Pampanga: Pampanga's pride

Pampanga's pride is indeed its heritage and cuisine. I got a lot of texts yesterday since my blog was mentioned in the article Hit the Road in 2bU in the Inquirer Lifestyle section. And people had been calling the Center for Kapampangan Studies for information. Anyway, the article information was based on entries 9 and 10 of my blog.

Just some corrections, what was mentioned as Furniture Clay (yes we had callers asking about the clay furniture) is actually Furniture City in Mabalacat, Pampanga. This is a complex of world-class furniture factories which export their products worldwide. Before you visit, please call Lisa Samia at (045) 8930092 to 93.

Abe's Farm is actually the Mt. Arayat resthouse of restaurateur Larry Cruz of the LJC Restaurant Group which includes Cafe Adriatico and Cafe Havana among many others. The fabulous resthouse is in Magalang, Pampanga, the hometown of Larry's father, journalist and artist E. Aguilar Cruz. Having lunch at his place requires arrangements made much earlier though (photo of buffet table is on the left). For more information, click here.

Another must try lunch or dinner venue is Claude Tayag's residence Bale Dutung in Villa Gloria, Angeles City. This P1800 per head Kapampangan feast has to be pre-arranged as well and you must have at least 12 persons in your group (photo of Claude's paella is on the right). Claude has a shop in his house where you can buy bottled buro and taba ng talangka but the Claude 9 brand is also available in Pampanga supermarkets such as Essel Supermarket. You can also pass by Tita's or Pampanga's Best along Gapan-Olongapo Road for even more Kapampangan delicacies.

C Italian Restaurant is among the many international offerings that line Fields Avenue and Friendship Highway beside Clark. You can check out Zapata's (Mexican), Salvatore's (Italian), Subdelicious (American), Cottage Kitchen (Cajun), and a host of Japanese and Korean restaurants among many others.

The ensaymadas in San Fernando are made-to-order and you have to call them at least 2 days in advance. But Imang Salud Dayrit's San Fernando ensaymadas are actually available in Manila. These melt-in-your-mouth wonders are six inches in diameter, made with the finest ingredients and topped with a generous serving of queso de bola. You can visit the Legaspi Sunday Market organized by San Lorenzo Village and open every Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. behind the Corinthian Plaza building. Make sure you look for the Imang Salud booth. Also on sale are atcharang gule, atcharang ubud, balu-balo, tibok-tibok and pickled mangoes. Another signature dessert but made-to-order is plantanilla, sweet egg crepes with latik filing. Yummy! You can call (0920) 9478819 for orders.

But one thing the article was not able to mention (since it wasn't in my blog article) was Everybody's Cafe where Kapampangan food is available everyday in their turo-turo style display. Try out the pako salad, calderetang baka, morcon, chicharon bulaklak, tortang bangus, inihaw na hito or bulalo soup. For the brave, go further and savor the buro with hito (fermented fish paste with catfish), betute (deep-fried stuffed frog), camaru (fried cricket adobo), dumara (wild duck adobo) or pindang damulag (carabeef tapa). They have branches in San Fernando along MacArthur Highway in Barangay Del Pilar, and Angeles City in Nepo Mart.

Other must tries are the Kapampangan halo-halo places. In fact, there are three distinct halo-halo varieties in Pampanga. These are Guagua (Razon’s), Angeles (Corazon’s) and Arayat (Kabigting's and Jurado's) halo-halo. It must also be noted that Kapampangan halo-halo is distinct from the other halo-halo served in the country because it uses only three or four ingredients or sahog. However, the richness of these ingedients more than compensates for the number of types thrown in the glass. Arayat for example is distinct for its pastillas, crushed beans and saging combination; Guagua for its macapuno, saging, and leche flan; while Angeles is distinct for its mais, saging, pastillas and crushed beans combination.

Also check out Aling Lucing's at the Crossing (Henson Street, Angeles City) which is the birthplace of Pampanga sisig and the steakhouses in Marisol Subdivision, Angeles City. Luring's of Guagua (with branches all over Pampanga) serves some of the best barbeque and other grilled meat products. Ikabud (the contracted form of ika kabud which translates as only you) is another restaurant that serves grilled food and is located in Hensonville, Angeles City.

If you want to try out everything, go for Smorgasbord, the buffet Kapampangan lunch and dinner offered at Partyland (MacArthur Highway and SM City Pampanga) and Holidayland (Gapan-Olongapo Road) both in San Fernando.

Visiting Pampanga has now been made easier and carefree with a tour entiled Pampanga's Pride offered through the Island Caravan. Visit their website for more information or e-mail skoal@skyinet.net.

The tour includes a visit to...

