Exploring San Fernando, Pampanga: Arts, Food and Faith (2nd of 3 Parts)

After our museum visit, we had lunch at Souq (pronounced "sook") Restaurant along Lazatin Avenue. Souq offers a creative fusion of Kapampangan cuisine, widely regarded as among the best in the Philippines, alongside other Filipino and Asian dishes. Since we wanted to sample a variety of flavors, we ordered several dishes to share.

One of the items I instantly liked was the restaurant's take on Okoy, a favorite Filipino treat traditionally made with shrimp and vegetables. Souq's version was both familiar and unique, a combination of grated papaya, kamote (sweet potato), and kalabasa (squash), topped with shrimp. The fritters did not have the usual patty-like appearance; they looked like a bird's nest and were crunchy and tasty. 

I ordered the crab rice, which I found very good. The rice was soft and must have included malagkit (glutinous rice), and the crab flavor was rich and creamy. Its savory taste made it satisfying, and it paired well with the other dishes we ordered.

My sisters also tried the kare-kare, which featured tender pork belly instead of the usual ox tail or tripe. My sisters, however, found the peanut sauce much sweeter than what we typically expect from a traditional kare-kare. The sweetness was quite pronounced, and I even suspected that the cook might have used peanut butter instead of actual peanuts to make the sauce. Of course, that was only my personal impression, and some diners may enjoy this variation. However, I prefer a more savory and nuttier kare-kare that lets the flavors of the meat, vegetables, and bagoong shine through.

I also had the opportunity to try the Asado Matua, a Kapampangan take on the Chinese dish asado. The dish featured pork shoulder slow-cooked in tomatoes, soy sauce, and calamansi, resulting in a deep, savory flavor balanced by a nice tanginess. The meat was tender and absorbed the rich flavors of the sauce. In a previous trip to Pampanga, I learned that "matua" is the Kapampangan word for traditional or old-style, which made the dish even more interesting. The Asado Matua is the pride of Kapampangan cooking, often served during celebrations and important occasions.  

We also ordered the Pasta sa Taba ng Alimango, or pasta in crab fat sauce. I did not get the chance to try it because I had already ordered the crab rice and did not want to double down on crab dishes. My sister was the one who sampled it, and judging from how little she ate, I suspect she was not particularly impressed. 

Since I was not the one who paid for lunch, I do not actually know how much the meal cost. However, my sisters were very happy with the bill and felt that we received excellent value for the quality and quantity of food we enjoyed. They even said that we probably would have paid considerably more for a similar lunch in Manila. We appreciated the experience even more because of that observation. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Souq, and I'd gladly go back to try their other dishes. 

Original images taken during our trip. No intended copyright infringement.

Childhood Obesity Is Rising. What Can We Do About It?

 When we think about malnutrition, we often imagine children who don't have enough to eat. But another nutrition problem is growing in the Philippines: more children are becoming overweight or obese.

Recent data show that overweight and obesity among Filipino school-age children and adolescents have increased significantly over the past decade. This matters because obesity in childhood can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems later in life.  And what’s more: eating habits formed in childhood often last a lifetime.  

Childhood Obesity Has Been Rising

 

Source: DOST-FNRI Expanded National Nutrition Survey 2023.

Image generated with AI

So what's driving the trend?

It is tempting to think that childhood obesity is simply a result of eating too much and exercising too little. In reality, things are much more complicated. 

The reality is, children today are surrounded by advertisements for sugary drinks, fast food, and highly processed snacks. These products are often affordable, convenient, and available almost everywhere. Meanwhile, healthier foods are not always the easiest or cheapest option for many families.

Experts call this the food environment: the world around us that shapes the food choices we make every day.

Small Changes at Home Matter

The good news is that parents don't need to be nutrition experts to help their children build healthier habits.

A few simple steps can go a long way:

🍌 Make healthy snacks easy to grab. Keep fruits, boiled eggs, corn, or nuts within easy reach.

🥪 School baon can also be an opportunity to build healthy habits. A balanced lunch does not have to be expensive or complicated. An egg with rice and fruit, a tuna sandwich and banana, or leftover chicken and vegetables from dinner can provide a nutritious meal for the school day.  

