Sisig, tocino BBQ and kakanin in Angeles

MILLIE: My best friend’s sister, Leila Canlas, came home to Manila for a visit after 15 years of living in Los Angeles. Lei, as she is fondly called, was my food-tripping partner back in the ’80s. Together, we shared many delicious finds and surprisingly, the memory of these edible discoveries has lingered on in my palate. Little did I know that Karla, who was exposed to these food trips at a very young age, had also kept pleasant memories in her taste buds.

We met up with Lei for lunch at The Aristocrat on Jupiter St., Makati, a must stop for every balikbayan, together with two other friends, Borge Mirasol and Mandu Canlas, who hadn’t seen Lei for years. Our lunch was laughter-filled as we reminisced about the food trips we used to make that had Karla and I craving to make a trip to Pampanga.

Unfortunately, Lei had errands and could not accompany us, but we were determined to go… and we did that same afternoon! Karla was confident we would find our food destinations because she was armed with her Waze and could Google her way to satisfy our cravings.

En route to Pampanga, I sent a text message to a friend, Dr. Erwin Dizon, asking for suggestions on new eateries to visit in Angeles. He suggested Mila’s Tokwa’t Baboy for their popular sisig. So, off to destination sisig we went and had no trouble finding Mila’s place, tucked away in a private subdivision in Brgy. San Angelo in Angeles City.

We arrived around merienda time, still rather full after our sumptuous lunch at Aristocrat and here we were, ready to eat again. We invited our driver to join us so we could sample several dishes. Upon Erwin’s suggestion, we ordered the pako salad, which is made with fresh ferns, tomatoes and onions and the tocino barbecue to taste. The pork meat was tender and on the sweet side and for a moment we were tempted to order some rice but decided it best not to. However, we could not resist ordering the sisig, which came sizzling and got us all drooling. Just to compare, we said.

Our next stop was Susie’s Cuisine, which I almost didn’t recognize as the place seemed bigger than when I was last there in the ’80s. We arrived around dusk and the place was as busy as a train station and we could not find an empty seat. In one corner there is a pasalubong shelf displaying native products like jars of taba ng talangka, sugarcoated pili nuts, kamote chips, yema, tamarind candies, polvoron and other delicacies.

There was a long queue at the food counter and on display were cooked specialties like pancit luglog, bringhe, and other Kapampangan dishes that customers would buy to take home, including pastas and merienda fare. Many were buying bilaos of native kakanin like my favorite tibok-tibok and moche. They also had maja blanca, cassava cake, halayang ube, suman mais and suman ube.

I stood in line for more than 15 minutes and couldn’t help but drool. But by the time it was my turn, I actually had forgotten what I was in line for so I just bought a pack of suman duman to taste. So much for senior moments, or perhaps I was really still full from all the eating we’d been doing.

KARLA: Next door from Susie’s Cuisine was Rosing’s. Their specialties are their homemade Sylvanas, caramel swirl with cashew, boat tarts, and pastillas de leche. Mom kept going on and on about the how she featured them many years ago. As soon as we stepped in, we immediately saw her framed article hanging on the wall. Mom was so happy to see it. We bought a box of Sylvanas and some goodies to take home.

When mom and I were about to get into the car, I reminded her I wanted to go to Aling Lucing’s and have sisig. I told her that I still remember details from the night we went to Aling Lucing’s when I was around five or six years old. She was pretty impressed that I remembered so much, considering I was still very young then.

Despite the young age, I remember how it was just a food stand by the railroad tracks and how there were just a few tables and chairs displayed out in the open for diners. It was dark because the available light was only from the streetlights. I was a very curious kid. Every time there was an open kitchen, I would enjoy watching the cooks work even if it was a simple task such as chopping vegetables. In this case, I remember standing by the food stall watching the man wearing a sando and an apron chopping up the sisig on a wooden board. While chopping, I remember that he was also adding in some ingredients like calamansi and chopped onions. He then would transfer the chopped and marinated meat to the sizzling platter and have it served. I remember that Tita Lei even brought a whole kaldero of cooked Milagrosa rice because she claimed that their rice was not good, since it was “buhaghag.” But I didn’t care. I liked the rice from Aling Lucing’s better than Tita Lei’s. I must have had at least three cups of rice that night. It was the first time I had tried sisig and, to this day, I still remember what it tastes like.

Aling Lucing’s stall moved to the other side of the road and now has a more permanent structure with a roof overhead. When we arrived, a group was drinking beer and enjoying their platters of sizzling sisig. We definitely ordered what we came for. While waiting for our orders we looked around and I took pictures. I was thrilled when I saw a laminated frame of Mom’s Philippine STAR column featuring the sisig queen, Aling Lucing in the ’80s. She must have been so proud of it, to think that it is still displayed on her wall.

Finally, our order came. I wasn’t wrong. It was how I remembered it. I guess it’s true what they say about how food triggers fond memories.

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Aling Lucing’s Sisig is located at Glaciano Valdez St., Angeles City, Pampanga. For inquiries, call (045) 888-2317.

Mila’s Tokwa’t Baboy is on San Andres St., Brgy. San Angelo, Angeles, or call (045) 888-6727 for directions.

Susie’s Cuisine is at 36 Hilda Nepo Mart, Angeles City. Call them at (045) 888-0034.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.