Rod Ongpauco: The man who invented Crispy Pata

When you take a saliva-inducing piece of Crispy Pata con todo gusto, do you ever think who invented that culinary wonder that competes with lechon as centerpiece of every family feast?

When your appetite is enhanced by singing cooks and waiters in iconic restaurants around Metro Manila and some provinces, do you ever imagine who came up with that brilliant idea?

When your heart skips a beat upon hearing the nostalgic tune of Tulak ng Bibig, Kabig ng Dibdib (originally sung by Cinderella in the ’70s and covered by Lilet in the ’80s), do you ever wonder who composed that song?

Mark the name: Rod Ongpauco, the answer to all of the above.

To Baby Boomers who enjoyed watching Tagalog movies the name surely rings a bell. Rod used to be an action star known as Rod Evans, then 17, who appeared in less than a dozen films produced by the family-owned Everlasting Pictures that started in the ’50s run by his parents, Col. Bonifacio Ongpauco and Sixta “Chit” Evangelista. It was the same company that discovered the likes of Celia Fuentes (the first Action Queen), Lyn D’Amour (widow of Rey Ramirez of the famous Reycard Duet, with the late Carding Castro as the other half) and Von Serna (the late father of Snooky Serna).

Among Rod’s starrers were Oxo vs. Sige-Sige, Rosang Tattoo, Tabla Manalo, 21 Pugante, Lastik Man (with Von in the titular role), Tiagong Ulupong and Mama’s Boy that, Rod now noted with glee, “flopped at the tills because it was a drama and my forte was action.” Believe it or not but had that forgettable movie became a hit, you and I wouldn’t be seeing Crispy Pata on our respective dining tables today.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” Rod, who turned 72 on July 9, told Funfare. “I quit showbiz and went back to school (he took up Commerce in Ateneo and San Sebastian College), and at the same time re-ignited my passion for food.”

Now, would you believe that Rod, a wizard in the kitchen, invented Crispy Pata with a (now incredible) budget of P12 when he was 15?

“The taxi I was taking to school lost its way and wandered into the La Loma area where I saw the row of lechons displayed by the stores,” recalled Rod. “I bought a piece of pata (leg) and brought it to school, nicely wrapped. When I got home, I started experimenting with it, frying it in different ways.”

And, before long...voila!...Rod came up with Crispy Pata (sorry but he cannot reveal details of how he did it; business secret, you know).

The Ongpaucos had put up a small restaurant which they called Barrio Fiesta in front of the family compound in Caloocan City, a scream away from the Premiere Productions which was making movies topbilled by Fernando Poe Jr., Zaldy Zshornack and Eddie Mesa.

“I would always treat my friends to free meals, panay pakain ng libre sa barkada, so my mother got angry kasi malulugi daw ang negosyo,” narrated Rod (uncle of Heart Evangelista whose father is Rod’s younger brother). “I included Crispy Pata in the menu. At first, my family was teasing me, calling me intsik bejo (how Chinese hawkers were called at that time). Then, customers started coming, looking for Crispy Pata. My mom said, ‘Puro na lang Crispy Pata; kaya ka kumikita dahil wala kang puhunan, nakiki-tinda ka lang’. I love to experiment with recipes. I would gather leftovers and come up with a new kind of dish.”

So with P9,000 (a princely sum at that time), Rod ventured on his own, putting up his own Barrio Fiesta along West Avenue in Quezon City. That was in the early ’60s and Rod’s restaurant consisted of a three-table dining room and two al fresco dining areas. Soon, as demand grew, Rod put up two more branches. He was only 17, remember, and the cash register kept on ringing merrily, thanks especially to Crispy Pata which had become a must-have in every family feast. It became so in-demand that from a few pieces, Rod was producing Crispy Pata by the dozens and, hold your breath, now by the hundreds distributed among the various restaurants spawned by the original Barrio Fiesta.

“My idea of building a restaurant is to always come up with something new and something different,” said Rod, president and general manager of Fresh Catch Isdaan Corporation; owner and proprietor of Fresh Catch Isdaan Resto-Fun Park (in Calauan, Laguna; Gerona, Tarlac; and the newly-opened one in Talavera, Nueva Ecija), the first massive Filipino restaurant theme park with a Thai/Malaysian-inspired design; and owner of Bakahan at Manukan Restaurant, The Singing Cooks & Waiters Atbp, (on Roxas Blvd., Pasay City). “Never copy, be original, always innovate.”

I told Rod that my and my friends’ favorite comfort food is Rod’s Favorite (chicken/pork adobo with salted egg and fragrant rice wrapped with banana leaf (also his own “invention”).

With so many choices before him, what could be Rod’s favorite food?

“Monggo,” he said, “anything that is lutong-bahay.”

P.S. Also a painter and a nationalist, Rod proposed and promoted “Mabuhay!” as the national greeting and moved for changing “Welcome” to “Mabuhay” at the rotunda between Manila and Quezon City. Mabuhay means many things: welcome, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, etc. “A ‘Welcome’ sign is a sign of another nation’s glory over us,” explained Rod, “and the word ‘Mabuhay’ is the fitting word.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)