Tuesday, March 15, 2011

FOOD TRIP: PAMPANGA, PART 2 / MARCH 4,2011 =)

Tummies full, Hubby Sweet and I decided to head out again, this time to Angeles where all the other stops seemed to be. We had a single objective: Aling Lucing's, the birthplace of the most revered of Filipino beer chow. If we could, we'd have lunch there. (The magazine article specified that it only opens 5:00 p.m. onwards.) It was only 10:45 on our watch. Would we really want to wait for dusk just to try it and brave the horrendous EDSA rush hour traffic once we enter Manila? We decided to just "cross the bridge" when we get there (all pun intended). For now, it would be good to just head on back to the NLEX.

Midway, we decided we were still too full to go straight to lunch so we decided to check out the Duty-Free shops in Clark. Instead of exiting in Angeles, we decided to exit in Dau instead. Three salescons and several ocular trips have taught me that, from the Dau exit, the Clark Airbase Main Gate is just a stoplight and a left turn away (allowing us to also skip the Angeles town proper traffic).

Now it must be said that whereas 10 years ago, one could spend an entire day skipping from one duty-free shop to the next, only Puregold seems to be thriving inside Clark these days. All the others have been boarded up, and even the selection in Puregold is a fraction of what it used to be. I suppose with all the "PX Goods" now being readily available in any Metro Manila supermarket (yes, kids, there was a time we had to travel far for a pack of Pringles and Chips Ahoy =)), the only advantage of duty-free shopping is its price. (For reference, a can of Spam is only P84.00 in Clark against the P100+ in Robinson's Pioneer). In any case, since we know how crazy duty-free shopping could be, I set a $100 limit for this particular trip. Once we go over, we have to start putting stuff back. (We must be prudent in anticipation of the House Mahogany turnover.)

Still, our big discovery on this trip wouldn't be the imported goods inside, but the adorable puppies being sold on a shopping cart outside the Puregold entrance. Hubby Sweet automatically gravitated toward the pups; I stayed a good distance (thus, no pictures). I knew it would be heart-wrenching to see the puppies and choose not to bring any of them home. Heck, it would've been heart-wrenching to bring home only one instead of all of them! When Hubby Sweet walked back, he quite expectedly, was begging to bring home a pup.

"They're a cross between a collie and a malamute. Bred and born in Baguio. Blue ang eyes. No papers nga lang, but P1,000.00 lang, Tweet. P1,000.00 lang! Banzo would have a proper playmate," he declared smugly.

I looked at him and momentarily thought, "Well, birthday naman niya....", but got hold of myself just in time.

"We could save one more puppy, Tweet!" he exclaimed, knowing exactly which heartstrings to pull.

"We've saved enough puppies for now," I said, walking away, mustering all the willpower that I had, lest I rush over to the Ale to buy an entire shopping cart full of Collie-Malamute mix-bred pups. Hay! =S Still, I tagged the place in my mind for the next time we get crazy enough to add another pup to our, uh, growing family. =)

We walked down each aisle quite leisurely as we saw it as a good way to let our heavy San Fernando breakfast go down. $105.00 later, we walked out with several bags filled with mostly hard-to-find Asian condiments and a few other stuff we would be hard-pressed to find in Manila. Everything else that we could buy in Robinson's Pioneer, we decided to leave behind. It was time to head out to the "railroad", the only landmark reference for our sisig quest.

Quite expectedly, as we drove out of the Clark Main Gate and asked for directions to Aling Lucing, we got a "derecho lang hanggang lampas ng tulay, tapos dun sa kalyeng pwede kang kumanan o kumaliwa (which we interpreted to be the first big intersection after the bridge =)), kumaliwa kayo. Malapit sa riles." Easy enough. Yes...=)


We arrived at Aling Lucing's to find no customers and only the "boy" mopping the floors. Uh-oh...not a good sign. Maybe they do really open only at 5:00 p.m.

"Kuya!!! Bukas ba kayo?" I called out through a rolled-down window. We had a back-up plan to go for any other Pampanga sisig, but we were hoping that we would get to try the one sisig that really mattered.

"Opo," he nodded. Yey!

Apparently, Aling Lucing is usually open for lunch, but primarily only for the "turo-turo / binalot" dishes that were laid out in several chafing dishes.

"Sisig, Kuya," I haltingly asked, "Meron?"

"Meron pa," he grinned. Yey!

That said, we ordered sisig, 2 cups of rice and a bottle of regular Coke and a bottle of Royal. (Kuya looked at me weirdly when I asked for Coke Light. Haha.)

When he laid down the sizzling plate, we got too excited and automatically dug in. It was only when we were halfway through that I realized I forgot to take a pic. Ay! =D (Must take pic from a different angle then, haha. =))


In No Reservations: Philippines, Anthony Bourdain declared, "For me, the Come-to-Mama-Moment of my trip so far is that most-loved of Filipino street foods, the strangely addictive, sizzling-hot melange of hacked-up pork face--a crispy, chewy, spicy, savory and all-together damn wonderful melange of textures that just sings. Everything I like on a smoking-hot sizzle platter. Oh, sweet symphony of pig parts. Oh, yes! The fierce love, the misty-eyed reminisces of Filipinos in the U.S. looking back on the food of their country, Sisig always comes up first and most emotionally, and I completely understand why...This is magical stuff. It's genius....This is just awesome. One more."

