INQUIRER Global Nation

REPRESENTATIVE Lorna Silverio, a restaurateur herself, is passionate about the kitchen, cooking, and dining.

She tells us what and where she loves to eat when in Bulacan.

Hers and her husband Ricardo Silverio's pigeon farm produces the best marinated pigeon, a must-try.

Tata Carding (as I call him) searched for the pigeon master and brought him to Manila from China, thus the authentic taste and flavor. (For pigeon orders, call 819-3862).

Lorna's guide: “I do not usually go out to eat when in Bulacan as I am happy eating home-cooked food. But when I have unannounced guests, I usually bring them to La Familia Restaurant (tel. 044-7662037, 09178581748) along DRT Highway in Baliwag. The restaurant is owned by Normita Alejo who has retired from teaching.”

'Okoy'

My favorite dishes at La Familia are:

“Okoy” is pumpkin or squash fritters with shrimps. It has a crunchy crust and yet is soft in the middle. It is slightly sweet and tangy and good with vinegar.

“Dinuguan sa usbong ng sampalok” is to-die-for. Like your common “dinuguan,” it is cooked by stewing pork in pork blood but by using young tamarind leaves to give it a sour taste, instead of using vinegar. Tamarind trees shed their old leaves only once a year.

“Dinuguan sa usbong” is really a rare treat.

Oxtail “kare-kare” is also one of my favorites, with “bagoong” (shrimp paste) prepared from scratch. Shrimp suitable for bagoong is fermented and sautéed. It is slightly sweet.

Edison's Lugawan

Another eating merienda (snack) place is Edison's Lugawan (0908-9181630), run by husband and wife Edison and Osie Igaya. The place is simple; no tables, only counters, no frills but their LTB (lugaw, tokwa, baboy) is really good.

There are only three items it offers—LTB, crispy pata, and sisig. They are all good, with their own concoction of vinegar dipping sauce. My favorite is LTB.

At home in San Rafael, Bulacan, when I tire of eating meat, I ask our cook to prepare sardines, sautéed with lots of thin strips of ginger with usbong ng sampalok or alibangbang leaves, whichever is available. Alibangbang trees are found in the mountains of Bulacan.

Another favorite is “tinapang isda” (smoked fish), deboned and sautéed in garlic, onion, and tomatoes with ampalaya leaves.

I love also our own “lagat na hito.” The catfish is fried first, then sautéed in garlic, onion, tomatoes, lots of ginger and alagao leaves.