The Pinoy Taste Buds: What's Cooking in Philippine Food Tourism? Philippine Festival List and Kulinarya Food Trip Itineraries for Quezon, Taal, Bicol, Bulacan, Pampanga, Davao and Many More!

I just attended the latest forum The Pinoy Taste Buds: What's Cooking in Philippine Food Tourism held by the AIM (Asian Institute of Management Makati) Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism about Pinoy food :) Representatives from the Department of Tourism, the academe and chefs were the speakers this time around. The discourse revolved around our cuisine and the various ways to include it and promote it as an integral part of Philippine tourism. I've included links and details about nationwide Kulinarya Food Trip Packages available to the public which you can use as a guide for your itineraries. ;)

Apag Marangle, a Hain sa Bukid Feast of Kapampangan Dishes in Bacolor Pampanga!

This is the last and an equally mouth-watering part of my Pampanga series with the Electrolux Philippines Discover-E Food Tour. Check out my other Pampanga posts below if you missed it (I wrote it in sequence). It was getting dark and we had one more stop for this full day - time for dinner immediately after a delightful meryenda at Prado Farms! haha. I accepted the challenge to take a few bites on a full belly at the Apag Marangle (Hain sa Bukid) in Bacolor, Pampanga! I believe this Kapampangan Restaurant is the youngest kitchen we went to. They opened just 5 years ago and has another branch already in Mexico, Pampanga! You'll fall in love with owner Ms. Cherry Tan if you meet her =) I hope we had more time here but I shall be back for that buro, the buko pandan and the mais soup! Hehehe. 

Prado Farms in Lubao, Pampanga - Nice Prenup Photoshoot Location Outside of Manila and Great Meryenda Place!

We went pretty much everywhere in Pampanga for our Electrolux Discover-E Food Tour! From Mexico to Arayat to San Fernando to Guagua and now, Lubao for Prado Farms, also called Prado Center for Renewal and Development. I liked how all the junk was put together into art and how they brought whole areas, a train station and an old house for example, then made it all blend in this place. I would describe this place as an ideal photo shoot location just a fews hours away from Manila. You should come here early then end the tour with a very yummy snack like we did! Prado Farms used to be a "warehouse of LPG tanks". Today, there are accommodations available - a conference area, a theater, a church and pool in the midst of carabaos, pigs, organic veggie beds, old structures and farm land.

Pampanga Pasalubong, Sweets, Pastries, Treats and Baked Goodies - Visiting Susie's Cuisine in Angeles, Carreon's in Magalang and La Moderna Bakery in Guagua!

I believe that one of the best pasalubongs from Pampanga include a wide variety of snacks and desserts, apart from the cured meats like the tocino. On 2 separate trips (most recently for the Electrolux Discover-E Food Tour), I've managed to go to these 3 places - one is a pasalubong / snack house called Susie's Cuisine, the other is a pasalubong / sweet shop called Carreon's and the last is an old bakery called La Moderna. Let me show you what I saw, bought, ate, what caught my eye and what I've heard are the to-buys when in Pampanga based on various recommendations and stories. There's also a buko ice treat we found in this post (of course, this you can't take home already haha) =) Please be informed that shops like Susie's are a great hit in Pampanga so they have multiple branches. It's up to you to pick up that map and choose which branch is nearest to your other food trip locations. As you can see, there are foodie finds across this province (sample: Arayat, Mexico, San Fernando, Angeles, Magalang, Guagua, etc.) so have fun doing your trip itinerary =)

Everybody's Cafe in San Fernando and Nepo Mart Angeles Pampanga, a Second Look with Electrolux Discover-E Food Tour!

I've been to Everybody's Cafe once before a long time ago. It was a crash course to Kapampangan cuisine I must say (one that I didn't quite find time to appreciate) and one that left me hungry. All I could remember was the camaro. This year, Electrolux Philippines took us on a food trip in Pampanga through the Viajeng Kusinang Matua (literally old kitchen tour) of TravelTales, Inc. It was a whole day trip of gastronomic adventures. It started with Atching Lillian's kitchen for breakfast then we headed to the Kabigting's for some morning merienda. We were there at the original Everybody's Cafe in San Fernando, Pampanga for lunch (I've also included shots from the Nepo Mart branch). Meet Mr. Poch Jorolan, keeper of stories and family recipes of the restaurant (north of Manila) that Everybody is talking about =)

Kabigting's Unique Halo-Halo, a Very Special Food Trip in Pampanga! Visit their Manila Branch Too!

