Despite
being politically autonomous from the province of Pampanga, where it is
geographically located, Angeles City preserves every bit of Kapampangan
culture, tradition, and history, as well as the famed cuisine that has made the
province a top foodie destination in the Philippines.
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| Sumptuous lunch spread at Apag Marangle, |
Angeles
City's selection to represent Kapampangan gastronomy in the 2024 World Culinary Awards is a
testament to the province of Pampanga's contribution to the Philippines' food
culture.
Shortlisted
as Asia’s Best Emerging Culinary City Destination
Carrying
the baton for the rest of Pampanga, the City of Angeles is among the five
cities that made the final list under the category of Asia's Best Emerging
Culinary City Destination in the 2024 World Culinary Awards.
Shortlisted
together with Hanoi, Kyoto, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur, Angeles City is holding
its own by performing well in the early public poll, which will run until
August 30 on the World
Culinary Awards website.
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| Vote now for Angeles City |
In
a press conference following the recently concluded M.I.C.E. 2024 in Clark,
Pampanga, the Department of Tourism's Secretary Christina Frasco, sensing this
development as a great opportunity to promote not only Kapampangan cuisine but
also the whole Philippines to the world, made a plea to the public to show
support by placing their votes for Angeles City.
Getting
A Taste of Kapampangan Fare
One
doesn’t have to stay within Angeles City to enjoy fine Kapampangan cookery, as
the entire province is brimming with family recipes handed down from
generations that are unique to this region.
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| Aling Lucing's original branch located at Glaciano Valdez St, Angeles, Pampanga |
When
someone visits Pampanga, they immediately think of sisig, a delicacy
comprised of chopped pig ears, cheeks, and chicken liver combined with onions
and seasoned with calamansi and chili which Lucia Cunanan, also known as Aling
Lucing, popularized in the 1970s.
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| Aling Lucing also serves other classic Filipino dishes with a Kapampangan twist |
Numerous
origin stories about this dish are widely told today. One account tells of how,
back in the days when the U.S. Air Force Base still operated at Clark Air Base,
military cooks would often throw away pig heads and other innards, which the
locals would offer to buy before chopping them into little pieces to boil and
serving with seasoning.
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| One of the earlier versions of sisig was said to have originated in a food stall near this old train station in San Fernando. |
Another
unverified story attributes the sisig's origins to a row of eateries near the
old San Fernando train station. In hopes of providing lowly-paid workers with an affordable menu option, a food stall owner started using unwanted parts of a pig such as its
head, ears and chicken liver as main ingredients and sautéing them on a pan seasoned
with other spices.
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| "Putung babi" or pork bread, is sometimes called 'palaman', 'pan de carne', and 'paradadas' depending on where you are in Pampanga, is a satisfying pandesal stuffed with ground pork, potatoes and other fillings. |
However,
the sisig that we all know as the one that Anthony Bourdain featured in an episode of No Reservations that was filmed in the Philippines has since become
synonymous with Aling Lucing, who is credited with re-inventing it to what it
is today—the Kapampangan version that does not contain eggs or mayonnaise,
unlike other sisig versions in the Philippines.
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| Pampanga's Carabeef Tocino (Pindang Damulag) |
It
was a no-brainer that we started our culinary exploration of Pampanga in
Angeles City by first stopping by one of Aling Lucing’s branches in the city
for a hearty lunch.
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| Mila's Tokwa't Baboy with added veggies |
Other
choices in Angeles when it comes to Pinoy or uniquely Kapampangan comfort food
are Mila's Tokwa't Baboy, Angeles Fried Chicken, Susie's Cuisine, and Razon's,
both of which have numerous branches in and outside of Pampanga. For
contemporary Kapampangan fare, one can check out KYND Dining, and restaurants owned by two of Pampanga's homegrown chefs, Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung and Sau Del Rosario's 25
Seeds by Cafe Fleur at the Instagrammable Dycaico Ancestral House in Brgy. Sto.
Rosario, Angeles City.
