PAMPANGA EATS: Everybody's Café

Last Saturday was one of the best days I had!

It was a day of celebration. . . .reconnection. . . and rediscovery!  The last three words apply to the good friends I met up with and the sumptuous lunch we had.

We met up with a High School friend who we miss so much because we haven't seen her for a looong time!  She came to visit (she lives in a different province now) and told me that she would like to eat in one of our province's (Pampanga) culinary gem . . . the Everybody's Café!  

We are all true-blooded Kapampangans but somehow we don't get to visit this place regularly, and for some of us, it was their first time last Saturday.  I knowww. . . haha!  It's ironic how people from Manila would drive all the way to Pampanga just to eat in this restaurant and we don't go to this place that often.  I guess human nature makes you take things for granted when that thing is within your reach. 

The last time I ate here was when I was probably in Grade School.  I remember coming to this place with the family to have merienda.  We would always have palabok (or pansit luglug as we call it here in our province) which was served with toasted bread and butter and halo-halo!

Goes without saying that it was a good time to rediscover this famous food destination as we also celebrate a lifelong friendship!

Having these girls around is like being back in high school except that our stories range from dealing with teenagers, hormones (not the teens'!), moisturizers and change in vision (well, hello 40s!), varicose veins and real estate taxes. . . such diverse topics ano?  Haha!  Yes, this is the story of our lives. . . now.

What goes well with good friends and endless conversation but an array of good food!


Welcome to Everybody's Café, the home of authentic Kapampangan cuisine!

Food here is served cafeteria/turo-turo style (direct translation by Filipinos: point-point, haha!) where you place your order by pointing at the dish you like from the food counter.  There are lot of choices but I think we did a pretty good job in "balancing" our meal.

One of the things we ordered was their specialty. . . Murcon!  Murcon is our local version of a meatloaf.  This is a staple in every Kapampangan household during fiesta or any special occasion.

The Murcon is served with additional sauce (made from its drippings) and I wish we slathered some over it before we took a photo, haha!  But even without the extra sauce, it's already good and tasty!

  

Of course, being the Kapampangans that we are, we had to order Pork Sisig. I love their sisig because it has some toasted parts.  I like it as it is.  We didn't even need to do anything (like put calamansi or soy sauce).

I did mention having a balanced meal . . .so we also ordered fish!  (Nah, we just felt guilty for ordering the pork dishes, haha)  We got some some fried hito (mudfish) which was fried perfectly!  It is served with buro (fermented rice and fish) and fresh mustasa (mustard leaves) ----- a popular trifecta of goodness for the Kapampangans!

   

We also ordered *Pako (pronounced as Pa-KO, stress is on the second syllable) Salad which has a vinegar dressing.

*Pako is Fiddlehead fern (thank you Google!)

And Bangus Torta which was something new to all of us . . .surprisingly good.

We also ordered Kare-Kare . . . 

And because I remembered eating their palabok, we placed an order too.

Something different. . . Palabok with slivers of Kamias

Naku, hindi. . .hindi kami gutom!   

We were not really hungry, hahaha!  We Kapampangans just love food!  We are known to be good cooks but we also love eating (well actually, who doesn't?!).

Another Kapampangan dish that is worth trying which we didn't order (because there is this thing called gluttony, haha) is Kilain (pronounced as Kila-yin).  It is an adobo-like dish (because it is also cooked in vinegar) sans the soy sauce. But its taste is entirely different from Adobo.  I find its flavor deeper and richer. I guess because of the liver component of the dish.  (Okay, I am not a Capampangan food expert, this is just my humble opinion, haha!)  When we cook this at home, we use finely chopped liver to thicken the sauce.  Some households also put lungs in this dish (we don't). 

Everybody's Café is also known for their exotic dishes like Betute (Stuffed Frog), Adobong Camaru (Crickets) and they also have Pindang Damulag (Cured Carabao Meat---*carabao is a water buffalo) as seen below.  I also saw Kalderetang Kambing (goat) and a lengua (tongue) dish (I forgot what it was) among the food choices.

We had so much food but we had more stories to share that lunch ran for 3 hours!

And at the end of this perfect day, all I can say is our hearts were full of laughter and our tummies filled with good food!

(Thank you BFF for the photos you shared for this post!)

For more details about Everybody's Cafe, please visit their FB page.

Main Branch: Del Pilar, McArthur Hi-way, City of San Fernando, Pampanga

Second Branch: Nepo Mart, Angeles, Pampanga

*I know that they are also part of the Salcedo Market in Makati every Saturday.

