My friends and I had a food trip in Angeles City last weekend. We tried 9 restaurants in 2 days! Sharing with you our food discoveries (in random order):
1. RUMPA stands for Retired US Military Philippine Association.
RUMPA is an American diner built in 1974 in Angeles City where retired GI Joes used to hang out to reminisce and exchange stories. It was originally owned by a retired military personnel but was sold later on to a local when the American military left Clark. But until today, there are still some retired military personnel who still visit the place and enjoy the great food.
RUMPA is just a small restaurant with about 10 to 15 tables. Here's inside the American diner.
We went there for breakfast and here are the dishes we tried:
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| Hotcakes |
I
don't usually order pancakes in restaurants because most of the time,
they are not moist or tasty enough but RUMPA's hotcakes are good. They
remind me of homemade pancakes - moist and with the right amount of
sweetness - no need to pour syrup. Yum.
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| Ham and Mushroom Omelet |
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| Egg-N-Stuff |
Together
with the eggs, you can choose among Ham, Bacon, Sausage and Hamburger
Pattie. This one is with the Sausage. The sausages were good.
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| Barbecue Spare ribs |
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| Brewed Iced Tea |
The best surprise during our visit at RUMPA was when we got the bill. You know how much our total bill was for all the food we ordered? Php610! Roughly USD15! Wow. Great value for money. They are truly delivering what they promise as their tagline says - RUMPA: Where good food is at its lowest possible price.
RUMPA restaurant is located at 1307 Surla St., Balibago, Angeles City. Phone nos. +63 45 3314805 and +63 45 8926659. RUMPA is open from 7am to 930pm daily.
2. Cely's is a carinderia that has been in Nepo Mart since 1970. My friend who's from Angeles said that it's a great, affordable place to try Kapampangan food. She shares that even a popular local chef brings balikbayan guests to this place. So their food must be really authentic. :)
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| Cely's Turo Turo |
Here's inside Cely's - it's not air-conditioned but the place is well-ventilated.
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| Inside Cely's |
It's turo-turo style at Cely's.
For those who don't know what turo-turo means, the way to tell the attendant what food you wish to order is by pointing at the dishes using your finger. Turo literally means "to point".
Cely's has wide variety of local Kapampangan dishes and delicacies. Check these out -
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| Adobong Kamaru (Crickets) |
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| Bulanglang na Bangus |
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| Kamansi |
I just googled what kamansi is in English and it's Seeded Breadfruit. Kamansi is easier to remember. Haha...
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| Sisig |
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| Lengua |
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| Tidtad |
Cely's also serves all-time favorite Pinoy dishes like -
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| Lechong Kawali |
I also remember seeing freshly fried chicharon! Tempting. Haha...
Anyway, here are the dishes we tried:
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| Paku Salad (Fern Salad) |
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| Adobong Pusit |
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| Bistig (Kapampangan's version of Beef Steak) |
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| Bulalo |
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| Chopsuey |
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| Ningnang Tilapia (Inihaw or Grilled Tilapia) |
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| Tagilo or Buru (Fermented Rice) |
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| Chicken Barbecue |
So the next time you want to binge on Kapampangan food and get value for your money, check out Cely's Carinderia at Nepo Mart in Angeles City. You can easily ask around where Cely's is once you reach Nepo Mart. Then after your meal, you may want to have dessert at Susie's Cuisine which is just across Cely's. Incidentally, Cely's Carinderia has a branch in San Fernando, Pampanga (which I only found out now.). It's located along Lazatin Road, Villa Victoria, Dolores, San Fernando, Pampanga.
3. Susie's Cuisine is known for its wide variety of kakanin (local cakes). Its original branch is in Nepo Mart, Angeles City and my friends who grew up there rave about how they witnessed this small, simple outlet progress through the years. It has now 12 branches in the region and this is how the main branch in Nepo Mart looks like today.
We decided to sample some of Susie's kakanin.
You know how much all of these samplers cost? A total of Php82! :)
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| Tibok Tibok This is what we call Tibok-Tibok in Kapampangan. It's our local custard. I like Tibok-Tibok best when it has a hint of dayap/dalayap (local lemon). Tibok-tibok is sprinkled with latik (glazed coconut flesh). |
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| Cassava Cake |
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| Kalamay Duman |
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| Moche Moche |
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| Rice Cake |
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| Kakanin in bilao |
Susie's also distributes a whole slew of pasalubong items from butong pakwan, aligue, roasted peanuts, candies, etc.
