-
Not Synced
***- 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?
-
Not Synced
- Yeah. Right now...
-
Not Synced
You know when you're in school
and you're copying
-
Not Synced
someone's homework?
-
Not Synced
(laughs)
-
Not Synced
And then, at the end of the day,
you don't know
-
Not Synced
what you wrote.
-
Not Synced
(laughs)
-
Not Synced
That's what's happening
to me right now.
-
Not Synced
- You're right.
-
Not Synced
- To most, Bulacan is a name
in a history book—
-
Not Synced
a place you drive past
on the way to somewhere else.
-
Not Synced
Little do you know
you were driving by
-
Not Synced
the birth place of democracy
in the Philippines.
-
Not Synced
From family heirloom recipes
still served that humble carinderias
-
Not Synced
to off cuts of meat
that really never go out of style.
-
Not Synced
That's good.
-
Not Synced
Two precolonial traditions
like Puni weaving
-
Not Synced
and river communities
like Pamarawan,
-
Not Synced
that hold generations
of untold stories.
-
Not Synced
I'm going to order everything.
-
Not Synced
Bulacan isn't just historic,
it's alive.
-
Not Synced
I'm here to relearn everything I can
about this province,
-
Not Synced
its past, how it identifies itself
in the present,
-
Not Synced
and where it sees itself
in the future.
-
Not Synced
Searching for a part
of the Philippines
-
Not Synced
that's often buried
under overdevelopment
-
Not Synced
and fast-rising buildings.
-
Not Synced
With me are Ninong Ry,
Chelsea Manalo—
-
Not Synced
Ms. Universe Philippines 2024
and proud Bulaceña,
-
Not Synced
and Bong Enriquez—
keeper of culture and son
-
Not Synced
of culinary legend Mila Enriquez.
-
Not Synced
We're not just here for the food,
we're here to uncover
-
Not Synced
the pride, passion,
and people that make Bulacan
-
Not Synced
more than a page in our past.
-
Not Synced
Our first stop takes us right
into the heart of Malolos,
-
Not Synced
at a place that's practically
a landmark.
-
Not Synced
Established in 1970s,
Citang's Eatery
-
Not Synced
is a local institution known
for its staggering spread
-
Not Synced
of kakanin (rice cakes)
and meryenda staples,
-
Not Synced
each one proudly made in-house
every single day.
-
Not Synced
If you grew up in Bulacan,
this place is part
-
Not Synced
of your childhood.
-
Not Synced
And if you didn't,
well, what are you waiting for?
-
Not Synced
So overwhelmed.
-
Not Synced
I don't think I've seen
this much choice in a long time.
-
Not Synced
There's some menu items.
-
Not Synced
There's hot food for takeaway.
-
Not Synced
There is lots of rice cakes.
-
Not Synced
What is your bestseller?
-
Not Synced
- Mostly rice cakes.
-
Not Synced
- So this one?
-
Not Synced
So everything's galapong?
-
Not Synced
So the kutsinta, palitaw...
-
Not Synced
- Yeah.
-
Not Synced
- Okay.
-
Not Synced
Sapin-sapin.
-
Not Synced
Relyenong bangus.
They have everything.
-
Not Synced
Tuyo, embutido, siomai.
-
Not Synced
Wow.
-
Not Synced
I'm going to order everything.
-
Not Synced
- Our bestseller rice cake
is the 7-in-1—
-
Not Synced
kutsinta, sapin-sapin,
bibingka, tamales, and biko.
-
Not Synced
There's so much,
because we have orders.
-
Not Synced
We also have riders ordering
from our page,
-
Not Synced
then they deliver it.
-
Not Synced
***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.
-
Not Synced
- Every person we've asked
about Bulacan
-
Not Synced
and where to go in Bulacan—
-
Not Synced
Citang's keeps being repeated,
and people tell us
-
Not Synced
we have to come here.
-
Not Synced
What's great is they make
their rice cakes fresh
-
Not Synced
during the day
so there's a constant batch
-
Not Synced
of new rice cakes coming.