Image generated with AI

💧 Choose water more often. Replacing sugary drinks with water is one of the easiest ways to reduce excess sugar intake.

🚶 Make movement fun. A family walk, bike ride, dancing, or shooting hoops can be just as valuable as organized sports.

📵 Create screen-free mealtimes. Children are more likely to pay attention to what they eat—and enjoy family conversations—when gadgets are put away.

Most importantly, children learn from what they see. When parents model healthy habits, children are more likely to develop those habits themselves.

Parents play a vital role, but they cannot do it alone.

 The environments around children influence their choices every day. That's why many countries are introducing clearer food labels, restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and strengthening policies that encourage healthier eating.

Several proposals in Congress seek to do exactly that. These measures would help families identify healthier products, reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing, and support better nutrition choices.

By combining stronger policies with everyday actions at home, we can give Filipino children a better chance to grow up healthy, active, and ready to thrive.

After all, healthy habits begin at home.  But healthy environments help those habits succeed.

New Year’s Eve in the Philippines is Noisy, Joyful, and Delicious

New Year’s Eve in the Philippines is more than just a countdown.  It is steeped with traditions that are a vibrant blend of customs bringing luck, abundance, and joy, giving our celebrations a magical feel. Many of these practices, while rooted in Filipino culture, combine Spanish and Chinese influences with local beliefs, making our celebrations wonderfully unique!

For some people, wearing something printed with polka dots is a must on New Year’s Eve, as the round shapes symbolize coins and wealth, attracting prosperity in the coming year.  Our elders tell us never to welcome the new year with our pockets and wallets empty, or else they will be empty the whole year.  So, I make sure to put some coins in my pocket and give them a good jingle when the clock strikes midnight.  It is said to attract wealth and prosperity, and I think it raises the expression ringing in the new year to the next level.  Speaking of quirky traditions, my aunt takes it up a notch. She places coins on every step of her staircase, then climbs up, collecting them one by one as the new year begins.  This, according to her, would encourage wealth to enter and stay in their home.

Filipino New Year celebration is also famously loud. Families bang pots and pans, toot torotot (party horns), and watch light fireworks. It’s rooted in the belief that loud sounds scare away bad spirits and invite good luck for the year ahead.

Interestingly, this tradition has a legendary origin tied to Chinese folklore, which I found on this website. Long ago, a fearsome sea monster named Nian would emerge every New Year’s Eve to terrorize villages. People were desperate until they discovered Nian’s two weaknesses: the color red and loud noises. So, one year, villagers decorated their homes in red and made as much racket as possible. It worked! Nian fled, and peace returned. Ever since, making noise during the New Year has been a symbol of protection and celebration, a practice that traveled across cultures and found a joyful home in Filipino festivities.

Then there’s Media Noche, the midnight feast that’s the heart of the celebration. It’s all about abundance and togetherness. Families go all out, loading the table with delicious dishes because starting the year with plenty is supposed to invite more plenty.  Maybe that’s why everyone lost their minds when a certain official said ₱500 is enough for Media Noche. 

Each item on the table has its own meaning and symbolism.  Native sweet delicacies or kakanin symbolize unity and stronger family ties, as their stickiness represents the closeness of family members.  For others, serving and eating kakanin will bring good luck and prosperity that stays with the family throughout the year.  Serving and eating noodles like pancit during the feast ensures long life and good health.  

Following the significance of round things as symbols of wealth and prosperity, every table should have round fruits on it during media noche.  But here’s a twist: not all round fruits make the cut. Those with black seeds are often avoided because black is associated with bad luck and mourning.

Now, let’s talk about what not to serve. Crabs? Nope.  They move sideways, and we want progress, not detours. Winged fowls like chicken? Also a no-go, because good fortune might just fly away. A colleague once reminded me about the saying, “isang kahig, isang tuka” (one scratch, one peck), which suggests living hand-to-mouth, definitely not what we want for the new year!

