MANILA, Philippines — In Marikina City lies Bingbingcat Kitchen, a family-run small business selling the Tausug sticky rice cake delicacy Putli Mandi from Mindanao.

Owned by husband and wife Juan Sajid Imao and Cielo Imao, Cielo told Rappler that the story of Bingbingcat Kitchen is actually a love story.

Love at first interview (and first bite)

Sajid is a renowned sculptor and son of National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao, a Tausug from Jolo, Sulu. Devoting his time to his monumental sculptures, Sajid is behind iconic public art like the brass sundial at the Bonifacio Global City, the main crucifix at Ateneo de Manila University’s Church of the Gesu, and the Lapu-Lapu monument at the National Museum of the Philippines.

His wife Cielo used to write for MetroMedia Publications (In Style and Bride Philippines) under restaurateur Larry J. Cruz in the early 1990s. She met Sajid when she interviewed him for a magazine article about his art and life as a second-generation artist.

They’ve now been married for 29 years.

Little did Cielo know that she’d also be falling in love with another Tausug — Sulu’s putli mandi delicacy, that is.

“While I’m not Tausug, I fell in love with Tausug culture and cuisine through him and his family,” Cielo told Rappler.

Her love for Tausug cuisine started during trips to Davao in 2013 for her husband’s monument installations. “There, we discovered bold, flavorful Mindanaoan dishes like satti, pyanggang, tiyulang itum, pastil plus a wide array of desserts,” she said.

Her husband’s Tausug relatives from Jolo, Sulu and Tausug friends from Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi would bring over an assortment of Tausug delicacies whenever they would visit his studio in Marikina.

“I got so intrigued by the variety of these sweets, collectively called “bangbang sug” or simply “bangbang” — locot-locot, panggi-panggi, baulo, pitis patani and of course, putli mandi. Being a kakanin lover with a sweet tooth, I was instantly hooked,” Cielo said. But it was the putli mandi that was love at first “sticky” bite for Cielo.

“It reminded me of the bilo-bilo I used to help my mom prepare as a child. I recall how addicted I was to these chewy and sticky rice balls that I would purposely fish them out of the guinatan just to eat them on their own. I grew up in an Ilocano household in Bulacan where kakanin was a staple for merienda, dessert and at fiestas,” she said.

From her Ilocano side, she also enjoys patupat, tupig, and Royal bibingka, and also Japanese mochi and palitaw, both of which she loves.

Dream delayed, but not forgotten

The couple, who are both in their 50s, had always dreamed of bringing the underrated Tausug cuisine to a wider audience for over a decade, but life, work, and family got in the way. But in late 2019, the Imaos decided it was time to build their own “monument.”

They began building a physical store in Marikina, but had to halt construction work in 2020 when the pandemic hit. While construction was paused, they launched Bingbingcat Kitchen online in early 2022.

“We started with a single assistant and one Putli Mandi variant — the classic purple-colored Putli Mandi, but topped with cheese. Over time, I experimented with the recipe, treating Putli Mandi like mochi which could be filled with a variety of fillings while giving it a Pinoy twist.”

“I was able to infuse local flavors into the chewy rice cakes and come up with Putli Mandi variants as colorful and vibrant as Tausug culture,” Cielo said.

Encouraged by positive feedback, Cielo experimented further, creating variants like Latik Lava and Ube.

One ‘chew’ love

Derived from the Tausug words Putli (princess) and Mandi (bathing or showering), this treat symbolizes royalty and celebration, called “prinsesa ng kakanin.” Bingbingcat Kitchen has served four flavors so far:

The Classic Purple is often mistaken for ube, but its rich purple hue actually symbolizes royalty. Filled with caramelized coconut shreds (hinti) and coated in freshly grated coconut, this traditional delicacy is chewy, slightly sweet, and the hinti provides texture.

The Pink Cheese is topped with premium grated cheese and filled with caramelized coconut; a sweet-salty twist on the classic. “It’s a hit, especially among kids,” Cielo said.

Inspired by Indonesia’s klepon, the pandan-infused Green Latik Lava (a personal favorite) is filled with a rich latik sauce (coconut caramel) and topped with toasted pinipig. Now a bestseller, customers love how the latik silkily oozes out with every bite.

The simple Ube White rice cake is made special with a homemade ube halaya filling. Crafted from fresh ube with no artificial flavorings or extenders, the rich and creamy halaya takes hours to prepare and is generously stuffed into each rice cake.

Why the name? First, it’s a play on Sajid’s moniker “Bing,” as he is fondly called by close friends and family. “Cat” comes from our shared love for cats, which is also present in the logo.

“As a kid, my husband would adopt stray cats. We’re also proud furparents of both cats and dogs. In Tausug culture, cats symbolize cleanliness,” Cielo shared. She also wanted a name that was fun to remember.

“We’d like people in Manila, especially the younger generation, to find Tausug and Mindanaoan cuisine bold, exciting, approachable, and worth trying. And I believe we’re accomplishing that with our unique kakanin.”

Totally Tausug

Sajid and Cielo have always worked as a team. Back then, she would manage his monument projects, handling the finances and documentation, so he could focus on his sculptures and creative process.

Now, Cielo focuses on recipe formulation, food quality, and day-to-day operations while Sajid takes care of food packaging and the physical store’s interior design. 

The store opened in October, filled with vintage items and nostalgic decor, as Sajid is also an avid collector. Stepping into the store feels like traveling through a time machine to the 1950s and prewar Philippines, with Sajid’s carefully curated collection of old milk lamps, a vintage cash register, jukeboxes, and various vintage bric-a-brac adorning the takeout space.

Every day at Bingbingcat Kitchen begins bright and early in the Marikina commissary. Online orders are taken, staff are trained, and then the team prepares the fillings, grates fresh niyog, and infuses the air with the aroma of caramelized coconut, pandan, and banana leaves.

Each Putli Mandi is lovingly rolled into its signature shape, a process reminiscent of childhood clay molding for Cielo. Depending on the variant, the rice cakes are then either boiled or steamed to perfection. They deliver fresh batches of Putli Mandi to the nearby store.

“For me, the process of making this Mindanao mochi is what makes it special, apart from its taste and appearance. The process is painstaking, starting with its coconut filling called hinti which takes constant stirring to achieve its deep flavor,” Cielo said.

“Guess what? Sajid and I are certified baristas too!”

“Along with our son, we took up barista training and studied latte art at Barista Coffee Academy Asia (formerly Philippine Barista Coffee Academy) back in 2012. This inspired us to pair Tausug delicacies with coffee and to open our adjacent coffee shop Monumento,” Cielo shared.

They have two children — Juri, their 28-year-old son who’s a food content creator known as jujumaoeats, and Aria, their 17-year-old daughter who’s also a passionate cook like her brother.

The success of Bingbingcat Kitchen is a family affair. “We’re thrilled that Juri has been helping us promote this Tausug delicacy to young people like him.  He’s incredibly proud of his Tausug roots,” Cielo added.

Cielo’s wish? That more people, especially in Manila, would appreciate Tausug cuisine as a unique part of our Filipino heritage.

“Their food reflects a vibrant, fearless culture and strong family ties, which I admire. Many specialties, like Putli Mandi, satti, and pyanggang, are labor-intensive and made with love for family, which makes them truly special,” she said. It has always been their dream to popularize Tausug cuisine in Manila.

With confidence, Cielo is certain that once Pinoys try Bingbingcat Kitchen’s Putli Mandi, they’ll fall in love with its flavors — just like she did. – Rappler.com

Bingbingcat Kitchen is located in 131 Gen. Ordonez St., Marikina City. Orders can also be made through GrabFood.