-
Not Synced
So we got some goto,
some cejos.
-
Not Synced
First time I've seen
a deep-fried egg called cejo.
-
Not Synced
We have some pork here
and some tokwa.
-
Not Synced
What?!
-
Not Synced
Who's that for?
-
Not Synced
For us?
-
Not Synced
- Yes.
-
Not Synced
- Wow. That's a lot.
-
Not Synced
(chuckles)
-
Not Synced
I have never seen rice cakes
in like a pizza box.
-
Not Synced
It's a new thing.
-
Not Synced
- That's all the seven bestsellers.
-
Not Synced
- The seven bestsellers.
-
Not Synced
Wow. Thank you so much.
-
Not Synced
There's no way
I'm eating seven pieces.
-
Not Synced
This, I can't eat the whole thing.
-
Not Synced
Let's do happy pride.
-
Not Synced
I am a fan of sapin-sapin.
-
Not Synced
I actually like it
in this kind of small format.
-
Not Synced
I'm used to the big slices
of sapin-sapin.
-
Not Synced
This is nice.
-
Not Synced
Much, much softer
than the sapin-sapin
-
Not Synced
I'm used to.
-
Not Synced
The sapin-sapin I'm used to
kind of...
-
Not Synced
usually the ube layer kind
of like pulls out and stretches.
-
Not Synced
This one's really nice and soft.
-
Not Synced
I started the segment saying
I wouldn't try everything.
-
Not Synced
I literally just tried everything.
-
Not Synced
After trying all their rice cakes,
I needed a walk.
-
Not Synced
As we made our way
through Malolos Bayan,
-
Not Synced
we passed the storied streets
of the old district.
-
Not Synced
Declared a National
Historic Landmark
-
Not Synced
by the NHCP in 2021.
-
Not Synced
These ancestral homes
have witnessed revolutions,
-
Not Synced
gatherings, and generations
of tradition.
-
Not Synced
It's a perfect setting
for our next stop—
-
Not Synced
Bistro Maloleño.
-
Not Synced
Here, Bulacan's culinary soul
is kept alive
-
Not Synced
through the legacy of one woman—
Mila Enriquez.
-
Not Synced
A tireless champion
of Bulaceño gastronomy,
-
Not Synced
Mila spent her life researching,
preserving, and documenting
-
Not Synced
heirloom recipes,
many of which would
-
Not Synced
have been lost to time
without her.
-
Not Synced
Today, her son, Bong Enriquez,
continues that mission,
-
Not Synced
sharing the flavors
that once graced noble homes
-
Not Synced
and town fiestas alike.
-
Not Synced
Can you tell me about Milagros?
-
Not Synced
I mean, she's watching
over us now.
-
Not Synced
- Yeah. She's watching over us.
-
Not Synced
My mom's from Malolos,
walking distance from here.
-
Not Synced
13 in the family.
-
Not Synced
- Her and her siblings
and everything?
-
Not Synced
- All of them,
especially the men,
-
Not Synced
they would go to market
by themselves.
-
Not Synced
- Okay.
-
Not Synced
- So my mom was there
and she got interested in cooking.
-
Not Synced
Well, not for commercial
or anything
-
Not Synced
but plain house cooking.
-
Not Synced
- Okay.
- Okay?
-
Not Synced
She married my dad
who's from Bulacan, Bulacan—
-
Not Synced
Jacinto Ycasiano Enriquez.
-
Not Synced
How did she get into this?
-
Not Synced
Because we have a household cook,
-
Not Synced
old household cook,
by the name of Ba Pedro.
-
Not Synced
We call him Ba Pedro.
-
Not Synced
Ba Pedro's dad...
-
Not Synced
The father of Ba Pedro
was the cook of the friars
-
Not Synced
in the convent of Bulacan, Bulacan.
-
Not Synced
- Okay.
-
Not Synced
- You know how
the friars were, right?
-
Not Synced
- Yeah, yeah.
-
Not Synced
- They love good food.
- They love to feast
-
Not Synced
and love to eat well. Yeah.
