Cansi (kansi) is a traditional food both in Iloilo and Negros which is bone-in beef shank stew soured with the local fruit batuan. Cooking cansi takes hours so the meat becomes very tender it falls off the bone. Cansi may be just plain meat but others add langka (jackfruit). It’s a little similar to the Tagalog’s bulalo, only a little sour.
If it’s your first time in Bacolod, before going to tourist destinations, try the food first because you’ve never been to Bacolod if you haven’t tried local delicacies such as cansi and the Bacolod chicken inasal. The best place to find the culinary havens are not at the malls or at the posh business centers. You can find the best local cuisines at the public market or at the places where common folks would frequent.
If you want to have the best-tasting cansi in Bacolod, you go to Sharyn’s. Sharyn’s is located at Narra Avenue, Bacolod City at the Chinatown of Bacolod City, the Capitol Shopping Center or most commonly referred to as Shopping. Don’t expect some fancy ambiance. It’s a simple restaurant with monoblock chairs and tables arranged close to each other. Just be a little courteous if you happen to bumped with the customer on the table next to you. Who knows, you might be rubbing elbows with Bacolod’s who’s who, literally.
A typical serving at Sharyn’s is a bowl of cansi with bone-in beef shank with that sinfully delicious bone marrow. Totally “cardiac delight”! They also serve you with additional soup in a mug. If you’re a little conscious of the cholesterol in the bone marrow, you can order meat only or “lawas”.
Shary’s cook their cansi for hours so the meat is really tender and the sourness of the batuan is just right. For us women, a bowl of Shary’s cansi is already good for two and you can just ask for additional soup.
