By Sol Vanzi
The birthplace of the first Philippine Republic 120 years ago was appropriately chosen by the country’s largest food and beverage company for a two-day culinary and historical immersion. We joined 20 food writers on a food crawl through seven Cavite towns and cities.
Entitled “Proba: Cavite Comida,” the tour organized by San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center (SMPFCC) followed a meticulously planned itinerary that highlights food enterprises that have not been written about but which deserve to be in the spotlight.
“We want to use this tour to promote the province as a great dining destination for anyone looking for food stops near Manila,” says SMPFCC culinary services manager Llena Tan-Arcenas. “We hope that it will make everyone appreciate and draw inspiration from the rich culinary heritage of Cavite.”
PANSIT PUSIT, PANSIT PUSO
Day one began with lunch at Bernie’s Kitchenette, a charming restaurant owned and managed by a granddaughter of the famous matinee idol Leopoldo Salcedo, a native son of Cavite City. Born and raised in the province, Bernadita Rojas-Fontanilla specializes in classic Caviteño dishes handed down through generations such as pansit pusit (sotanghon blackened by squid) and pansit puso (pansit gisado with shredded puso ngsaging).
She showed the city-bred visitors how to prepare Cavite-style bacalao cooked in Magnolia Dari Crème and flavored with tausiand garbanzos. Also a big hit was her simple peasant fare crispy laolao (deep-fried baby sardines).
For dessert, we had bibingkang samala (malagkit topped with latik) from Pat & Sam, a Cavite City institution.
PIPIAN, LECHON SA PUGON
In the afternoon, we toured the ancestral house of the Abad clan built in the 1820s in Tanza. The beautiful structure has been a home, a clinic, and even housed a factory for patis and bagoong. Its picturesque balcony was the perfect setting for Chef Chris Bautista’s cooking demo of two Cavite recipes. The first was pipian, a Spanish-inspired dish similar to kare-kare, using Magnolia whole chicken. The second dish, tinumis, had Monterey pork flavored with young sampaloc leaves instead of vinegar.
Day one ended with al fresco dinner at Mang Jose’s Rolling Kitchen right beside the iconic Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit. Owners Jhing and Mimi Hernandez showed off their unique charcoal-fired brick oven. Our group demolished an entire puchon (rolled pork belly lechon). Puchon, or lechon sa pugon, perfectly paired with rounds of San Miguel beer and Ginebra San Miguel products. Also quite delicious were mussels, inasal, and crispy sisig using coarsely chopped lechon parts.
PUSIT PASTA, LOLA’S SECRET
Day two started with a hefty breakfast buffet at the Alfonso SMC Training Center prepared by Chefs RJ Garcia, Rene Ruz, Martin Narisma, and Pam Obieta using Purefoods bacon, corned beef, and chicken longganisa served with a side of Magnolia brown eggs. We had a choice of sseveral coffee variants—Essenso, San Mig coffee barako, and San Mig coffee strong. Ultra sweet fresh Tagaytay pineapple slices perked up the morning meal.
Lunch was at Cavite Republic right in the heart of TreceMartires City. Décor motif evokes Cavite’s rich history, although its menu of classic Cavite dishes is infused with modern touches. Chef and owner Matt Pacumio explained in detail their specialties: Paella valenciana (locally called arrozvalenciana), grilled chicken basted with sampalok, Cavite express (langka sa gata), pancit estacion negra using homemade flat pasta, and crispy dinuguan.
Our dessert was outstanding: lihim ni lola, violet-colored cassava mini-cakes stuffed with salted egg and latik.
COFFEE CAPITAL
On our way back to Manila, we stopped for a coffee break in the town of Amadeo, famous for coffee farms. The province has been harvesting coffee beans since 1876 and is the largest coffee producer in the Philippines.
Olivia’s Coffee Shop also exports green (unprocessed) coffee beans to many countries. The charming cafe served the brew with Magnolia fresh milk and packs of La Pacita graham cookie sandwich. I preferred to dunk La Pacita Pasencia cookies in my cup of Americano.
All in all, it was a well-planned and excellently researched excursion. We all promised to sign up for the next one, whatever the destination will be.