PAMPANGA: Must Eat Dishes at Everybody's Cafe

PAMPANGA: Must Eat Dishes at Everybody's Cafe

If you happen to pass by Pampanga on your way to destinations north of the Philippines, and wish to make a food stop at a Kapampangan restaurant, Everybody's Cafe is a very good choice. They serve homemade Kapampangan cuisine turo-turo or fast food style.

MUST EAT DISHES AT EVERYBODY'S CAFE

MURCON OR MORCON KAPAMPANGAN

"Morcon Kapampangan or Murcon is different from the morcon we commonly know. The usual morcon if made from wide and thin slice of marinated beef filled with sliced boiled eggs, sausages or hotdog and rolled up to form a cylinder, tied up with thick thread and then simmered until cooked. The Kapampangan version of morcon is made from ground pork and beef, chorizo, onions, raisins, eggs, grated cheese and wrapped in pig’s caul fat. it is then steamed or simmered until cooked. This morcon look very similar to embotido and after it is sliced, the drippings from the steamer will be poured with the oil. The morcon is best when submerged on it’s own fat." (source: Panlasang Pinoy Meat Recipes)

KALDERETANG KAMBING

"Kaldereteng kambing is basically goat meat stew in tomato sauce added with cheese and liver spread. Preparing the goat meat is very different from other red meat like beef or pork because you have to remove or eliminate the gamey or musky odor and flavor of the meat. There are different ways also to prepare the goat meat and some use vinegar and spices but the recipe I have use sherry to remove the musky odor and a more flavorful dish. If you can’t get sherry, you can use dry white wine as as substitute." (source: Panlasang Pinoy Meat Recipes)

SIZZLING SISIG

"Pork Sisig is a popular appetizer that originated from the culinary capital of the Philippines : Pampanga. This delicious dish can also be categorized as a main dish. Pork Sisig was invented by the late Lucia Cunanan. She is popularly know as Aling Lucing – the sisig queen. Originally, pork sisig is composed of chopped pigs face (snout included) and ears with a generous amounts of chicken liver." (source: Panlasang Pinoy) 

FOR THE MORE ADVENTUROUS...

ADOBONG KAMARU (350 pesos per plate)

These are mole crickets found in the ricefields of Pampanga.
They are sauteed in garlic and onion, then tomatoes are added then simmered in vinegar.

The kamaru is crunchy and creamy.

This is a mole cricket.

(Photo from dreamstime.com)

Chanced upon some workers preparing the Kamaru (mole crickets)

They remove the wings and legs before cooking it.
According to Everybody's cafe facebook post, the restaurant consumes 1600 kilos of crickets per year. 

OTHER UNUSUAL DISHES TO TRY:

1. Adobong Batute (stuffed frogs)
2. Tapang Kalabaw or Pindang Damulag (carabao meat jerky)

Note: These dishes were not available when we ate there.

AVERAGE COST OF MEAL: 1500 PESOS FOR 2 PERSONS

THE DINING AREA

We arrived at Everybody's Cafe around 12:30 PM on a Saturday and the place is full.
However, turnover of diner is fast because it's usually a pit stop. So you won't wait long for a table.

FOOD IS PRESENTED TURO TURO STYLE

Fried Itik, Pork Asado, Tidtad, Kare Kare

Kilain, Kalderetang Kambing, Bulalo

Lagat Hito, Mixed Vegetables

PASALUBONG/SOUVENIRS YOU CAN BUY AT THIS RESTAURANT

1. Taba ng Talangka made by Everybody's Cafe

Check out my post: Where to find the best taba ng talangka (crab roe/fat)

2. Other famous Pampanga food products 

Nathaniel's Buko Pandan Salad, Ocampo's Sanzrival, Sylvannas
Probinsyano by Everybody's Cafe: Ube Halaya, Benito's Barbecue

HOW TO GET THERE:

Across a Shell gas station

PARKING:

The only available parking in front of the restaurant is good for 8 cars.
Street parking available.
Double parking is allowed. The parking attendant will inform you when a car is leaving.
(Photos courtesy of google maps)

(Photo courtesy of google maps)

HOW TO CONTACT THEM:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everybodyscafepampanga/

PAMPANGA: Where to Find the Best Taba ng Talangka (Crab Roe/Fat)

PAMPANGA: Where to Find the Best Taba ng Talangka (Crab Roe/Fat)

WHAT IS TABA NG TALANGKA (Crab Roe)?