This post is part of a special Pampanga Food Trip series. I went on a one-day degustation spree with Electrolux Philippines for the Discover-E Kitchen Campaign. Check out the first part where I met food connoisseur Atching Lillian Borromeo for the first time. After that very filling breakfast, we traveled from Mexico (Pampanga) for 45 minutes to Arayat (also in Pampanga). This was just the second stop and it was the perfect morning merienda! haha. Why? Well, (one) because it was super hot and (two) because I finally got what our guide said about the introduction to Neo-Filipino cuisine part of this Viajeng Kusinang Matua Tour. The owners were very open and even showed us how to make their special halo-halo but, of course, it will probably taste different when others make it. 

Pampanga Food Trip, San Nicholas Cookie Making at Atching Lillian's!

This is the second of a series of posts about my latest food adventure with Electrolux Discover-E in Pampanga. If you haven't read the first part, I suggest you read the first Pampanga series part about Atching Lillian Borromeo's breakfast feast! This is the cookie making demo that followed where she showed us how to make San Nicholas cookies using her family's special hundred-year-old mold and traditional heirloom recipe during this part of the tour. 

Pampanga Food Tour, My Discover-E Trip with Electrolux Philippines! First Stop - Breakfast Feast at Atching Lillian Borromeo's in Mexico!

I'd like to share with you, through a series of posts, my latest food discoveries in Pampanga! I went on a journey of Discover-E recently with Electrolux Philippines and this full day allowed me to see Pinoy food, through Kapampangan cuisine, in a different light. You see, my first impressions on a Pampanga food trip I did a few years back wasn't as good as I could only remember now visions of innards and insects. I remember loving the desserts only - maja blanca, pastillas and a special green sansrival cake. For this newest Pampanga food adventure, I was glad that I was able to try more dishes that I could eat with gusto and learn a bit more about our Pinoy culture and heritage through food and meeting the people who own these kitchens. Our first stop - Breakfast at Atching Lillian's in Mexico, Pampanga (I put her address and contact details below)! 

From Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo with AirAsia X

Pinoys are all too familiar with AirAsia. It’s a low-cost carrier based in Malaysia and operates flights from Clark (Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Airport Code: CRK) in the Philippines. 

I flew with AirAsia from Clark to Kuala Lumpur recently. Have you heard about AirAsia X though? From Kuala Lumpur, it was a long and comfortable ride aboard AirAsia X to Tokyo for me.

Over There Where Hot Air Balloons Land

I had been to Clark for the past three years to see all the action and to watch the take-off of the Hot Air Balloons in the Philippines. During the first year, I only wanted to see the actual balloons for myself and fortunately for me, the box effect brought the hot air balloons back to the original site. Last year, I found out a lot more about the festival, the people behind them and how the balloons fly. This year, I was in the chase crew and found out where they landed! It was a dazzling sight and a very rare adventure indeed. 

Chasing Airplanes and Pilots

Boarding an airliner was just the start of more exciting times for the traveler in me. That was how I defined "flying" for the longest time. But the moment I started chasing after the airplanes themselves, I realized that there was another whole new world out there that I was missing out on.

Ready for Balloons, Sparks, Music and Love!

February 11, 2011 (Friday)

There are 2 main events in the Philippines that happen simultaneously on a Saturday before Valentine’s Day, at least from my personal experience last year and this year.  I remember because it was quite hard to choose one over the other so we chose to go to both last year – February 13, 2010. It was not a good choice since one was in Clark, Pampanga while the other was in Manila. It was my first Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and the 1^st ever Pyromusical Competition in the Philippines. I wasn’t blogging then so I was quite oblivious to what was really happening except those that caught my attention. Last year was a purely visual experience and I was content to watch balloons and sparks in the sky. I was determined to make this year a different experience for both.

What Really Happens to the Hot Air Balloons During the Fiesta

I unsuspectingly learned that hot air balloons “race” in my first ever Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta last year. I thought I was just going to see colorful balloons in the sky and take lots of pictures while they floated away. Me going away with the balloon was one fat chance. This year, the things I learned from not seeing them up close and from a real live Air Boss, my pilot friend Carlo, just blew me away. I wish I knew these before I even went to the Fiesta. I want to leave my readers with this experience of flying and another one on the next post. For now, it's never too late to have that hot air balloon experience.