Our Version of Tortang Kapampangan

Growing up in Pampanga (a province located in the Northern part of Philippines), one of the home-cooked dishes that I love eating is Torta.  It is a dish made of ground pork cooked in calamansi (our local lemon) and soy sauce.  But when I moved to the city to work, I learned that "torta" to the city folks meant something that is like an omelette.  The ground pork recipe that they are familiar with is cooked in tomato sauce (which I would always see at our cafeteria).  I tried cooking this kind of dish before but I still prefer our Torta.

I am not a food history expert to claim that this is an original Kapampangan dish.  But I would like to call it Tortang Kapampangan because this is how we prepare our ground pork.  I also wrote "Our Version" because this is how we prepare it at our home.  I am sure that each Kapampangan household would have their own take on this recipe.

I like cooking this pork dish because it is an easy and fast recipe.  Plus it can be served in various ways.  When we have it at home, we eat it as it is on the first day.  On the second day, you would see it as a filling in an omelette and on the third day, it is used for Tortang Talong (talong means eggplant) as seen in the photo below.

Image from this site

And it is toddler-approved too!  (Woohoo!)

Hope you like it too!  Happy Cooking!  

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground pork

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

Garlic, chopped

Onion, chopped

1 medium-sized Tomato, chopped

1 large Potato, Cubed (you can also add carrots and green peas if you like)

Salt and Pepper to taste

*Eggs - can be done 2 ways (please refer to the cooking directions below)

Cooking Directions:

1.Combine the lemon juice, soy sauce and ground pork and let it simmer until the meat is tender.  

2, Fry the potatoes and carrots and set it aside.

3. Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes.  Mash the tomatoes as it softens.

3. Add the boiled meat and mix everything together. Add the potatoes (and carrots) and let them cook.  This may only a take a few minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Eggs - As I've mentioned, you can do it two ways.  You can beat one or two eggs and mix them with the meat (in medium heat).  OR you can just boil quail eggs and put it on top of the dish.

Mangan tana!  (Let's eat!)

Have you heard of Sipo Egg?

I hope you don't mind if you've been reading mostly about food and my kitchen adventures recently. Since we moved to LA last May, I've been cooking and baking and cooking (and washing the dishes).  There are two reasons why:  First, because we had to, haha!  Second, because I love being in the kitchen.  Thanks to my Mom who forced  . . . I mean, encouraged me to help in the kitchen every Saturday morning when I was growing up.  I guess being a Kapampangan (proud to be one) plays a role too.  We are known to be one of the best cooks in our country! =)  But I am far from being one, haha!  Let's just say I can find my way in the kitchen . =)  

I am following a few cooking blogs and one of them is Panlasang Pinoy.  The most recent recipe he posted was "Sipo Egg" which he says is a Kapampangan dish!  And to this I say. . . Shame on ME!!!!  I actually didn't know this and that the dish I've been eating during fiesta and other special occasions is called "Sipo Egg".  I just call it. . . Green Peas!  Haha!  I am not sure what sets it apart from the standard Shrimp with Green Peas and Quail Eggs dish we know.  But I guess it is because of the creamy white sauce this dish has.  

It is such a quick and easy recipe to do!  Succulent shrimps that are bathe in a creamy sauce and add to that some sweetness from the peas and crunch from the water chestnut?  Definitely a crowd pleaser!  

From the original recipe, I did a little tweaking.  I added a teaspoon of of fish sauce when I was sauteeing the dish and a little bit of lemon juice (because the dish might be too "shrimpy" for me).  I also used chicken stock instead of shrimp juice (did I say "shrimpy"? Haha) and added some red bell peppers (just because I have some leftovers in the fridge).

So as a homage to my roots and my beloved Pampanga (my province),  I made this dish for lunch today.   

Homesickness is kicking in. . . . *sigh*

Happy Weekend everyone!

The recipe posted below is the original recipe from Panlasang Pinoy

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large shrimp, head and shell removed and deveiened
• 20 pieces boiled quail eggs
• 1 small yellow onion minced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1½ cups frozen green peas
• 1 medium carrot, cubed
• ¾ cup water
• 4 ounces ham, minced (optional)
• 1 can (10 oz.) cream of mushroom
• ¾ cup water chestnut or singkamas, cubed
• ½ cup table cream or heavy whipping cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a cooking pan.
2. Add the cooking oil.
3. Once the mixture becomes hot, saute the shrimp for a minute per side.
4. Remove the shrimp and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic.
6. Put-in the carrot and green peas. Add the ham (this is an optional ingredient).Cook for 3 minutes.
7. Pour-in the water (I used water with shrimp juice in the video).Let it boil. Cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the quail eggs and shrimp.Stir.
9. Pour-in the cream of mushroom and table cream. Stir once more until the ingredients are well distributed.
10. Add water chestnuts, salt and pepper.
11. Transfer to a serving bowl.
12. Serve. Share and enjoy!