Restaurant review: Stewed crickets from the ricefields of Bacolor to Makati’s CBD

It is either due to sheer ignorance or a lack of opportunity that I am not familiar with Kapampangan cuisine beyond its most famous dish, the sisig. But if one can deduce the food of Manila’s northern neighbors from the sisig, we can characterize Pampanga’s traditional dishes as simple, exotically weird, slow cooked and most importantly maniaman!

Would-be dinners of Apag Marangle, an authentic Kapampangan restaurant located at the ground floor of the new Park Square terminal in Makati, should come with “an open mind and empty stomach.” The simplicity of its offerings can be found in the complimentary boiled peanuts and sweet potato appetizers. The chicharon is the perfect companion for after-work drinks with fellow officemates or casual drinking sessions.

Our culinary experience went to the extreme with the introduction of Adobong Camaru (Stewed Crickets) and Betute Tugak (Stuffed Frog). While I was still trying to convince myself that both tasted like the proverbial chicken, the insects and quartered reptile didn’t really taste bad at all. The plate of crickets definitely had good flavor, texture and seasoned just right.

The stuffed frog was not that far from a drier and fried version of a chicken galantina. I have eaten frog legs in the past, but never had one with the torso included; perhaps for humanitarian and presentation reasons, it was a good thing that the head has been removed.

As for main entrees, pork and seafood dishes dominate the bestsellers of Apag Marangle (Kapampangan for an eatery/restaurant in a field or ricefield). Humba, prepared and cooked similarly to adobo or the Chinese dish Hong-ma, uses pork belly and star anise to give diners melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Two more dishes, the Camaru Betute (chicharong bulaklak) and Litsun Pata, make sure that none of the pig meat goes to waste. As it is the season of Lent, the faithful can still go to Apag Marangle and order either the Minantikilyan Paro (Buttered Shrimp) or the Hito-Mustasa-Buro combination. The latter, a mixture of catfish, mustard green and fermented soft rice, is Pampanga’s answer to the wrapped meat dishes of other cuisines.

Serving as side dishes and change of tastes for the palette are the Ensaladang Paco and Mangga. Both salads are prepared the Kapampangan way: made to order with the freshest of ingredients. A lunch or dinner order just would not be complete without any type of rice or startch. The Nasing Marangle, Kapampangan paelle with shrimp paste and lechon kawali, makes all those special dishes extra special.

It took Apag Marangle almost eight years to bring their brand of cuisine from its original Bacolor, Pampanga to Makati City for good reason. Cherry Tan, the establishment’s managing partner, disclosed that while they do want to expand to other parts of the Metro Manila, the slow nature of preparation, cooking techniques and quality of food may be compromised if not managed properly.

While I am not a hundred percent behind Tan’s belief of Kapampangan being the best regional cuisine in the country, my taste buds and culinary mind have certainly been opened to what this Central Luzon province has to offer. I have barely scratched its culinary surface, but I am glad that it was Apag Marangle that paved the way for me to do so. — BM, GMA News