I’ve always wanted to explore Pampanga but my search for a culinary tour always ended in a disappointment. So the next best thing, is to do your own tour of Pampanga with a foodie person who knows the best authentic and original foodie places in Pampanga. Thanks to Spanx who will be the official culinary tour guide of Pampanga! Here is a draft itinerary and feel free to add any inputs/ suggestions:
- leave manila at 8am or meet at 9.30am in Shell NLEX
- brunch at VFW in Clark
- drop by Antoinette’s AFC (Angeles Fried Chicken) for take out
- pass by “Crunchy Sisig” at the secret pulutan joint
- Halo Halo stop at Razon’s
- Mely’s Sisig for early dinner
- Main Store of Pampanga’s Best
- arrive manila at 9pm estimate
By the way this is the first time I will be meeting Spanx in person. I’m also excited to meet Ajay in person with her foodie friends who will be joining us too. I’m inviting all foodie people out there to join us. If you have a whole saturday afternoon to spare, and you want to pig out with us, let me know. We are estimating that all the food could costs P1,000-P1,500 including take home and pasalubong. Of course, this is a KKB culinary tour so pay as you order depending on what you want so you could manage your budget. Transportation will also be up to you so better bring a group of friends too and we will have a culinary tour convoy.
Lastly, maybe some of you would also have suggestions on places to visit in Pampanga. I’m particularly interested on foodie places and photogenic places that we can pass by in between the food stops. Please leave your suggestions in the comments. By the way, this is a food trip purely for the fun of it so expect that there will be awesome moments as well as misadventures 🙂
Cabalen Food Trip: August 12, 2006, Saturday. Mark this date! Join us and I’m sure it would be fun to meet other foodie people out there. If you are joining let me know your name and how many are you in your group. Please also send me your mobile phone for proper coordination before and during the meet.
PS Angel julie — you might want to join us so that we can finally meet.
Anton, just what I’ve been searching for – Kapampangan Foods! I’ll be looking forward to great pics of foods and places about Pampanga. Pampanga will be a stop for me on my way to Vigan next year. Hey, I’ve been reading Ivan Henares blog and it’s his hometown. He might give you a few insights of Pampanga. I can’t wait to read your post!
Having done the Pampanga circuit myself -well, not so much for the food as it was for the heritage- I would love to do it again, if anything for the ‘pa-mangan’! Thing is, I have ‘WOK’ on that date, could we do it on a Sunday? ;o)
hey anton! have fun during your food trip. work day pa din ang sabado sa kin eh. my friend from pampanga recommends jun-jun’s (beside mely’s) for their bibingka. all the other places you’ve listed are pretty good too. masarap! manyaman ing pamangan sa pampanga. : ) enjoy!
Hi Anton! Thanks for the invitation but I already have an appointment on the 12th. Your tour is basically a culinary tour of Angeles City. The Fields Avenue/Balibago area offers a wide range of international cuisine.
If you’re after traditional Kapampangan, we’ve got a lot of places in San Fernando that you can visit such as Everybody’s Cafe which serves exotic Kapampangan foods such as buro with hito (fermented fish paste with catfish), betute (deep-fried frog stuffed with pork), camaru (fried cricket adobo), dumara (wild duck adobo) or pindang damulag (carabeef tapa). Also in their menu are pako salad, calderetang baka, morcon, chicharon bulaklak, tortang bangus, inihaw na hito or bulalo soup.
Fusion Kapampangan is also available. Care for a Kapampangan pizza at the Camalig? They call it Doy’s Delight and it’s the regular pizza with longganiza, salted eggs and pickles for toppings. The combination seems wierd but it tastes like heaven!
If you’re the type who’s willing to splurge, then schedule a private dinner at Claude Tayag’s at P1800 per head minimum of 12 pax.
Anyway, it’s in the post… http://ivanhenares.blogspot.com/2006/04/pampangas-pride.html
hey anton, i’m sure you won’t remember me but we were schoolmates back in highschool. anyways, just wanted to say this is a great blog – love the food reviews. i’m listing some already but i’m debating whether to indulge on all those good (and fattening) food or stick to my low-carb diet. i know the food is a matter of choice, but if you’re already there, the temptation is just too great. wish you all the best.
