LET'S forget for a moment the trouble the world faces. The word war between US President Donald Trump and North Korea President Kim Jong Un. The feud with the known athletes in the US vs Trump again. Duterte vs. Trillanes. Senator Ping Lacson vs. former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon. DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre vs. Senator Risa Hontiveros. Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista vs. wife Patricia. Ang gugulo ninyo. Let's talk about food in Clark, Angeles City and the many nice smelling and tasty food in land of the gourmet, which is Pampanga.
To start with, it was the late Ka Blas Ople who once told me about the study made by eminent writer Rosalinda Orosa that the Kapampangans are not only artisans but are excellent cooks, male and female. If compared to other ethnic groups in the country.
Very true indeed. The number of restaurants in Pampanga are good basis for that claim. Retro: In our youth there was the popular Everybody's Cafe by the Santoses in San Fernando. While in Angeles City there was the Iniang's Place of the Floreses which served the best Jambalaya in this part of the world. The food preparation was mostly likely a combination of Spanish arroz valenciana, bringhe style with Filipino touch.
Today, there are now the high end food destination like Denlims and Rainforest Kitchen in San Fernando. The Abe's Farm in Magalang and many others. Any evening you stroll down along the Fields Avenue or any of its spine roads, you can make a lot of choices among the clustered restaurants there that mushroomed over the years. My Wednesday's group favorite is Picolo Padre, an Italian restaurant where you can savor the best ragu de mare coupled with their well prepared steak with fresh oysters as an aperitif while having your red Montes de Alfa.
I remember my former colleagues from Bases Conversion Development Authority, particularly Mel Alonzo, Boots Garcia and Toto Golez "will kill me" if I won't treat them with the Filipino cooking of Binulo, a restaurant inside the Clark Freeport run by Maricar Angeles. Beside is the Seafood Shack, where dining pleasure is an experience. It is suggested that you bring the family or barkada when dining there.
In Binulo the homemade pititsan, rice cooked in bamboo, asado and bulanglang are the most ordered dishes. Gourmet Rico Guilas served as the quality control manager. Then there's Marami-ih of TJ Rodriguez, where authentic Kapampangan cuisine is served.
Metro Manila and local officials and executives of industries inside the freeport are regular patrons of Cafe Mesa not only because it offer the best sumiyaki coffee but long legged young girls with their fitting pants serve it with a smile. The cafe is owned by Aritake, a former UPS country manager.
The baked salmon served at Ribeye resto and shrimp salad are the main favorites by members of Monday Club. There's also the salmon salad, steak diana and the crispy chicken in the basket. Cottage Kitchen along the perimeter road at nearby Clark is good choice. In the Nepo Mall area is one of the new destinations for food tripping.
Besides Ribeye is the Ningnangan of Sto. Tomas Mayor Naguit. It is patterned after the famous Aboys of Bacolod City, where you make your choices of uncooked items and cooked and serve fresh in your table. It branched out now in the City of San Fernando. And if you have liking for Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese food, the place is the Korean town in Angeles City. Avoid politics and let us enjoy life.
Tweets:
- Good news. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will pass the Medical Marijuana bill. In many countries taking marijuana is legal.
- In Amsterdam, my traveling companions were surprised to see in the restaurant menu marijuana as an item. You can smoke it freely and not violating anything.
- I am just wondering if malls have CCTV installed in their parking areas.