Bulacan Food Trip with Erwan, Ninong Ry & Chelsea Manalo

***- Alam mo, this is weaving, so there should be a pattern pero fifth step na tayo wala pa akong pattern na nakikita. Alam mo yun?

- Yeah. Right now...

You know when you're in school
and you're copying

someone's homework?

(laughs)

And then, at the end of the day,
you don't know

what you wrote.

(laughs)

That's what's happening
to me right now.

- You're right.

- To most, Bulacan is a name
in a history book—

a place you drive past
on the way to somewhere else.

Little do you know
you were driving by

the birth place of democracy
in the Philippines.

From family heirloom recipes
still served that humble carinderias

to off cuts of meat
that really never go out of style.

That's good.

Two precolonial traditions
like Puni weaving

and river communities
like Pamarawan,

that hold generations
of untold stories.

I'm going to order everything.

Bulacan isn't just historic,
it's alive.

I'm here to relearn everything I can
about this province,

its past, how it identifies itself
in the present,

and where it sees itself
in the future.

Searching for a part
of the Philippines

that's often buried
under overdevelopment

and fast-rising buildings.

With me are Ninong Ry,
Chelsea Manalo—

Ms. Universe Philippines 2024
and proud Bulaceña,

and Bong Enriquez—
keeper of culture and son

of culinary legend Mila Enriquez.

We're not just here for the food,
we're here to uncover

the pride, passion,
and people that make Bulacan

more than a page in our past.

Our first stop takes us right
into the heart of Malolos,

at a place that's practically
a landmark.

Established in 1970s,
Citang's Eatery

is a local institution known
for its staggering spread

of kakanin (rice cakes)
and meryenda staples,

each one proudly made in-house
every single day.

If you grew up in Bulacan,
this place is part

of your childhood.

And if you didn't,
well, what are you waiting for?

So overwhelmed.

I don't think I've seen
this much choice in a long time.

There's some menu items.

There's hot food for takeaway.

There is lots of rice cakes.

What is your bestseller?

- Mostly rice cakes.

- So this one?

So everything's galapong?

So the kutsinta, palitaw...

- Yeah.

- Okay.

Sapin-sapin.

Relyenong bangus.
They have everything.

Tuyo, embutido, siomai.

Wow.

I'm going to order everything.

- Our bestseller rice cake
is the 7-in-1—

kutsinta, sapin-sapin,
bibingka, tamales, and biko.

There's so much,
because we have orders.

We also have riders ordering
from our page,

then they deliver it.

***Nakakarating pa kami ng Cavite, yung mga umoorder samin from Malabon.
Basta i-rider lang o kaya pinapakuha nila, pinipick up naman. Mahirap na mahirap lang kami nung araw. Naglalako lang kaming magkakapatid. Maski umuulan, tulong tulong kami.
(giggles)
- Sino nagluluto?
- Ang nanay ko noon. Nung buhay pa yung nanay ko. Kasi mana nga ng inang ko yan sa nanay niya. Minana naman namin mula sa nanay ko.
Yung niluluto niya, una nagluluto kami ng mga kakanin. Pagkaluto niya, ilalako na naming magkakapatid. Talagang hirap kami. Pero ngayon nung natutunan namin ang mga recipes, dito na namin lahat nakuha lahat nung pagpapaaral sa lahat ng anak namin. Napagtapos namin sa hanapbuhay namin.

- Every person we've asked
about Bulacan

and where to go in Bulacan—

Citang's keeps being repeated,
and people tell us

we have to come here.

What's great is they make
their rice cakes fresh

during the day
so there's a constant batch

of new rice cakes coming.

So we got some goto,
some cejos.

First time I've seen
a deep-fried egg called cejo.

We have some pork here
and some tokwa.

What?!

Who's that for?

For us?

- Yes.

- Wow. That's a lot.

(chuckles)

I have never seen rice cakes
in like a pizza box.

It's a new thing.

- That's all the seven bestsellers.

- The seven bestsellers.

Wow. Thank you so much.

There's no way
I'm eating seven pieces.

This, I can't eat the whole thing.

Let's do happy pride.

I am a fan of sapin-sapin.

I actually like it
in this kind of small format.

I'm used to the big slices
of sapin-sapin.

This is nice.

Much, much softer
than the sapin-sapin

I'm used to.

The sapin-sapin I'm used to
kind of...

usually the ube layer kind
of like pulls out and stretches.

This one's really nice and soft.

I started the segment saying
I wouldn't try everything.

I literally just tried everything.

After trying all their rice cakes,
I needed a walk.

As we made our way
through Malolos Bayan,

we passed the storied streets
of the old district.

Declared a National
Historic Landmark

by the NHCP in 2021.

These ancestral homes
have witnessed revolutions,

gatherings, and generations
of tradition.

It's a perfect setting
for our next stop—

Bistro Maloleño.

Here, Bulacan's culinary soul
is kept alive

through the legacy of one woman—
Mila Enriquez.

A tireless champion
of Bulaceño gastronomy,

Mila spent her life researching,
preserving, and documenting

heirloom recipes,
many of which would

have been lost to time
without her.

Today, her son, Bong Enriquez,
continues that mission,

sharing the flavors
that once graced noble homes

and town fiestas alike.

Can you tell me about Milagros?

I mean, she's watching
over us now.

- Yeah. She's watching over us.

My mom's from Malolos,
walking distance from here.

13 in the family.

- Her and her siblings
and everything?

- All of them,
especially the men,

they would go to market
by themselves.

- Okay.

- So my mom was there
and she got interested in cooking.

Well, not for commercial
or anything

but plain house cooking.

- Okay.
- Okay?

She married my dad
who's from Bulacan, Bulacan—

Jacinto Ycasiano Enriquez.

How did she get into this?

Because we have a household cook,

old household cook,
by the name of Ba Pedro.

We call him Ba Pedro.

Ba Pedro's dad...

The father of Ba Pedro
was the cook of the friars

in the convent of Bulacan, Bulacan.

- Okay.

- You know how
the friars were, right?

- Yeah, yeah.

- They love good food.
- They love to feast

and love to eat well. Yeah.

- And Ba Pedro became the cook
of our family,

of the family of my grandfather,
Enriquez household.

And so when my mom
and my dad got married,

they stayed
in our ancestral house.

You know, the old style
of cooking?

There was no measuring cups,
measuring teaspoons,

or whatever.

- It's just tasa (cup), half tasa.

- One pinch of salt.
You know, the type.

Would start cooking
at around 4:00 in the afternoon...

in the morning,
and he would end up

at around 10:00 in the evening.

- The whole day.

- The whole day.

There's fire in...

And my mom got interested,

because the food
of Ba Pedro was good.

After that, when she
was interested in getting

all of these recipes,

because she was from Malolos,
so she had a lot of friends here

in Malolos,

and they encouraged my mom,

"Why don't you do the research
of the food

of Bulacan, Bulacan, of Malolos?"

You know.

- And for you, so I'm guessing,
growing up,

you grew up with
some very good food?

- Of course.

- So your mother was also cooking
the food that she put here.