Let’s not forget other Filipino beliefs, like cleaning the entire house before the new year to release all the negative energy of the ending year, and throwing all doors and windows wide open to let good luck come rushing in.  Hopefully, the smoke from the firecrackers and other pyrotechnics outside does not enter our house and ruin our celebrations.  Rice containers and water containers should be full so that the family never runs out of essentials and stays financially stable throughout the year. 

When we were kids, our elders would tell us to jump as high as we could at midnight to grow taller and reach our dreams faster.  I actually did this for several years, even leaping from my bed just for extra height, and guaranteeing growth in the coming year.

One should also hold off on spending money on January 1! Many Filipinos believe that if you open your wallet on the first day of the year, cash will keep flowing out for the rest of the year. So keep those coins jingling in your pocket, but let them stay put, because we all want abundance, not an empty purse!

These beloved Filipino traditions keep us connected, remind us of our roots, and fill our hearts with positivity. As these traditions fill our homes with laughter, warmth, and hope, let’s open our hearts wide to welcome the new year together.  While these traditions are fun and meaningful to follow, let us remember that it is even more important to keep our faith in God strong throughout the year, putting our trust in Him and allowing Him to guide us in all that we do.

May the spirit of abundance and togetherness flourish in your life, and may every day ahead bring you joy, good health, and boundless opportunities. Here’s to cherished memories around the Media Noche table, to coins jingling with promise, and to dreams that grow taller with every leap at midnight. From my family to yours, have a blessed New Year overflowing with love and happiness. Maligayang Bagong Taon sa inyong lahat!

All images generated with AI

Animal, Vegetable, Junk: An Account of Man's Relationship with Food

This book takes a long look at how we have transformed the way we get and consume our food.  Bittman -- a bestselling cookbook author, journalist, and food writer--  gives a comprehensive account of how man obtains his food, from hunter-gatherers to early agriculture and industrial farming.  He argues that the food we eat now is not the same as what our early ancestors ate.  He noted that deceptive marketing techniques made us unhealthy through the years.  How we presently produce our food is also not sustainable and harms us and the environment than good.

Bittman also touched on the politics of American agriculture.  He cited how its expansion excluded black Americans from some government programs and how current practices continue to disadvantage certain groups.  His most damning arguments include how the US Department of Agriculture continues to favor big companies and disregard the people’s and the environment’s welfare.  

Despite painting a bleak scenario for the agriculture industry, Bittman says that a systemic overhaul of the sector could still save it.  He offers an ecological solution he calls "agroecology.” However, he admits that there would be resistance, especially from those in power.  

Most parts of this book sound like a scathing criticism of modern agriculture and American politics by an outraged man. To be fair, Bittman did a lot of work and research to cover not only agriculture and food production but also the underlying socio-political issues. The effort shows in the number of references he cited and the pages dedicated to his endnotes. However, he started proselytizing his ideas in the final chapters and sounded like a propagandist for veganism and social organizations. 

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, JUNK

A History of Food, From Sustainable to Suicidal

By Mark Bittman

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Kindle Edition (4087 KB)

Published on February 2, 2021

Lunch at Dapô at Tisa

We recently had lunch at a quaint restaurant called Dapô at Tisa in Fairview.  It was my first time to eat there and also pleasantly surprised that there are dining places along Regalado St.  From the outside, the place looks like an old house converted into a restaurant and re-designed with adobe looking bricks.

The design inside is simple and without frills.  There was just this huge TV showing an NBA game with the sound blaring.  Except for that minor detail, I find the place cozy for a group lunch like the one we had.

We ordered a set meal which included meat, seafood, fish and vegetables.  The meal also came with rice, pansit guisado and a pitcher of red iced tea.

I liked what we got for starters,  sizzling tofu.  It has that creamy, melt-in-the-mouth feel but just a little spicy for my taste.  

The fried pancit canton has a lot of ingredients.  The sauce was also very tasty.

I also like this Sigarilyas in gata which is topped by chicharon.

The stuffed grilled pusit (squid) was also very good.

 All the food have generous servings and have reasonable prices.  The service was also very good and the staff was very friendly.  I want to go back and try the other selections on their menu.

