The first time I heard about the original sisig in Pampanga was early last year when I was in Baguio while touring our Dutch guest with my officemates. Over a low-budget dinner somewhere, I remember being distracted by the breaking news on TV about this old lady who was killed by then unidentified assailant/s. Her only claim to fame was being Aling Lucing, as in Aling Lucing whose kitchen produced the original sisig.
And then a couple of months ago, I watched clips from Anthony Bourdain’s first time in the Philippines. A part of his adventure was tasting sisig in Pampanga, from Aling Lucing’s too.
So the foodie in me mad
e it my dream to go and see this place if and when I go to Pampanga. It finally happened yesterday.
After attending the launch of Road Trip, a book for YP by Ru dela Torre that I edited, from Sindalan, we drove to Angeles to eat dinner at the famous sisig place. Before going there, I was already warned that the place wasn’t airconditioned, that there might be drinking sessions, etc. I didn’t mind at all. Nothing could dampen my excitement.
So in the chill of the night, along that stretch of road, with grilling isaw and chicken on the side, I and three Kapampangans ate sisig from Aling Lucing’s. The food was OK. Relatively huge chunks of meat wer
e served on sizzling plates. But truth to tell, there was nothing really spectacular about the the dish, if I may compare it with the other versions I have tasted from Gerry’s and Gilligan’s. But I guess what made it special was the fact that I dined in the place where one dish was born. That was enough to make me enjoy eating this signature Filipino creation.
But thinking about it now, it might not be the gustatory experience that will stick in my mind several days from now. Most probably, it will be the kindness and hospitality of people—some I’ve met for the first time—who made me feel welcome in the land of tocinos
, sisig and missing H (or extra H, in some cases!). [Imagine, the hosts negotiated NLEX and SLEX just to bring me safely home to Bicutan (at 12mn!). The lady next to me in the pic? She's one indefatigable driver!]
Going back to the dining experience, in the end, it’s not really the smell, taste and the texture of food. It’s who we eat with. So Aling Lucing, I’m sorry if you will come second to what I will remember about my sizzling sisig dinner in Pampanga. But now at least I know what Anthony Bourdain felt when he ate at your place.
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pearance, his implication in child molestation cases, his bizzare bent on doing the outrageous and shocking, but for now, at least for this day, let us turn a blind eye to those shadows following him.