-
Not Synced
- And Ba Pedro became the cook
of our family,
-
Not Synced
of the family of my grandfather,
Enriquez household.
-
Not Synced
And so when my mom
and my dad got married,
-
Not Synced
they stayed
in our ancestral house.
-
Not Synced
You know, the old style
of cooking?
-
Not Synced
There was no measuring cups,
measuring teaspoons,
-
Not Synced
or whatever.
-
Not Synced
- It's just tasa (cup), half tasa.
-
Not Synced
- One pinch of salt.
You know, the type.
-
Not Synced
Would start cooking
at around 4:00 in the afternoon...
-
Not Synced
in the morning,
and he would end up
-
Not Synced
at around 10:00 in the evening.
-
Not Synced
- The whole day.
-
Not Synced
- The whole day.
-
Not Synced
There's fire in...
-
Not Synced
And my mom got interested,
-
Not Synced
because the food
of Ba Pedro was good.
-
Not Synced
After that, when she
was interested in getting
-
Not Synced
all of these recipes,
-
Not Synced
because she was from Malolos,
so she had a lot of friends here
-
Not Synced
in Malolos,
-
Not Synced
and they encouraged my mom,
-
Not Synced
"Why don't you do the research
of the food
-
Not Synced
of Bulacan, Bulacan, of Malolos?"
-
Not Synced
You know.
-
Not Synced
- And for you, so I'm guessing,
growing up,
-
Not Synced
you grew up with
some very good food?
-
Not Synced
- Of course.
-
Not Synced
- So your mother was also cooking
the food that she put here?
-
Not Synced
- Although I don't know
how to cook, okay?
-
Not Synced
But I know the taste of my mom.
-
Not Synced
- I'm used to very sweet
Filipino ham for Christmas.
-
Not Synced
I'm guessing it's something
along those lines.
-
Not Synced
So Milagros got to work.
-
Not Synced
She interviewed
the older generation in Bulacan
-
Not Synced
and talked to all
the household cooks.
-
Not Synced
Eventually, she had enough
and she realized that the food
-
Not Synced
in the Philippines evolve
depending on our history,
-
Not Synced
which is why the recipes
in her book are separated
-
Not Synced
in historical chapters,
from precolonial dishes
-
Not Synced
to the post-American period.
-
Not Synced
Bong considers
this Sunday's best food,
-
Not Synced
dishes that families used
to gather for after church
-
Not Synced
while being dressed aptly
for the occasion.
-
Not Synced
On the menu on Bistro Maloleño
are some of the favorite foods
-
Not Synced
of the historical figures
of Bulacan.
-
Not Synced
Many of these recipes
are disappearing,
-
Not Synced
and due to their laborious
cooking procedures,
-
Not Synced
are no longer being made
in homes.
-
Not Synced
For us, we had some
Hamonado Bulaceña—
-
Not Synced
pork ham with caramelized sugar
done in front of you
-
Not Synced
with a searing hot
stainless spoon
-
Not Synced
and a pineapple gravy.
-
Not Synced
A dish served to celebrate
the revolution.
-
Not Synced
Tinola ni Jose Rizal,
where it was reported
-
Not Synced
by his descendants,
-
Not Synced
her preferred having this soup
with squash
-
Not Synced
and a little bit of brown sugar
over the usual papaya.
-
Not Synced
And finally, Pochero de
Marcelo del Pilar,
-
Not Synced
which was a Sunday favorite
of this lawyer
-
Not Synced
and leading propagandist
of the Philippine reform movement
-
Not Synced
against Spanish colonial rule
in the late 19th century.
-
Not Synced
A hardy mix of pork,
beef, and lots of chorizo.
-
Not Synced
A statement to Spain—
your flavors may have infiltrated
-
Not Synced
our palates, but we will still eat
in the way that we see fit.
-
Not Synced
So when something happens once,
-
Not Synced
you can call it a coincidence.
-
Not Synced
But it keeps happening.
-
Not Synced
There must be a reason
behind it.
