Nyaman Na Ken! Eme Kanan? A Kapampangan Food Trip

Growing up in a family were cooking is a regular habit, I always get fascinated every-time I hear people who cook on a recipe they inherited from their ancestors and became a precious heirloom treasure that is passed on generation by generation.. Most of the time, the best tasting food can be found on some rural areas or hole in the wall—old carinderia or pipanganan that offers “lutung bale” (home-cooked dishes). The lutung-bale is like an opium by itself as you can smell fragrance of the sautéed garlic and onion-sprinkled kawali with the “bulug” which is either a ground pork/beef or shrimps topped with “baguk malantung” or sometimes spoonfuls of star margarine, depending on the dish to be cooked. It is believed to be that a good Kapampangan cook can be judged according to the smell of what he/she cooks in the kitchen and extent of this smell to the neighborhood.
Two days ago, I swarmed the upper Pampanga region of Guagua, Sta.Rita and Floridablanca to look for some heirloom recipes and savor the taste of their unique rural dish. Some of the carinderia that I visited are already household names as their popularity transcends even to the young generations of today. A kid I asked, around 12 years of age even boasts about the very luscious and “malinamnam” taste of the palabuk of of Apung Dorang in San Jose, Sta.Rita and even guided me on how to get there. Reaching the place which is just beside the Municipal Government of Sta.Rita building, I was greeted by Atching Bebeth. I was introduced by her to Apung Dorang and Apung Heneroso David- the family who cooks the best palabuk in town. Atching Bebeth, the 40-something daughter of the old couple is now the one who continues the legacy of her family as she is now managing the carideria.

Palabuk nang Apung Dorang.
Apung Dorang’s knowledge in cooking was actually a learned skill taught by her husband, Heneroso David. Started in 1960′s as a canteen which offered catering services for small events and gatherings, Apung Dorang is relatively the first one to serve the best tasting palabok sauce that is a unique blend of sauteed ground shrimp paste and garlic. Its proximity to the Sta.Rita De Cascia Church became convenient to the church goers during Sundays as it was a local hang-out after attending the mass.

“We always wake up early to go to palengki to get the fresh shrimp which is our major ingredient for our palabuk,” narrated Bebeth. “ And take note, nothing on the shrimp gets wasted as we use everything of it for ingredients,” she proudly added while serving her priced meal on the table for me taste.

Bebeth is actually a banker and recently left her job to look into her aging parents. The carinderia was actually closed for several years and was only revived by her to keep her busy. “We actually stopped catering after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the 90′s which led me to work in Manila for several years. But now, business is as usual because Apung Dorang’s palabuk is now here to stay”, she gleefully stated.

According to Adolfo Zapanta, the Chief Tourism Officer and Senior Administrative Assistant of the Municipal Government of Sta.Rita, Apung Dorang has been a regular choice for the Municipal staff and officers for their merienda and the pancit guisadu and pansit luglug are the best-favored food they offer. “Kayaliwa ya ing palabuk da. Manyaman ya saug. (The palabuk tastes so unique. Its taste is just so yummy),” the highly-esteemed officer said.

BASISANG: Nyaman a Sisig-Mabuktut

Just some few meters away from the Betis Church, there’s an old canteen that has become a destination place for people who wants to end their day and dine to savor the signature-taste okoy, tidtad and mami of the famous Basisang. Started in the early 1960’s, Basisang was a pen name used by Pricilla Ocampo, the original owner of the canteen which she inherited and used in remembrance of her god-mother who was Basisang. This original Basisang was known to be an expert in okoy-making in the post-war era and had regularly sold her product in the old camarin infront of the Betis Church.

Today, the canteen is being managed by a 2nd generation Basisang who retains the old recipe of his late mother and offers additional dishes from the traditional ones like sisig-mabuktut, siopao, lumpiang sagiwa and even brownies. When asked how he sees the canteen in the advent of modern-day fastfoods and malls, “Basta ituluy kyamu ining pamana da reng pengari ku ( I will continue the legacy my parents left behind),” stated Rey Ocampo-the owner and cook of the present-day Basisang.

The “Bagkat” of the Bariotik

Driving forward to upper Pampanga, my destination was the sweetest “Bagkat” of the Bariotik located in the cabalenan town of Floridablanca. The “Bariotik” is a buffet-restaurant in a barrio-style set up where you can savor the taste of litsung-kawali, sale-manuk, kilayin, kari-kari, suwam-mais, tidtad, balatung, adobung balut and atchare to name some of them at only P125 unlimited offer. Owned by Katrina Monseratt Siat-Roque, Bariotik is a brilliant concept of this UP Diliman educated cook to have an experience of the nostalgia of eating in a kawayan-made structure in the middle of the town’s plaza. Bagkat, on the other hand is the most special “pagmayamu (dessert) ” Kat offers since the recipe is her expertise inherited from her Mom.

“After diagonally slicing ripe but firm bananas, I put washed sugar , water and add pandan leaves and cook it. When the bananas are half done, we add the sago.” said Kat on the process of cooking the “bagkat”.
I started cooking in my mother’s kitchen. A working mom, she was not always at home. Being the eldest and the only girl, i learned to cook at the age of 8, “ she recounted.
Since the adobung-balut is the one that really caught my taste-buds, Kat also revealed her recipe in doing it.
“Cook them as you would to your regular balut. Boiled for one to two hours depending on the heat of the stove. Peel them while saving the juices. Then saute some garlic and onions in a little margarine. Add the balut juice, oyster sauce, diluted cream of mushroom in water. Then finish off with a little salt, chopped bell peppers and leeks, “ shared Kat.
“I spent my early childhood in Calapacuan, Subic, Zambales in a kubo 100 meters from the sea which explains my love for seafood but old Paguiruan, Floridablanca, my maternal grandparents’ barrio will always be the place that has greatly influenced my love for cooking. That makes me very Kapampangan, “ said Kat as we finished eating our lunch together.

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This web site contains articles and information that will be helpful to visitors, residents and tourists traveling out of town from Manila on a short getaway to Subic, Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Philippines.  There are several web sites that contain information that might also be pertinent to what is happening in North Luzon, Subic, Tarlac, Pampanga, Clark Freeport Philippines.

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Trouble free hotels and well recognized hotels in Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga

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While in Clark, one might as well add to the itinerary a visit to the famous Clark Wine Center, the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.