What a wonderful way to describe the experience that is Aling Lucing's Sisig. How particularly apt too . Even more impressive when you think that the late Aling Lucing did not really have any formal culinary training and only invented the dish from all the "free pig heads and excess onions" that used to be given away regularly at the nearby Clark Airbase. And yet with her one practical "invention", she has changed the way Filipinos eat and drink--not just in Pampanga, but practically everywhere else in the archipelago.


One serving wasn't enough for Anthony Bourdain. Neither was it for us. We had to order one more. =D Midway through the second, we decided to bring another serving home for dinner. Sadly, they had run out.

"Ubos na po eh," Kuya apologized, "Pag hapon po kase siya niluluto."

A father and daughter (who also looked like they were also from Manila) then arrived, looking to order sisig. The look of disappointment on their faces upon being told that the sisig had run out was directly proportional to the realization of just how lucky we were. We wanted one more, but there was no more. Oh, well. We'd be back again next time. Definitely. =)

Next on the agenda was a trip to Nepo Mart where all the landmark shops for native candies and kakanin seemed to be located. Susie's Cuisine for native kakanin; Rosie's Candy for supposedly really good pastillas. We decided to go there first before proceeding to the other food destination on our list, Armando's Pizzeria, where we had earlier decided to take our afternoon merienda.

We had to contend with traffic going to Nepo Mart, but it was something to be expected along provincial roads that lead to the palengkes. The palengkes are to the provincial folks as the malls are to Manilenos (never mind that Pampanga is more progressive than most provinces). The chaos brought about not just by cars, but also by people walking to and fro made it difficult for us to find our destination. In fact, we had almost passed Susie's Cuisine before Hubby Sweet spotted it from his peripheral vision.



The steady stream of people coming in and out of Susie's seemed to validate the article's declaration that it was the go-to place for native kakanin. Hubby Sweet and I walked in to find the dining area with only a few empty seats left. Taking our cue from the people who walked in before us, we headed straight to the counter to check out the goods and place our orders.


We decided to take a sampler of the kakanins that intrigued us among the seeming million-and-one varieties (I exaggerate, of course) that were laid out for people to choose from.

Being a Cassava Cake Monster, Hubby Sweet just had to ask for a slice. It was good, but we both agreed that we have tasted better cassava cake elsewhere. We liked our cassava cake a bit more sinful. We wanted it a tad more chewy, with a topping so buttery, one's lips would glisten with it.

If the Hubby had cassava cake as a must-try, I had Bibingkang Kanin as mine. See, the dish always evoked holiday memories as it is part of the usual Christmas spread at Eduardo's (our ancestral home). I suppose it is convenient to have an entire bilao ready to be served as friends and family arrive for the usual Christmas visit. That said, I take my bibingkang kanin seriously, and the one at Susie's--while good--cannot hold a candle to the one we usually devour over the holidays. I prefer my bibingkang kanin much softer, and the latik topping much thicker (and consequently more indulgent =)) than Susie's version. Susie's version looked good though. =)

Next on the list of our must-try was the Mochi. We ordered it because I've heard so much about it at the office. Everytime there is scheduled trade visit to Pampanga, someone inevitably requests for mochi as pasalubong. I do remember tasting a portion once and liking it. (I only tasted a portion because it was a limited edition pasalubong and would therefore have to be rationed. =)) Mochi is sweet coconut (not quite bukayo but almost) and red beans wrapped in glutinous rice. Each is served topped with a generous serving of coco cream. Think deconstructed Ginataang Bilo-bilo, but simpler. It is pure love (if you choose to ignore the fact that too much of it would also lead to major love handles). =)


Our primary objective for the visit to Susie's Cuisine, however, was Tibok-Tibok, a type of kakanin so named because it supposedly jiggles like a beating heart when it is transported. The article sang praises to it and confidently declared that no other version comes close to Susie's.


I admittedly had low expectations as I thought it would only be akin to...uh...maja blanca (which I am not particularly fond of). A single forkful, however, was enough to turn me into a convert. It was the farthest thing from maja blanca. It was milky in taste, silky in texture. Think panna cotta, but lighter, with a distinctly Filipino taste. I would soon find out that the distinct taste comes from carabao's milk, laced with dayap. The dried coconut sprinkles broke through the creaminess and was particularly helpful in lessening the dish' potential for being cloying. Hubby Sweet and I wanted to bring some back to Manila for the usual Sunday get-together at Eduardo's, but were told that it does not really keep too long even when it is refrigerated. We decided to bring home Mochi instead.

We walked around Nepo Mart after Susie's, and quickly realized that it would take a lot to burn everything we've eaten so far that day. We decided to put off everything else on our list for another trip. We checked the time. A little past 4:00 p.m. Right enough to get back to Manila before the major rush hour traffic hits.

Everything else would have to wait until the next trip, Pampanga. Don't you worry. We'll be back soon. =)

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