Taba ng Talangka literally means fat of small crabs. It is Filipino delicacy composed of crab roe or eggs. It is the Filipino version of caviar.

This is pure "taba ng talangka" with no extenders.

The "taba ng talangka" (crab roe) is a sought after Filipino delicacy and also one of the best "pasalubong" (souvenir) to bring home from the Philippines. There are several groceries and department stores in Manila selling this product but I found that the best that I've tasted come from Everybody's Cafe in Pampanga. It is similar to the homemade "taba ng talangka" that a family friend used to bring home from Pampanga when I was a child. It's authentic and cooked the way the old folks do it.

The "taba ng talangka" of Everybody's Cafe is packed in 2 sizes.
The price of the large bottle on the left is 500 pesos.
The price of the smaller bottle on the right is 400 pesos

You can find it stored in the refrigerator
beside the food counter of the restaurant.

HOW TO GO TO EVERYBODY'S CAFE

My tip: If you're going all the way to Pampanga to buy Taba ng Talangka, make it a food trip and eat lunch at Everybody's cafe to sample authentic Kapampangan cuisine.

MANILA ALTERNATIVE TO EVERYBODY'S CAFE  TABA NG TALANGKA

If you find going to Pampanga too far to buy Everybody Cafe's Taba ng Talangka, Claude Tayag's Taba ng Talangka is a good alternative. You can find it in leading supermarkets in Metro Manila.

Price: 325 pesos

RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

 

RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

Why Visit the Angono Petroglyphs

1. To see the oldest known art works in the Philippines, dating back to circa 3,000 BC.

2. "Petroglyphs are more rare in Southeast Asia where most rupestrine art is done through handprints or paintings." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/).

3. The Philippines, through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, has submitted this site in 1986 to the Tentative List in preparation for its Nomination for inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

How to go there:

1. Use waze (https://www.waze.com/livemap)

Place the destination as Angono Binangonan and just follow the directions in your smartphone waze app. WAZE WAS VERY ACCURATE IN LEADING US DIRECTLY TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE SITE.

2. Use google maps

Below is the landmark you will see BEFORE turning right 

towards the Angono Petroglyphs tunnel as indicated in the google maps above.

A closer look at the sign above

The road going to the tunnel entrance to the Petroglyphs site

The entrance of the tunnel

Contrary to the sign, ADMISSION IS FREE.

ADMISSION RATES:

Starting July 1, 2016, all the National Museum of the Philippines and all its branches is PERMANENTLY FREE.

This includes: (List of Branches of the National Museum)

1. The National Museum

2. The Nartional Art Gallery

3. The Planetarium

4. Regional Museums in Angono, Padre Burgos, Kabayan, Kiangan, Magsingal, Bolinao, Palawan, Butuan, Tabaco, Cebu, Fort Pilar, Marinduque, Jolo. (List of Regional Museums)

News article on this topic: Entrance to National Museum permanently free.

PARKING:

Plenty of parking space in front of the tunnel
You can see the tunnel at the right of the photo.

THE PATH LEADING TO THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS SITE

THE TUNNEL

Inside the tunnel, it's very windy and cool.

The terrain of the tunnel

The end of the tunnel

After walking through the tunnel, you walk again through a forested path 

My tip: Make sure to bring an umbrella.
You walk along a path without shade before you reach the Museum.

This is the museum grounds.
The petroglyphs can be viewed by going up the stairs in the center of the photo.
But first, you must go to the gazebo on your left for information on the site.

THE GAZEBO

So you can properly appreciate the petroglyphs, you must visit the gazebo first to get information about the site.

The information inside the gazebo

DISCOVERY

• The discovery was made by National Artist, Carlos "Botong"Francisco.
• Date discovered: March 1965
• How it was discovered: During a fieldtrip with boy scouts, he discovered the carvings on the wall while resting on a rock-shelter known to have been used by World War II guerillas.

