain the water thoroughly then add lye water. The rice must turn yellow.
4. Measure 1/2 cup of rice mixture then put on banana leaves. Fold all ends making a 3 x 1 1/2 inch suman. Set aside.
5. Put together two sumans. The folded side inward. Then tie it with strips of cotton cloth or banana leaves strips.
6. After wrapping and tying the sumans, put it all in a pot. Submerge it in water then bring to boil. Apporximately 3 hours of cooking in medium heat.
7. Once in a while check the suman for doneness.

Sauce
1. In a low heat, mix all ingredients together.
2. Stir occasionally to avoid settling down and to achieve consistency.
3. When the panutcha is well blended with the sugar and coconut cream it is cooked.
Note: this mixture is easy to burn. So stir consistently at low heat.

Ready to serve.
This is sold P20.00 (0.39$)per pair or P50 (1$) per 3 pairs.

As the name tells us, once you eat this suman you will feel its embrace( yapos). The softness of the suman, as well as its stickiness, is a sure win. You will fell in love with its unique taste. The sauce is totally captivating. The smell of the cooked banana leaves makes it even more enticing. The aroma itself calls your senses for a delightful treat.
It may be hard to cook but once you taste it, you will receive the fruit of your hard work. It is definitely worth it. Just like in life. All sweet things are not earned instantly. You have to work for it and persevere in achieving it. Once you achieve it you all the hardships paved away.

Come to Antipolo and try this sweet treat. You will surely love it.