So it's been 24 days since I've moved to the Philippines and I could easily say, without blinking...
Nakikita ko ang sarili ko na nakatira dito. Gustong gusto ko dito!
In my last post I kinda rushed through on how it was like on my first few days here and how the routine was like for me. And remember I said that I had to go coz I've got somewhere to be at? Well, I was headed to "The Culinary Center" of the Philippines ---->
Pampanga!
To be exact, I spent my weekend in the Christmas Capital: San Fernando City 🎆🎆🎆
...and my oh my! A weekend is definitely insufficient!
I got myself boarded on a Victory Liner bus bound for Olongapo from Pasay terminal, and got down at the San Fernando Intersection drop-off point, not too far from SM Pampanga. And my friend, a Kapampangan, picked me up and we headed to Sindalan.
Over the course of 1.5days, I've visited some places and tasted some local food (and that includes traditional home-cooked Kapampangan cuisine!), and I stand by what I said.. a weekend is not enough! 🙅
And one thought that I've been beating myself over about once the weekend was over is I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN MORE PHOTOS FOR MY STEEM BLOG. MORE PHOTOS! 😭😭😭 Ughhh. Next time it is.
Stiiiiiiiiil, not a total lost! Here are some of the food that I've tried (and loved!):
Jun-Jun's Bibingka & Barbeque
I tried their Pork BBQ and BBQ chicken (on a stick, literally a whole chicken thigh skewered on a stick! And my first though was "whoaaa! Sate paha ayam baini!". Jakun kan 🤦)
the Pork BBQ
...and the chicken BBQ, of which I bought an extra of 10pcs for me to tapau back to the city & eat for a week
The barbeques came with a homemade sweet gravy, something like a char-siew gravy but nicer (at least for me). And it's Thursday today, and I still have 2 last pieces of the chicken saved for lunch tomorrow.
Didi's Pizza
This shop is located in Balibago (Angeles City) and we drove about 20mins to go tapau their famous "Pizza Burger". Yes. I know. My first reaction was "Huh? What?" which after tasting & finishing it, changed to "Huh? No more? 😭"
FYI, everything's from Didi's Pizza except for the spaghetti. That's from Jollibee.
The pizza was very much to my liking due to it's soft-bread crust and the generous cheesy toppings. Now, I'm not good with describing food. At all. And my description won't ever do justice to the food itself (hence why I'm not and will not make it as anfood blogger). But all I'm saying is, it's different. It's delicious. It's authentic. Iiiiiiiiiiiit's Didi's pizza!
Susie's Cuisine (Palabok)
The branch that we went to is located at Nepo Mart. I was told that Susie's Cuisine is quite a famous outlet in Pampanga, mainly for it's Pancit Luglug & native Kakanin (delicacies).. and the brand has been around since the 1930s. Phewww! They also sell some pasalubong (food souvenirs) and I've got myself some Polvorons 😏
I tried their Palabok, a type of gravied noodle with some other stuffs as toppings and to be mixed together before eating (told you, I suck when it comes to writing about food). The taste is different and it's nothing like any type of noodle I've tasted before my whole life, but it was certainly yummy and filling.
And next to it is..... I forgot the name 😭 but it's some sort of a sweet pau with salted eggs on it
And there's still a lot of other stuffs on their menu that I wanted to try. I'm giving myself about 6 months to try em' all 😈
Since my weekend there was only about 1.5days, I've solemnly vowed to go back and try everything Kapampangan. Ah. The home-cooked food. I'll write about it next time. (secretly planning a mission to gather evidences, photos, and most importantly, to get hold of the food itself!)
I still have plenty to share with all you Steemians. Stuffs. Random stuffs ☺️ @wandershewolf gearing it up a notch real soon! Keep peeking!
Hugs!