Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Hizon: Apag Marangle: A great new discovery By Dalsa Montalban Hizon Snapshots
ONE recent Sunday, our family just felt like having lunch in a new place, somewhere far away from the crowded malls, serving delicious comfort food.
Before we knew it, we found ourselves at the new Apag Marangle or Hain sa Bukid (along Olongapo-Gapan road in Bacolor), a restaurant on stilts in the middle of a vast "palaisdaan."
It is very easy to find. Coming from San Fernando, it is on the left side past the San Guillermo Church, only a few meters before the kiosks selling wood-carved statues along the road. You won't miss the lively flags and the wooden sign pointing to the dirt path, which leads to the restaurant.
Parking was no problem at all, and as we walked to the main dining hall, we were warmly greeted by our friend Cherry Passion-Tan, who owns and runs the place with her sister-in-law Ramilyn Tan and friend Mark Edmon Navarro.
She suggested that we take a cottage further down, and that our kids have some fun first by trying to catch some fish. "The ones that we will eat?" Pablo asked, to which Cherry replied in the affirmative. Were they excited! Of course, they ended up just feeding the fish and getting a thrill out of seeing them crowd over the food pellets.
It was cozy and breezy in the cottage, just perfect for laid-back Sunday afternoons with the family. We ordered their specialties Pepalukluk Manuk, Tilapia king Gata and Swam Mais, plus Pinakbit and Sisig (...yes, there's something about the place that makes you want to EAT)!
All the viands arrived freshly cooked and the rice was so steaming perfect that we cleaned up our plates in no time, and thought we wouldn't have enough space in our stomachs for the oh-so-refreshing Buko Sherbet.
Truly, they were not jesting when they promised: "Mangan kang manyaman libutad na ning plaisdan, sagiwang tilapia melutu king gata, Dakal pang pamangan Lutung kapampangan. Mangan Kang Masalese king Apag Marangle."
We are happy with our new discovery -- a refreshing place where one can enjoy conversation over a home-cooked meal with loved ones. Oh, and our overactive kids are already counting the days when they would go back to feed the tilapia.