Sunday Lunch at Qubiertos

We finally went to lunch at Qubiertos.  We always pass by this quaint diner along D. Tuazon we go on a trip and wonder what they offer because their parking lot is always full.  Each time we do, we promise to try eating there the next time we go out for lunch.  We finally did recently, and we think it's worth it.

The place looked like an old house that has been repurposed as a diner.  Upon entering the front door, you will set foot on what could be the living room of the house.  From here, you can see the kitchen which looked like those from homes built in the 1960s or maybe the 1970s. Anyway, the customer gets the feeling of having lunch at home with the family.  All that's missing was music in the background playing from the old stereo.

We did not order anything fancy.  We tried the ensaladang labanos at pipino or radish and cucumber in vinegar with chili ginger.  It's the only one in our food that we really didn't enjoy much because it was way too spicy and sour for our taste.

ensaladang labanos at pipino

For our main dish, we had the Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia, or prawns and tilapia cooked in coconut milk.  The gata or coconut milk was sweet and contrasted with the taste of the fish and the prawns. It's terrific, and I personally liked it.

Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia

To make our meal complete, we also got some lechon kawali or deep-fried pork loin with liver sauce dip. While I like this dish, the one prepared by Qubiertos is not so different from those in other restaurants.  For the rice to go with all our dishes, we chose the Qubiertos rice which was stir fried and topped with egg and chicken strips.  It's already a meal in itself!

Overall, we enjoyed the food we ordered. The prices were really affordable, and we were even surprised at how much the total cost was.  The staff was also attentive although since it was a hot day when we went there, the place was rather warm even with their air-conditioners working full time.  We want to go back and try the other items on the menu soon.

Here's the address of the branch where we had our lunch: Qubiertos Grill & Restaurant (D. Tuazon Branch) - 69 D. Tuazon St., Brgy. Lourdes, Quezon City.  It's very close to Quezon Avenue.

Sinful Kare-Kare Bagnet at Pino Restaurant

We recently had lunch at Pino Street at Maginhawa St., the famed food haven of Quezon City. We chose Pino from other eateries in the area because I read about their best seller, the Kare Kare Bagnet.

I love kare kare. It's a special dish for our family.  For the uninitiated, it is a traditional Filipino stew in thick peanut sauce.  It contains vegetables like eggplant, string beans, among others.  We usually use ox tripe but some people prefer ox tail, beef, pork leg, even mixed seafoods.  To give it an extra kick, we use bagoong alamang.

Bagnet  is an Ilocano delicacy made from pork loin that is deep fried until the skin and outside layer of meat become crispy while the inside remains juicy.

The picture at left is the first thing that you will see upon entering Pino.  It is actually a line drawing that filled an entire wall.  We decided to sit under it.  The place is rather small with just around 10 tables for three to four persons.  It wasn't full when we got there but I immediately noticed that there were only three persons serving the tables and it looked like the orders were taking some time.

From the picture in the menu, the Kare Kare Bagnet looked like trouble for someone watching his diet.  Two of us, including me, chose the Kare Kare Bagnet while the other two decided to try the seafood kare kare.  Maybe they got scared of what they saw in the picture,  It took almost thirty minutes before our orders arrived.

The Kare Kare Bagnet did not disappoint.  It consisted of three slices of bagnet with vegetables on the side and the sauce in the bottom. The set meal also comes with a cup of steamed rice and a glass of ice tea.

It tasted good, even the bagoong that came with it complemented the taste of the food.

But it is so fat! I could only finish one slice of the bagnet and I already felt heady.  If you have problems with your blood pressure like I do, I advise that you be careful with this one.  In a word it is sinful - gloriously sinful.

At its price point, the meal is a good buy. But don't over indulge or you might get more than you wished for.

My Lesson on the Difference Between Advertising and Reality from Bonchon Chicken Philippines

While looking for a place to have merienda at Robinson's Magnolia this weekend, my friend and I passed by the BonChon Chicken outlet and saw a poster of one of their offerings. The item was named Bulgogi Noodle Soup, and the picture resembled something like the one below:

from bonchon Philippines Facebook page

I like many of BonChon's offerings.  Aside from the chicken, I also order their calamari, chapchae, and their fish and fries.  I haven't tried this soup; I convinced my friend to have merienda at the store and order the item.