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| For Palabok goodness, its a toss-up between Susie's Cuisines and LBS Bakeshop |
A few days won't be enough to explore Angeles City's extensive culinary scene, which includes everything from fine dining establishments to hawker stalls. We were able to sandwich time for some street food when we dropped by Totobits on Francisco Street. The Kapampangan term "Toto bitis," which translates to "hanging down feet," was the inspiration for the name of this street food haven because, back in the day, food sellers used to hang their feet while preparing the food.
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| A favorite eating place of employees from nearby BPO offices |
The
next day, we traveled an hour to Guagua to visit Apag Marangle, another
famous restaurant in Pampanga founded by the husband and wife of Ramil
Bartolome Tan and Manuela Cherry Pasion-Tan. The couple’s restaurant is widely
known for its irresistible varieties of betute and crispy fried frogs that come
in garlic parmesan, honey soy, salted egg, buffalo, and chili garlic flavors. It serves
authentic Kapampangan dishes.
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| Despite being a vegetarian, Anne Gumiran of Queen's Escape exhibited an open mind to experience cooking a Betute. |
During
our visit, we experienced a hands-on demonstration of cooking three of the most
popular Kapampangan dishes; pork sisig, camaru (crickets), and betute (stuffed
frog).
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| Betute and Camaru |
Betute
uses farm frogs, which typically cause havoc on rice fields but are okay to eat,
as its main ingredient. However, before you go on a frog-eating binge, know
that the common bull frogs you find around town are actually poisonous, in
contrast to the wild farm frogs that are used to cook this dish.
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| Showing off the dishes we cooked |
While
outsiders may find this dish strange or weird, but for the locals, it's just
another way to master their unique culinary art, which maximizes the use of any
edible ingredients found in farm fields. Similar to wild farm frogs, rice
fields view crickets as pests. The locals found a use for them, though, by
incorporating them into a dish similar to adobo called camaru.
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| Pampanga is one of the best places to study culinary in the country |
We
capped our brief food-tripping tour of Angeles City and its nearby
municipalities by buying ourselves box loads of cheese breads from two bakeries
that have shared roots in San Fernando: LBS, which claims the title
"Bakers of the Original Cheesebread," and LA Bakeshop, which bills
itself as the "Home of the Original Cheesebread.".
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| Comparing the two cheese breads from LA Bakeshop and LBS Bakeshop. |
Based
on their histories, both are true. LA Bakeshop opened in San Fernando in 1985,
quickly churning out a local favorite, their signature cheese bread, off their
ovens until 1995, when LA Bakeshop co-owner Leonila B. Santiago (who stood for
the letter "L" of LA Bakeshop) decided to form her own bakeshop,
naming it LBS Bakeshop (after taking over another old bakeshop called Apung
Gari Bakery & Kiosk).
After
tasting the cheese bread from both LBS and LA Bakeshop, I came to the
conclusion that choosing the better cheese bread depends on one's preference. I
prefer LBS because it is less sweet, but I prefer LA because it is firmer and
has more fillings. So, I guess, it's a toss-up. Better buy a box from each
bakeshop for your pasalubong whenever you pass by their original branch in San
Fernando, Pampanga.
Pampanga,
a never-ending cookery delight
Every
visit to Pampanga feels incomplete since I know I'm only scratching the surface
of its gourmet landscape, which is brimming with variety, flavors, ingredients,
and even stories behind each dish.
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| Adobong Balut is another uniquely Kapampangan dish |
Just
a couple of months ago, on another brief visit to Pampanga, I met another
culinary icon of the province, Atching Lilian Borromeo. After listening to her
tell the story behind her famous San Nicholas cookies, I made my way to have a
photograph taken with her as I held her 2011 book, "Atching Lillian’s
Heirloom Recipes: Romancing the Past Through Traditional Calutung
Capampangan."
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| With Atching Lilian Borromeo |
You
may recognize her from her appearances on different travel and food television
series. Atching Liliam Borromeo is a Kapampangan culinary historian who also
owns and operates Kusinang Matua ng Atching Lillian, a restaurant
in Mexico, Pampanga that serves authentic home-cooked Kapampangan cuisine.
Fortunately
for me, Pampanga, and especially Angeles City, is just a couple of hours from
our home in Bulacan. I guess I'll be making more and more gastronomy
pilgrimages to this province in the coming days.