If you want to buy sweets, you may want to check out Rosing's next door (just adjacent to Susie's). They sell pastillas and sweets made from carabao's milk. What's great is they'll let you taste their candies before buying. Their 2 bestsellers are -
Caramel squares
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| Pastillas de leche |
4. Angeles Fried Chicken, also called AFC, is known for serving the best fried chicken in Angeles City.
My friend said that not much has changed in this restaurant since she was a kid. She remembers the same tables, chairs, decorations and even the dim lighting. In fact when the phone rang while we were eating, it was the tone of a landline from way back in the 80s. And when we looked at the phone, it was indeed a vintage! And this is probably the restaurant's charm to its loyal customers.
We ordered AFC's classic fried chicken.
AFC's classic fried chicken reminds me of KFC's original recipe including the taste of its gravy. Yum. But what I liked better was -
AFC's Japanese Fried Chicken. Garlicky. Yum-yum!
We also ordered camaron and fried mushrooms. They were yummy too. Hay, so many delicious dishes to try! Haha...
5. Kabigting's halo-halo originated from Arayat, Pampanga. Its branch at Marquee Mall is near Italianni's but they also have a branch in Robinson's StarMills in San Fernando, Pampanga.
What makes Kabigting's Halo Halo special is it has chunks of pastillas (made from carabao's milk) and yummy glazed beans. How can you resist that?
6. Island Grill (IG) in Fontana Clarkfield, Pampanga was included in our list because I love puga. Puga (fish eggs) are considered a delicacy in Pampanga. Some local restaurants serve it grilled, some sizzling and others, fried.
Deep fried Puga. Super yummy!
And Pritson! Sinful but it's really good. It's the best pritson for me. Very fine, crispy flakes.
7. Mr. Park's Bread and
Cake along Friendship Highway (but I checked its FB page and
apparently its main branch is in BF Homes, Paranaque).
My friend said they have the best cream puffs.
I'm not a big fan of cream puffs but I love these. Unlike regular cream puffs which are usually crispy or hard on the outside, Mr Park's are made from soft bread and the cream isn't that sweet. And because they are not too sweet, you feel guiltless and end up eating a lot. Haha...
8. Camalig Restaurant is also known as the Home of Armando's Pizza
which is dubbed as the Pambansang Pizza. Pambansang Pizza (National
Pizza) because on its menu, you'll find pizza variants with longganiza,
salted duck egg, tuyo, tinapa, kesong puti and chicken adobo. But
Camalig does have regular pepperoni and salami pizza too. It has a
total of 15 pizza flavors to choose from and also offers pasta dishes,
Filipino, American and Mexican dishes.
Here's the entrance going to Camalig.
Camalig is considered historical because the structure dates back to 1840.
Camalig,
during the Spanish era, is what you call a grain depot. If you've ever
been to an old Spanish ancestral mansion, usually the "camalig" is a
detached structure a few meters away from the main house. It is where
sacks of rice and grains are stored. The restaurant is called Camalig
because it was a real camalig in the 19th century. :)
Here's inside the Camalig Restaurant.
Inside the restaurant, you'll also find a collection of old photos and antique items like these vintage bottles.
Even antique household appliances like this electric fan.
We only had a light dinner at Camalig's because we had a couple of other restaurants to visit after. Haha...
We ordered buffalo wings. Yum!
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| Deep-fried Chicken Wings, Php330 |
We
also ordered Doy's Kapampangan Pizza sprinkled with longganiza and ebun
buru (salted duck egg). Camalig's pizza crust is crispy. Yum-yum.
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| Doy's Kapampangan Pizza (Large size), Php397 |
They have 3 sizes of pizza - small, medium, large. Large is 13". So no worries whether you're a small or big group.
When
we were paying our bill, we noticed these papier mache heads at the
counter. We could recognize John Lennon (second from the right) and
Gandhi (rightmost) but couldn't identify the rest. We asked the waiters
who the rest were. They said the second from the left is Mother Teresa
(though she doesn't look like Mother Teresa to us! haha...) and the
middle is Jesus (pwede...). They don't know who the leftmost is but our
guess is Martin Luther King Jr. But we're just guessing. :)
Camalig's Restaurant is located at 292 Sto. Rosario Street, Angeles City.
9. RFW - my friends who grew up in Angeles City say it serves the city's best halo-halo and palabo - a perfect place to have merienda.
Here's the bestseller RFW Pansit Palabok. A platter costs only Php40!
RFW is located along Sto. Rosario St., Sto Domingo, Angeles City, Pampanga. If you wish to contact RFW, their phone numbers are +63 927 2809996 and +63 946 2472160. The Carmelite Monastery and RFW are just across each other so you may want to visit the monastery as well.
Here's the Carmelite Monastery. The weather was a bit gloomy when we dropped by there.
Here's inside the church. Very solemn.
Peaceful place.
You
may want to light candles for your petitions and loved ones you wish to
pray for while you're there. You can buy the candles at the store near
the side entrance of the church.
9 eateries in 2 days. Wow, that's some record. Haha... :)