The Bulgogi Noodle Soup comes in two sizes.: large and solo.  We ordered one large and one solo (for me).  The truth is, I wasn't expecting the order to look like the picture, neither did I expect to get these:

solo size

large size

My initial reaction was, "Is this what we ordered?".  It looked like something scooped out of a clogged kitchen sink instead of a pot.  The soup looked so greasy, and all those floating sesame seeds and other stuff gave it the appearance of what we call "pinaghugasan ng plato" (water where one washed used plates). 

At first, I didn't want to touch the soup, but then I wanted to do this blog, I decided to taste it.  The soup was both salty and sweet at the same time and, yes, very oily.  You have to dig deep to get the vegetables, beef, and noodles.  The vegetables were overcooked, and the glass noodles were a bit soggy.  The beef was just right.  Overall this noodle soup was not really satisfying, but it was not as bad as it looked.  

I have nothing against companies making their product look good in their advertisement. I only wish BonChon didn't make their promotional material so detached from what their product actually looked like, or maybe they could have made their Bulgogi Noodle Soup looked better.  I know it is a fast-food chain, and their products are inexpensive, but that doesn't mean they should not think about presentation. 

Lesson learned.  Next time I will be more cautious.

Lunch at Buffalo's Wings N Things

I went to Fairview Terraces today with my office mates to have lunch. We went around for some 15 minutes to look for a good place to eat and I found one called Buffalo's Wings and Things. Although the space was relatively small, it's cozy enough and since it's a weekday, there were no other customers but us.

 Their specialty is, what else, buffalo wings and ribs.  But I wasn't in the mood for some heavy lunch today so I ordered one of their set meal called "No Bones Fun." It's their take on the classic battered chicken tenders. 

The set meal comes with dirty rice, basically fried rice topped with salsa, and a can of soda (Pepsi products only). I went for Pepsi Max.  You can choose the sauce depending on how spicy you want it. I chose "Basil N Garlic" because our very helpful server said that that it is not very spicy and it tastes good.  My office mates both asked for the classic buffalo wings but I didn't get the sauce they each chose.

No Bones Fun

We didn't wait long for our orders to come. Our first impression was the serving was really generous.  I expected around 4 to 5 pieces only but the serving had more than that.  I love the sauce! It's tasty alright and not very spicy.  Just the right amount of heat that made me want to have more.  

By the way, the set meal is only PhP189 plus 10% service charge.  Actually, it is a steal for the size and quality of the meal.  The service was fast and the staff were very helpful. I had a good experience so I'd like to go back and try their regular offerings.

Buffalo's Wings N' Things is at the 2nd Floor of Ayala Fairview Terraces 

Marciano's Bakery Cafe

We went out for lunch recently to a just-opened mall near our office.  The mall named Fairview Terraces has not been discovered by the regular mall crowd yet so it's still quite comfortable to go around.

Our choice was Marciano's Bakery Cafe. Their specialty are pizza and pasta but they also have rice meals which are reasonably priced.  The place is clean and orderly, not too big but spacious enough.  Another thing that attracted us to the place is that there were no customers yet.  We've been warned by an co-worker who recently dined there that the pasta is a bit salty.  I always considered pasta and pizza as snacks so I went for the meal with rice.

Our orders took some time to arrive but we reasoned that perhaps all their meals are freshly cooked and take some time to finish.

I had the Citrus Pork Belly/ It came with garlic rice and some vegetables.  The pork was sweet but not too much to make it taste like a candy.  The citrus flavor did wonders to neutralize the sweetness.  The meat was tender and had the right amount of juiciness.   In short I enjoyed my meal.

Citrus Pork Belly

My office mate went for the Baby Back Ribs, which came with mashed potato and a piece of broiled corn on the cob.  According to her, the meat was really tender and easily fell off the bone. In terms of taste, however she preferred the back ribs at Chocolate Kiss in UP.  I've tried that one too and I can say that those were really good ribs. In fact, we've been there several times ordering the same item.  She didn't have any problem with the size of the serving too.

