Culinary tour means having the chance to experience and taste the best
cuisines of the places you’re planning to visit. October 19th is a
day to remember for me and my schoolmates. We are very fortunate that we were
given this privilege by our school, SKD Academy. It has been a fun filled
experience for us and as I write this blog today, I would want to show you and
hopefully inspire you to go to these places as well. This is where my love for
travel, adventure, food and having fun come together.
Our meeting place was at Burger King, Timog. After the registration, we
were given our tour packs with freebies inside. We were also given
complimentary breakfast to prepare ourselves to an all day eating experience.
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| class 37 |
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| breakfast at Burger King Timog |
Our morning started at a really nice spot called Rosalie's. Rosalie’s
is located at Sta. Rita, Bulacan. It's the home of sweet Filipino delicacies.
They sell a lot of Filipino desserts and products like minatamis na kundol,
macapuno, kutchinta and assorted rice cakes. They also have Leche Flan with
dayap. It is creamier and indulgent compared to the usual Leche flan we usually
make at home. The dayap juice gives it a delicious contrast.
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| Entrance of the store |
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| glimpse of what Rosalie's is all about |
Their best seller was their Suman. It has a sweet, fresh flavor and it
is greenish topped with crushed pinipig. It is very different compared to the
usual whitish suman we dip in sugar. The exciting part on this adventure was that we
were able to get free suman. The best thing about their suman is that you no
longer need to dip it in sugar to make it delicious because it’s already yummy
on its own.
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| Rosalie's Suman |
The store really showcased sweets and Filipino desserts and being there
feels like being able to go inside Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, Filipino
style. Haha Rosalie's is really a Kakanin haven.
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| Free suman from Rosalie's |
After our pasalubong expedition, we took a very short drive to another
iconic food haven in Bulacan. Our next stop is called Lugaw ni Abel.
Lugaw ni Abel is known for its exotic Lugaw. It is located in Santisima
Trinidad in Malolos City. They offer lugaw varities like lugaw with dila, lugaw
with utak, lugaw with mata, Lugaw with tokwa't baboy. The store gave us the
chance to try their Lugaw with utak. They also served us with tokwa and coffee
or chocolate. Just a brief history on how Lugaw ni Abel started. The original
owner is Mrs. Lenisia Bautista and she started the business in 1988.
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| At Lugaw ni Abel |
After our Exotic Lugaw experience, we're off to Bale Capampangan for
our lunch treat.
Bale Capampangan is a haven for all the savory and original Capampangan
recipes. It is an open buffet that serves over 30 different and tasty dishes.
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| Entrance of Bale Capampangan |
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| Inside Bale Capampangan |
They have a wide array of food that includes tortang talong, fried
talangka, hito and many more. They also have the famous Capampangan dish known
as Buro. It is served with blanched eggplant or ampalaya.
The buro had a distinct taste. They said that its made from fermented
shrimp.They also offer deserts and they also have a store where you can buy
pasalubongs like sansrival ala pampanga.
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| After lunch pics |
After the tasty and tummy filling lunch, SKD management presented our
certificate of attendance and introduced us to our Pampanga Tour guide who will
bring us to our next destination.
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| Certificate of Attendance |
Our next stop is a house that seems to be a Barquillos factory. The
owner told us that their family has been making these barquillos for
generations. The batter is made up of carabao's milk, duck eggs, rice flour and
dayap. It is pressed into a customized crepe maker which was invented by her
grandfather. They roll it using a customized stick and then they let it cool.
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| Barquillos and local crepe at Apung Sta. Rta |
They gave us a package of barquillos and a local crepe filled with
shredded coconut wrapped in banana leaves.
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| how Barquillos are made |
After visiting a barquillos haven, we headed to our nest destination
which is a must on a very sunny afternoon. It is indeed the favorite dessert of
most Filipinos during summer. Who wouldn't want to have a Halo-halo treat after
a long hot day, right?
We dropped by another well known Halo-halo store in Pampanga known as
Kabigting's in Robinsons. It looks like an ordinary halo-halo but after you have
finished the entire glass you would say that it’s nothing like any other
halo-halo you’ve ever tasted. The ingredients are really few compared to our usual
halo-halo where we can put anything we want but every scoop of this halo-halo
gives a very rich flavor and it is really a must try for everyone.
I know that you are now excited to know what makes this halo-halo so
special. For me, it is the unique blend of their famous homemade haleyang
beans, cream of corn and their unique homemade pastillas made from Carabao’s
milk. This pastillas twist on the halo-halo made it distinctly kapampangan.
Combine all these ingredients together and topped it with shaved ice and
evaporated milk and viola! You’ll have the best coolant perfect on a sunny day
and it makes you dream of beach and white sand. haha
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| Kabigting's Halo-halo |
After that satisfying dessert, we have to take a short break from
eating. Our next destination is just perfect for that. It’s time for shopping. Ha
ha
We headed to Duty Free Puregold situated in Clark Freeport, Pampanga.
I think Puregold duty free is one of the best places to go to for food
and grocery items. They offer some amazing deals on random items. They sell
their items in US currency just like how they sell these items in the main
branch of Duty Free near the airport. I
wasn't able to enjoy shopping because my friends and I decided to just go back
to our bus after seeing a whole bunch of people lined up in the counters.
Better luck next time, I guess. Haha
Our next and final stop is the famous Apag Merangle. It is indeed
another mouth-watering experience for all of us.
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| At Apag Marangle |
Just like Bale Capampangan, Apag Marangle serves Kapampangan dishes as
well. What makes them different and unique is that they serve it in a
palaisdaan setting. They have a native-style bamboo dining table area for their
guests.
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| nipa huts inside Apag |
All the food served to us are really amazing and tasty. I personally
loved their Humba. It is pork braised in yellow bean paste. They also have
sinigang na bangus and Begukan. They also served us with crickets, small frogs
and balut dishes. Kapampangan dishes are really amazing and they are worth
coming back for.
Just when we thought that our day is over, our SKD family treat us with
an exciting night at Pampanga’s party haven known as Partyland. Drinks are all
over the place. Live band is also present and it is really a night out ala
Kapampangan style.
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| At Partyland |
No words can ever explain my gratitude to the organizers of this event
in giving me the opportunity to be part of this culinary tour. It makes
learning more fun and exciting.
This tour makes me realize that Pampanga and Bulacan really deserve
their titles.
Pampanga indeed is the culinary capital of the Philippines and I am
proud that I get to taste the best Kapampangan dishes there is. Pampanga is
really a place for gastronomic adventures.
Bulacan on the other hand is really well known for making Filipino
sweets and desserts. All of which are really mouth-watering.
This is quite an experience and I can't wait to go to another gastronomic adventure. Ciao! :)
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