Herbs n Greens greenhouse restuarant Km 78 mcacrthur hi-way, telabastagan, san fernando, papampanga tel. 0921 437 4891
ahh… kapampangan cuisine. i love it! my dad is kapampangan, so unfortunately, i can’t recommend any restos… when we visit, sa bahay lang kami, eh… pero busog sa sarap, sobra!
enjoy the sights and tastes of pampanga!
you might also want to ask karen of potsandpilgrims (http://karen.mychronicles.net/) for tips. she’s a food blogger from sta rita.
hey anton, looking forward to this! nakakagutom tuloy…!
Hmm… this is tempting. My mom is from Pampanga, so I know a few places we could go to: Susie’s for the best tibok-tibok and Everybody’s Cafe for morcon to live for.
Hi Anton! Glad to see someone suggested Everybody’s Cafe in the comments section. I wasn’t sure if it was still open as rumor had it, it closed a while back. I can’t vouch for their morcon as I didn’t try it, but I did have their pancit luglug and halo-halo. Both came in generous servings and at low prices. The first time I had their halo-halo, it had pastillas de leche in it. The next time I had it, it had yema balls in it. The luglug has loads of toppings (chicharon galore) and the sauce is quite rich. We had other entrees one time – too bad I can’t recall details, but what I do remember is that we enjoyed everything we ordered. I believe it’s in San Fernando. Hope you get a chance to check it out. Chow!
anton,
i think i spotted a branch of Everybody’s Cafe near Nepo Mart in Angeles City.
hopefully meron silang CAMARU (field crickets) on the menu this August 12.
this is also near Susie’s, we should get Tibok-Tibok there too!
my gosh. ihanda na ang diet after that day!
Cuz-in-law, If you can still fit some more yummy food, you gotta try Armando’s Pizza of Camalig in Sto. Rosario Street, Angeles City. It’s just before Nepo Mart and a few minutes away from Everybody’s Cafe (Angeles branch). Wrote about it in my blog a year ago. http://singlexit.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_singlexit_archive.html
hi! was wondering…if me & my friend didn’t have a car of our own, could we still join this trip? thanks!
hi anton! sayang! i just read the article tonight and the culinary tour was earlier today…would’ve joined you all sana! please let me know if there’s another culinary tour…thanks! the articles that you wrote are really interesting especially the secret, not-so-mainstream food establishments that you write about…:)
Hi Anton,
Good to know there are folks out there who share the heavenly pleasures of Armando’s Pizza at the Camalig.
Just ask around, you can’t miss it! I believe they still have this huge billboard on Sto Rosario Street with the national colors and all and the words “Ang Pambansang Pizza.” Mmmm… very ingenius!
Anyway, I especially recommend “Armando’s Best” which practically has everything on it and in generous servings, too. For the bold and the brave, there’s always “Doy’s Kapampangan” which is just that, very Kapampangan with a captal “K”
I’m from Baguio but I heart beats Kapampangan…
Hi. Thank you very much for the kind words, for appreciating and for promoting our cuisine. i hope you will be back soon, you’re always welcome.
We’ll be serving lunch and merienda at the rockwell tent on august 11 and 12 to support a fund raising campign for cancer patients. Our mainstays and your favorites will be served there.
Happy Eating always!
Poch Jorolan, Everybody’s Cafe
Hi. Thank you very much for the kind words, for appreciating and for promoting our cuisine. i hope you will be back soon, you’re always welcome.
We’ll be serving lunch and merienda at the rockwell tent on august 11 and 12 to support a fund raising campign for cancer patients. Our mainstays and your favorites will be served there.
Happy Eating always!
Poch Jorolan, Everybody’s Cafe
wla nmn kaung menu””
If I’m not mistaken, the place I had lunch at at Nepo Mall, San Fernando, Angeles City Pampanga, just outside Clark, is actually Everybody’s Cafe, and the Camaru I tried there was absolutely DELICIOUS!