Baby Back Ribs

I want to go there again and try the other items they offer.  I also want to try their cheesecakes and other baked stuff which all look yummy.

New Food Items from Muji

Muji is known for their cool household products. I for one love their storage boxes and their bedroom and bath textiles. Another favorite is their Cedar Wood Bars.  But they also sell food products like green tea, marshmallows , and even sauces.

They recently announced some new products and I dropped by my favorite branch at Robinson's Magnolia to try them.

I bought a pack of Rice Snack in Soy Sauce flavor.. The rice balls are crispy and the soy sauce flavor is very apparent.  It's a bit salty for my taste but I have been limiting my salt intake so perhaps for some of you, it will just taste right.  It's a very light snack and will not make you feel guilty for indulging.
 

 

 

 Another new food product I've been wanting to try is the Mini Ramen.  Actually I planned to buy this one during the long weekend but thanks to the typhoon and heavy monsoon rains, I had to hold my plans until this weekend. 

 

 

 

This comes in three variants but I chose to try the Kimchi.  The sales clerk told me that there are three ways to enjoy this ramen.  You can eat it as it is like a crunchy snack or you can put it in a cup of hot water.  But you can also  cook it with vegetables and other stuff for the complete ramen experience.

 

I haven't tried it in any way but I will update this post once I get the chance to taste it.

 



Viajeng Cusinang Matua - A Capampangan Food Trip Pt. 3

This is the third and final part of my account of our Viajeng Cusinang Matua trip to the old kitchens of Pampanga.

Our next stop was the Prado Farm in Lubao.  It's owned by the Gutierrez Family who are into arts and eco-management.  The first thing that you will see when you get there is the main gate made out of old LPG cylinders.  We went around the farm first before we had our afternoon merienda.

Everywhere you go inside the compound, you'll see things even buildings made from recycled materials.  Even the art installations around the farm were fashioned from old things

The farm has a chapel which also made from recycled materials.  It can be rented out for a wedding and could accomodate about 300 guests.

They also have an Ifugao House where guests may have a bonfire at night. It also looked like an amphitheater where anyone can do some performance.

Guests can also dip in the salt water pool.  We were told that the salinity of the water is monitored constantly and they add salt when it goes down.

We had our merienda at their main building, beside a lily pond.  They have a fountain coming straight from the roof of the building, giving the impression of rain on a warm summer afternoon.

Our merienda included another version of pisto topped with longganiza, pan de sal and kesong puti made from goat's milk, as well as tsokolate baterol with pinipig paired with crunchy fried suman.

We moved on to our final stop of our trip, the Gosioco Ancestral House in Sta. Rita.  It was a really old house made of wood with only the lower part or silong made of concrete.  It reminded me of the old house my father's family used to own in Paco, Manila.

The house was full of old stuff and what attracted my attention were the frames of cut out religious figures that were like 3D pictures.  Atching May who now lives in the house told me that the frames were made by the grandmother and grandaunts of her grandmother.  So those must be at least a hundred years old.

We ate outside, in the backyard beside an old kamalig where they used to keep their harvested rice.  Our dinner included food that were traditionally served to the guests of the Gosioco family.  Atching May explained that the recipes were handed down through generations.  

My favorite was the Asadong Matua, pork asado eaten with native atchara, which I also really liked.

Then there's the vegetable dish which I didn't get the name.  It's sautéed squash and patola. 

We were also given their own recipe of pocherong tilapia which was a traditional Gosioco family dish.

Another Gosioco Family recipe was the Native Chicken boiled and cooked in a soup with tanglad or lemongrass.  Atching May told us that it's like tinola, except that this one was dry and yes, has lemongrass in it instead of ginger.

For our drinks, we had a wonderful and refreshing buko sherbet.  It's actually fresh buko juice but I think it was mixed with some pandan leaves extract.  It was a great way to end a meal and a day long food trip of traditional Pampanga cuisine.