• Bacolor Church - this is the half-buried San Guillermo Church in Bacolor. Entering what was once the largest church in Pampanga, visitors enter the church through the choirloft windows, and are greeted inside by beautifully restored retablos dug up from several feet of lahar. The citizens of Bacolor take pride in their rich heritage which is why they painstakingly excavated the ornately carved wooden main and side altars which are now back to their pristine condition;
• Betis Church - a must visit church in Pampanga, the centuries-old Betis Church in Guagua is nicknamed the "Sistine chapel of the Philippines" because of its wall ceiling murals. It is the second oldest church in Pampanga and one of the 26 churches declared by the National Museum as national cultural treasures;
• Archdiocesan Museum and Archives - savor the grandeur and elegance of religious art in Pampanga with a visit to the repository of Pampanga's church treasures housed inside the University of the Assumption; and
• Center for Kapampangan Studies - a museum, archives, library, research center and theater rolled into one, the Center for Kapampangan Studies was put up by Holy Angel University in 2002 to preserve, study and promote Kapampangan history and culture

Lunch is at Everybody's Cafe while afternoon snacks includes halo-halo at Corazon's. There are also optional visits to any of the following: Pampanga's Best Factory (for big groups), Lantern Factory, Minalin and Apalit Churches, or the pottery area in Sto. Tomas.

For those who could afford to splurge, go for the overnight tour package which includes dinner at Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung, lunch the next day at Abe's Farm of Larry Cruz, and overnight accomodations at King's Royal Hotel and Resort.

Above are some photos of the natural heritage of Pampanga which I took way back in college in 2001 and 2002.

Malaysia: Putrajaya, city planning at its finest!

It was less than 48 hours before I returned to the Philippines. And my last two days was going to be spent in Kuala Lumpur, the hub of the no-frills airline AirAsia whose revolutionary air ticket rates are changing the airline industry in Malaysia and around Southeast Asia. Our own Cebu Pacific in fact seems to be following suit.

I arrived in the LCC-T of the KLIA at about 6 p.m. Then I took the AirAsia shuttle again from the airport to KL Sentral for RM9. From KL Sentral, I took bus no. 110 to Chinatown, the same bus I rode to the Putrajaya Bus Station. The fare was RM2. I got off at the corner of Jalan Petaling and walked around to look for a guest house. My bags were heavy and since I saw an Indian restaurant first, I decided to have dinner. It was roti canai and curry dip for me.

Then I continued looking around until finally, I saw a guest house. They didn't have single rooms anymore, but a double was available. The owner offered me a RM5-discount since I was alone so I paid RM30 for a non-aircon double room with a queen-sized bed. Good enough.

The evening was spent at the guest house resting and re-packing my luggage. A Singapore PY, Siti Mariam, had invited me to meet up since she was studying in Malaysia. I forgot to jot down her number so I went to an internet shop to get it. When I got it, I sent her an SMS and my boring next day suddenly had a long list of things to do.

In the morning, I took a walk around the center of Kuala Lumpur and Chinatown. I had breakfast first, again at an Indian restaurant. Then it was off for a walk. Among the sights in the area were Hindu and Chinese temples and old govenment buildings which included the old KL City Hall, the KL Memorial Library, National History Museum and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (above) all around Merdeka Square, and the art deco Central Market (right).

I would like to make special mention of the adaptive reuse of buildings in KL. Notice the McDonald's store housed in an old colonial building. Why can't McDonald's in the Philippines do the same? They could have done that in Vigan by using reusing the ruins of the old convento. Again, I would like to reiterate that the McDonald's building in Vigan is nothing to be proud of. I hope the City Government of Vigan realizes that since nothing is better than the original. When McDonald's Philippines learns how to respect heritage, indeed that will be the day! Kudos to McDonald's in Malaysia. Notice the signage of the store as well. It does not clash or overpower the architectural details of the building. Bravo!

At about 11 a.m., I went back to the guest house to prepare for check out. By 11:30 a.m., I was off to KL Sentral where I would take the KTM Komuter to Serdang. Again, it was bus no. 110 going back to KL Sentral. Serdang was about 30 minutes away from KL and the fare was RM1.70.

Mariam met up with me at the train station and we went to Universiti Putra Malaysia where she studied, to have lunch. This time, food was Malay. I had a chicken dish with coconut milk, and a beef dish as well. Yummy! Then it started to rain again! Just great!

We were off to Putrajaya after lunch which was right beside Serdang. Putrajaya is envisioned to be the future capital city of Malaysia and was planned and constructed from scratch. This big investment in city and urban planning is scheduled to be completed in 2012 but the finished structures are already monumental and spectacular!

