Matutina's, our must stop on the way to Baguio

MILLIE: The long drive from Manila to Baguio and back would always give us a reason to stop over at Matutina’s, along MacArthur Highway in Nancayasan, Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

I remember three years ago, we stopped for lunch on the way up to Baguio with my late Dad and Karla, of course. __It is known for its sinigang na Malaga and my friend Wawi kept nagging me to stop for a taste. The trouble is there were other dishes on the menu that I also cared to have and it was difficult to make a choice. So, as usual, we ordered food for a whole battalion.

KARLA:  As soon as I settled myself at our table, my eye scanned the restaurant and set on a tarpaulin of one of Matutina’s specialties, the buttered crab. Immediately, I tapped mom on the shoulder and used my lips to point at it. Mom got the signal and ordered it for us. We were hungry as it was past 3 p.m. and the resto was still at its lunch peak with travelers and big family groups, but service was brisk and good. We were served hot sinigang broth to warm our hungry tummies as we waited for our orders.

Shrimply good: Matutina’s crispy hipon is tasty and crunchy to the bite.

Although small, the crab was very tasty and full of crab fat roe, which all went to my mom since I don’t enjoy eating it. It was a struggle to eat the claws because it took forever for the crab crackers to come, but mom struggled with the crabmeat using her bare hands and made himay for me. The crispy hipon was crunchy and delicious with garlic fried rice. We dipped it in vinegar but the shrimps were so sweet and fresh.

Just like on our last trip with Lolo, we ordered the inihaw na bangus, which was also fresh catch from the pond. Our driver Danny ordered the sizzling bangus sisig and I pinched a few spoonfuls to try and it earned my seal of approval. We ordered the eternal favorite inihaw na liempo but just this once, didn’t really care for it that much as we were enjoying the other dishes. The pinakbet was a good match for all the other dishes we ordered. They also serve fresh buttered oysters or cooked adobo-style with lots of garlic. Their oyster cake reminded me of Singapore hawker food and also on the menu is pusit cooked a la pobre with lots of garlic.

Some like it roe: Crab fat roe madness is the star of the meal with Matutina’s buttered crabs.

MILLIE: We learned that Matutina’s was owned by Gerry Austria and that the original resto started in Dagupan. One of the specialties is the Malaga fish (siganid), a cultured fish that comes from Binmaley, the fish bowl of Pangasinan. It is also known as rabbit fish and sells for P220/kilo. It is perfect in sinigang broth cooked with kamias as a souring element with tomatoes, kangkong leaves, radish, eggplant, okra and vegetables of one’s choice.  My Lola Asiang taught me that the best sinigang broth is boiled wash water from rinsed, uncooked rice, using the second washing. Her secret is to cook the fish with ginger to remove the fishy taste.

Sinigang is one of my favorite Sunday dishes. Dad liked all kinds of sinigang: shrimp, fish head, or prawn, pork and beef. He used to always tell our kusinera at home to first make sure the beef was tender and to cook it whole, the way my Lola used to do. When tender, that’s the only time Lola Asiang would cut the beef in cubes. Dad would always specify to put in gabi (taro) to thicken the soup. 

Karla adores the pork sparerib sinigang. I like beef most of all. It’s a meal in itself for me. I like eating it in a bowl with a bit of rice with lots and lots of kangkong. 

KARLA: This recent trip, we came with my cousin Vada and her 22-kilo, terrible two-year-old son, Zach, who could barely fit the high chair. It took him five minutes to enter the restaurant from the steps because he immediately recognized the logo of the Nestlé chest freezer. He insisted on having ice cream but, of course, we promised him he could have some after lunch. Being a good boy, he sat down and ate his rice with sinigang soup all by himself, which made him a very messy baby. He liked the soup so much he literally poured the soup onto his plate instead of putting the rice in the bowl. After finishing his bowl of soup and rice, the little monster demanded his favorite, ice cream. Vada ordered ube and Zach had mango, but Zach ended up eating both cups of ice cream.

Sizzling delight: Matutina’s healthy and yummy sizzling bangus sisig

As we were leaving the restaurant, I told my mom that I remembered taking a picture of her and Lolo at the entrance of the restaurant. Although it was three years ago, I specifically remember mom insisting on having a picture with him. This was also the time that I had just gotten a new camera and Lolo was already getting impatient; thus his sungit reaction. In most of the pictures I have of him that afternoon, he either wasn’t looking or was putting out his tongue at me. I guess that’s one thing we all miss about Lolo aside from his passion for food, eating and business. We miss his jokes, both the good ones and the corny ones; cravings for random food, mostly the simplest food (like sardines); and his mood swings that could always be cured with food.

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Matutina Annex 3 is located at MacArthur Highway, Nancayasan, Urdaneta, Pangasinan. For reservations, call (075) 568-8288 / 624-2065 for Pangasinan; or (075) 614-3162 to contact their first store at Bonuan, Tondaligan, Dagupan.

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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 at: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.