THE ROCK ART

• The site is a shallow rock shelter.
• It is formed in volcanic tuffs. This means the rock is soft enough for the engravings to be made by a denser stone.
• 127 drawings are visible.
• 51 drawings are distinct, suggesting it was made by several individuals.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION

• March 1965: The rock art was discovered.
• October and November 1965: Archaeological excavations in the rock shelter were started.
• What was found in the area: highly fragmented earthenware, 2 pieces of obsidian flakes, 2 pieces of chert flakes.
• What was found outside the mouth of the rock shelter: 2 pieces of flake stone tools (a stone core tool, and a polished stone adze with a blunt stone edge)
• Significance of the objects found in the area: The objects found suggest that the rock art was made before metal was introduced into the country during the Neolithic Age. It therefore suggests that the rock art was made prior to the Neolithic age, at least 1000 BC. 
• NOTE: The guide we found in the area informed us that the objects are no longer found in the museum grounds. It has been brought to the National Museum in Manila.

A NATIONAL CULTURAL TREASURE

• August 1973: Presidential Decree 260 declared the oldest known work of art, the Angono Petroglyphs, a National Cultural Treasure.
• 1985: it was included in the World Inventory of Rock Art together with other World Famous prehistoric rock art

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

It is culturally significant because it has HISTORIC (being the oldest rock art in the Philippines), SCIENTIFIC, AESTHETIC and SOCIAL VALUE.

Photos of the excavations

THE VIEWDECK

The view deck as seen from below.

From the view deck, you can see the gazebo below.

The 2 paths going up the view deck is seen on the left and on the right.
The gazebo is shown on the right

FIRST PATH TO THE VIEW DECK

This path is best used by the eldery or persons with disability on wheelchair.

This is the flooring of the first path.

SECOND PATH TO THE VIEW DECK

This path is best used by able-bodied persons.
It's usually the path most visitors use since it's the one nearest the gazebo.

A closer view of the rough path

View from the left side of the rock shelter.

There's a guide stationed at the site who pinpoints the carvings to tourists.

View from the right side of the rock shelter

THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS

What are petroglyphs? Simply put, it's rock art or any form of engraving on rock.

The text below is taken from the description submitted by

the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to UNESCO:

"These petroglyphs are of animate figures interpreted as representing juveniles or infants on a rock face in a rock shelter. The shelter is located southeast of the city of Manila, three kilometers from the town of Angono, and some 235 meters above sea level.  The shelter if formed by quaternary volcanics, located on the eastern limb of an anticline. The cave faces 305 degrees west and measures 632. 84 meters, 4.68 meters in height and 8.2 meters in depth. The cave was formed at the close of the Pleistocene, early part of the Holocene, at a period when the quaternary alluvium was not yet extensive. 

The petroglyphs occupy 25 meters of the rockwall with a height of 3.7 meters from the floor level. The engravings are executed into all the available space on the wall with no orientation nor association with one another. There are no relationships in scale and size, and no baseline.

The engravings are made on the tuff layer of the wall with "v" and "u" cross sections, depending on the sizes of the images, the largest of which is 63 centimeters. There is no attempt at making relieves. The general typology of the images is a rounded head on a narrow neck, rectangular body with a lower taper, linear flexed limb with three digits each. There is a total of 127 still discernable figures. There are non-cognitive incisions. There are 51 distinct types.

The engravings are not decorative but are symbolic representations, executed by different individuals using a single mental template, apparently with the same cultural persuasion.  Associated with healing and sympathetic magic. 

The dating of the petroglyphs is probably late Neolithic Age. Only highly fragmented low-fired pottery was recovered, a number of Paleolithic cobble and flaked tools, and Neolithic Age polished adzes. The Philippine Neolithic ranges from 6000 BC to 2000 BC." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/)

There are 127 drawings visible at the Angono Petroglyphs. 

JUST CLICK THE PHOTO TO VIEW ITS FULL SIZE

(Warning: Photo size is large so you need to wait for it to load. I couldn't compress without sacrificing the visibility of the petroglyphs.) 

You can see where they carve the drawings: on the "roof" of the rock shelter

Close-up photo of the drawings

The rightmost portion of the rock shelter is where you can find drawings of "the family".

A close-up photo of "the family". The guide said they called these drawings "the family" because it looks like a stick drawing of a male, a female and a child.

AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TOUR:

1 hour

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday to Sunday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Note: We went on a Saturday and there were very few people visiting.

CONTACT

Angono Tourism Office: 661-3646

Official facebook page: National Museum Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

Note: Call before visiting just to make sure it's open and no maintenance activity is being conducted.