After asking around at the information office, we were off to the CruiseTasik Putrajaya which is the best way to see this city of the 21st Century. Putrajaya actually reminded me of another capital city in South America which was a result of planning as well. This is the city of Brasilia in Brazil which is in fact a UNESCO World Heritage site. And as the description goes, "Brasilia, a capital created ex nihilo in the centre of the country in 1956, was a landmark in the history of town planning. Urban planner Lucio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer intended that every element – from the layout of the residential and administrative districts (often compared to the shape of a bird in flight) to the symmetry of the buildings themselves – should be in harmony with the city's overall design. The official buildings, in particular, are innovative and imaginative." In just a little over 40 years, the city was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Putrajaya is similar as it was created ex nihilo (created out of nothing) as well with structures all in harmony with each other. And I wouldn't be surprised if 40 years from now, it is inscribed in the UNESCO list. Other planned capitals include Washington D.C. in the US, Canberra in Australia, and Astana in Kazakhstan. I really hope the government considers doing the same to decongest Manila. In fact, there were proposals to move the capital to Clark. If they do, I hope they plan it as well and as spectacular.

Anyway, we were able to get RM5 discount coupons for the cruise so we paid RM25 for the 45-minute cruise which took us around an island in the center of a man-made lake that offered magnificent views of the city in the making: (1) Putra Mosque and the Prime Minister's Office in the background, (2) Seri Wawasan Bridge, (3) the Millennium Monument, (4) me and Mariam enjoying the cruise, (5) Putrajaya International Convention Center, (6) Seri Saujana Bridge, (7) continuous construction;

(8) Darul Ehsan Palace, the palace of the sultan of Selangor, (9) me and Mariam in front of the Putra Mosque, (10) me with the Seri Gemilang Bridge at the back, (11) Putra Bridge, (12) the convention center and Seri Gemilang Bridge, (13) and (14) ongoing construction, (15) a playground waiting for children, (16) walls of the lake... even these were artistically done, (17) an amphitheatre and (18) another spectacular bridge.

I think the HULRB needs a revamp! Urban planning in the Philippines is non-existent in the government and it's about time our politicians start creating an urban planning superbody if they still had brain cells left in them after all that squabbling. This body should be manned by nothing less than the best and brightest urban planners and architects who would rework our obsolete land use standards and practices.

After the cruise, we took more photos near the Putra Mosque and the Prime Minister's Office. Then it was back to the train station since I was going to meet up with another SSEAYP batchmate, Jesslyn Wong in Petaling Jaya.

To get to her, I had to take the KTM Komuter back to KL Sentral then transfer to the Putra LRT where I would take a train to Asia Jaya. And I had to do it with all my luggage. Hehe!

Anyway, Jesslyn passed by for me at the station and we went to Chinatown for dinner. We passed by for her sister who knew the great places to eat at. Today was a great culinary sampling of Malaysia's diversity. In the morning I had Indian, for lunch it was Malay and for dinner, it was Peranakan, a fusion of Chinese and Malay! We had Asam Laksa, a tamarind-based noodle dish with fish, and Yau Yu, a cuttlefish dish with vegetables and crushed nuts. Yummy!

After dinner, we went to meet up with another ex-MaPY, Andrea Chong at a Mamak cafe near her place. This time, I had chicken murtabak. At 11 p.m., it was off to the airport where I was to spend the night. Since my flight was at 7:15 a.m., that meant a 5:15 a.m. check-in time and I did not want to suffer the hassle of looking for transport at 3:30 a.m. since the airport was an hour and a half away from KL. It turns out, I was not the only one spending the night at the airport since when I got there, all the seats were occupied by sleeping passengers, mostly foreigners. Some had their own sleeping bags with their luggage and other belongings such as surfboards right beside them.

I picked an empty spot and lay down on the cold granite floor to get some sleep. I was up at 5 a.m. maybe since I heard a slight noise when they opened the check-in counters. Sleeping at the airport was indeed a good move. I didn't have to worry about getting there at such an unholy hour and I saved on lodging costs. Hehe! Anyway, after two more hours of waiting at the departure gate, we were off to Clark Field. We arrived in Clark at 11:15 a.m. and that put to a close another great summer backpack trip.

Now that I'm back, it's time to discover more great places around the Philippines. I may have criticized the way our government runs this nation. But we have more things to be proud of as can be seen from the many wonderful places around the country I've been to. Check out my blog index for backpack ideas around this island paradise called the Philippines.

April 18 is World Monuments Day!

The International Committee on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is the institution behind World Monuments Day. The theme for this year is industrial heritage. For more information on industrial heritage in the Philippines, visit the ICOMOS Philippines blog.