Done with our first Pampanga restaurant, at Everybody’s Cafe. It’s only 12 in the afternoon, right on time for lunch and we still have a long list of activities to be checked.

Here are 2 more restaurants that added thrill to our Pampanga visit for the World Street Food Congress tour.

Glaciano Valdez St. Angeles City, Pampanga

We had to introduce the well-known “Sisig” to our foreign friends. A dish born in Pampanga, invented by Lucia Cunanan or Aling Lucing, we all love this dish for its fatty and sizzling pork bits served on a hot plate. Compared to commercialized sisig we now find around the Philippines, Kapampangan sisig is slightly sour. It is said that ‘sisig’ is a Kapampangan way of cooking meat with a slightly sour seasoning.

Aling Lucing’s Sisig could be eaten with or without rice. For some, sisig is best partnered with alcoholic beverages.

4th Stop: Cafe Fleur
463B Miranda St. Angeles City, Pampanga

Look at that! What a warm welcome from Cafe Fleur! One of the staff handed ice cold towels to refresh us from the afternoon heat.

Cafe Fleur is owned by Kapampangan Chef Sau Del Rosario. Going back to his roots, the celebrity chef serves modern Kapampangan dishes with a French flair. As one of the most respectable chefs in the country, honed his craft at the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Sau impressed us with his creations from start to finish.

Before entering the dining area, Chef Sau prepared a feast outside the restaurant, a buffet style of his special Kapampangan appetizers.

The inventive Chef Sau glamourized Tamales Pampangueña by adding coconut cream to quality rice flour. This results to a cup of pudding rich with flavors. Plus, it looks so pretty!

The salad of the Kapampangans, Cafe Fleur’s Pako Salad is made with local ferns, watermelon, kesong puti and salted egg.

Using mustasa leaves, crispy catfish, buro or fermented rice, tomatoes and salted egg were all wrapped together and ready for a mouthful bite.

At Cafe Fleur, I was able to taste the best Kare-Kare in the Philippines! Yes, not “one of the”, it’s so far the best renditions I’ve ever tried! A deconstructed style of serving kare-kare, it is composed of rich peanut sauce, juicy yet crispy pork belly, baguio beans, eggplant, and the appetizing bagoong (shrimp paste).

However, Chef Sau’s Pork Belly Kare-Kare is not part of the regular menu. To order, you have to request ahead of time.

Next to Kare-Kare, this Rellenong Bangus mesmerized my tastebuds. A secret heritage recipe of Chef Sau, he made the stuffed milkfish more appealing by its creamy texture.

Halo-Halo

We’ll be always proud of our Filipino Halo-Halo. Other countries may have their own versions, like ice kacang for Singapore and bingsu for Koreans, you can’t beat the refreshing glass with ice, carabao’s milk, leche flan, purple yam, sweetened banana, and nata de coco.

Also, before I forget, I’m going back for this chewy Pandan Sansrival!

What a splendid Pampanga tour for the World Street Food Congress!

Time check, it’s only around 1 in the afternoon. Our 15-hour food frenzy safari isn’t over yet.

Check out the Part 3 of this gastronomic adventure!

Cheers,