If you're a homegrown Pampanggo, you usually don't splurge on Kapampangan food for a good reason because you have it all the time at home especially if your mom is a good cook (and my mom is!).
An example of a food splurge and probably one of the most expensive Pampanggo culinary experience you can have is the degustation at Bale Dutung. "Bale" is Pampanggo for house and "dutung" means wood.
The first time I went to Bale Dutung was more than 10 years ago. At that time, there was only one set of menu (Kapangpangan Menu - the original menu) and one long table for diners. Today, you can choose from 4 different menus and the ground floor has several sections and tables to accommodate more diners.
I had friends visiting from the US and Bale Dutung was part of their target list. I joined them for an afternoon of fun, delicious Pampanggo food and great conversations. I said "afternoon" because the degustation takes 4 hours - it's from 12noon to about 4pm. :)
This is the gate of Bale Dutung - still the same gate I remember a decade ago. Wood really looks better as it ages.
And this is the Silong - the main dining hall of Bale Dutung.
The most valuable in the culinary experience, other than of course the food, is that the owners themselves are the ones entertaining the guests. The lady of the house, Ms. Mary Ann Quioc, would explain the dishes, or give some historical background, tell a trivia or share anecdotes from her childhood. She jokes that the reason why the degustation is expensive is because of her. :)
The first dish that we tried is actually unofficial. It wasn't part of the menu. Ms. Mary Ann let us try their newly-cooked tamales which she says has secret toppings. I am not a big fan of tamales but this one is really good! :) I even ordered some for take-out. :)
For appetizers, we had crackers and dips - pesto using pili, crab fat and shrimp buro (fermented rice). All yum! You can try each one with crackers or try a combination but I love it when you put all 3 together. I just had to control myself from eating a lot because the degustation was a 10-course one. :)
The menu we signed up for was the Anthony Bourdain one. Here's the photo of the man/chef of the house, Claude Tayag, with Anthony Bourdain during his trip to the Philippines.
Brace yourself - here's the 10-course degustation.
Pako Salad
According to Ms Mary Ann, during the time of our grandparents, it was common for houses in Pampanga to have pako plants in the garden. Thus, if you have visitors, it's a no-no to serve them pako because it means they are not special as you're not making an effort to prepare something special for them.
Chicken Inasal and Talangka Sushi
The chicken inasal is super yum! From what I remember, it was marinated with lime. We have a local lime in Pampanga called dayap and food really becomes yummier when you put dayap even in desserts like tibok-tibok, leche flan and buco sherbet.
Here's a close-up shot of the Talangka sushi. Sinful but oh so yummy!
Adobong Pugo
Super, super tasty! If you want to dip it in sauces, there are several sauces on the table but noteworthy is the vinegar. They age vinegar at Bale Dutung. The one that was served to us dates back to 1998. Check out the huge bottles of vinegar they have -
Ampalaya with buro (or balo-balo)
Hito at balo-balo sushi
This is a unique way to eat Hito, balo-balo and mustasa. Tip from Ms Mary Ann - ask your local vendor to filet the hito.
Pata Humba
Lechon Taco
This is fried lechon flakes wrapped in a tortilla. This is the most memorable dish for me. The green sauce you see is called Oriental Sauce. It tastes weird - sweet, salty, sour with a taste of cilantro - but I super love it. I bought bottles of this sauce. A bottle costs Php150.
For those who want to even go a notch higher in the degustation, at this point, you could also enjoy a small platter of crispy lechon skin for an additional Php300. Chef Claude himself would masterfully slice the lechon and serve you.
And since it's cholesterol loading already, you may want to reach out for the frozen towellete the attendants gave you earlier and put it on your nape or forehead. My friends and I named this our First Aid kit. Haha....
At this point, you might also start feeling a bit full so to burn some calories, you can go up and down this staircase. The degustation is just half- way through! Haha...
This is bulanglang na tiyan ng bangus, tadyang ng baboy and ulang.
Usually, when this is cooked in a Pampanggo home, it's just bangus, or hipon, or pork but not all together in one dish but since it's degustation, it's all 3 together. The consistency of soup also depends on your preference. The way they serve it in Bale Dutung is super thick guava soup and Ms Mary Ann explained that this viand is best eaten with a salty sauce (bagoong, toyo and patis are on the table). But my personal preference when it comes to bulanglang is watery soup which I put on my rice. :)
Pork Sisig
You have an option to put pig's brain and chicken liver - which I did. Yum! After this, time to reach for the First Aid kit again (the frozen towelette! Haha....)
Seafood Kare-Kare
Isn't this the prettiest and most photogenic kare-kare ever?
This is the individual serving of the kare-kare.
Before you know it, it's almost 4pm, time for dessert!
Tibok-Tibok
Made from carabao's milk so it's super creamy and malinamnam. And yes, it has dayap! Super yum!
As another bonus, Ms Mary Ann let us try another dessert - I think they serve this in the other menu (Lechon and Kapampangan menu) they offer.
This is called Paradiso.
It's like creme brulee and the 3 mounds that you see at the center are macapuno, ube and pastillas. Super duper yum!!! One of the best-tasting desserts I have ever tried! :). This and the lechon taco were the best for me. :)
That capped our degustation. Happy tummy. Haha....
At the end of the degustation, you can also buy bottled goodies like sauces, taba ng talangka, pastries, etc.
Btw, I noticed that there were plastic bags filled with water (and a coin inside) hanging around the dining area and my friend said that they are used to shoo away flies. Maybe they are effective because during the entire meal, I only saw one fly.
Lastly, Ms Mary Ann mentioned they have a newly-opened restaurant in Angeles City called Downtown and some of the dishes in the degustation are available in the restaurant. She said that the average price of dishes there is Php300. This means, if you want to have a similar culinary experience without breaking the bank, you can consider Downtown. (But I haven't personally tried it yet.)
For more info on Bale Dutung, you can check out its website at http://baledutung.com.