-
Not Synced
Why do you think so much
has happened historically
-
Not Synced
in Bulacan in terms
of the heroes
-
Not Synced
that have come out of it,
-
Not Synced
the...
-
Not Synced
you know, the landmark
kind of constitution
-
Not Synced
that was set here,
-
Not Synced
the dinners that were had?
-
Not Synced
Why do you think Bulacan
is so important
-
Not Synced
in the Filipino context?
-
Not Synced
- Because there are so many
historical events
-
Not Synced
that happened here in Bulacan,
especially in Malolos.
-
Not Synced
The Malolos Congress, you know?
-
Not Synced
And the liberation of Bulacan,
and so on and so forth.
-
Not Synced
History is the one that...
-
Not Synced
- That shapes the place.
- Yeah.
-
Not Synced
That's put Bulacan in the map
of the Philippines.
-
Not Synced
- Is there a strong culture
here still of people
-
Not Synced
really considering
themselves Bulaceño
-
Not Synced
and not just a northern province
next to Metro Manila?
-
Not Synced
- Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
-
Not Synced
A lot of people are saying
that they're proud Bulaceños.
-
Not Synced
Although we're very near Manila,
most of the Bulaceños,
-
Not Synced
they worked in Manila,
they studied in Manila,
-
Not Synced
so you know...
-
Not Synced
But still, they're very proud
of the heritage of Bulacan,
-
Not Synced
and that includes the cuisine.
-
Not Synced
- The food here was rich,
heavy, and full of love,
-
Not Synced
the type of dishes
you come to expect
-
Not Synced
from your grandmother—
generous in flavor
-
Not Synced
and etched in your memory.
-
Not Synced
None of it would be here
without the work
-
Not Synced
of another woman—Rheeza.
-
Not Synced
Rheeza Santiago-Hernandez,
one of Bulacan's
-
Not Synced
foremost culinary
and heritage advocates,
-
Not Synced
was by Bong's grandmother's side
taking note
-
Not Synced
of all her recipes
and making sure
-
Not Synced
that they're properly passed on
to all Filipinos.
-
Not Synced
Rheeza passed away
a few years ago,
-
Not Synced
but similar to her
Aunt Milagros Enriquez,
-
Not Synced
she now lives in the ideas
and the purpose
-
Not Synced
that she shared with all of us.
-
Not Synced
While history tends
to tell tales of men,
-
Not Synced
we've seen over and over again
that women play
-
Not Synced
an equally important role
in the formation of our nation.
-
Not Synced
A more recent addition to the line
of Bulaceñas
-
Not Synced
to be remembered
is Chelsea Manalo,
-
Not Synced
Ms. Philippines 2024.
-
Not Synced
She shook the scene
when she won the crown,
-
Not Synced
in a country that tends
to associate fair skin
-
Not Synced
with the apex of beauty.
-
Not Synced
She was born and raised
in Meycauayan
-
Not Synced
and told us to meet her
at Francia's.
-
Not Synced
People from all over the Luzon
make the drive to Francia's
-
Not Synced
just for their fluffy puto.
-
Not Synced
***- Basta kung ano yung magandang bigas, yun ang kinukuha. Yun lagi ang hinahanap namin, di kami naghahanap na kasi mura yun ang kukunin ko. Lagi kami on top ng presyo ng bigas, yung quality ng bigas. one to 20 years, ako ang nangangasiwa lahat. Di ko talaga binabago. Kung mapapasarap ko pa, ganun ang ginagawa ko. Di ako nagbababa, hahanapin ko yung mababang presyo. Laging quality.
-
Not Synced
- You know why Francia's
is one of my favorites?
-
Not Synced
It's not just because
it's known in Bulacan,
-
Not Synced
it's also because here
in Bulacan,
-
Not Synced
we like to feast.
-
Not Synced
When there's always
a celebration,
-
Not Synced
there'll always be puto
on the table setting.
-
Not Synced
And then, I grew up
wherein my grandmother,
-
Not Synced
my mom, my uncle,
and even my cousins,
-
Not Synced
they all have the tradition
of bringing puto in our house
-
Not Synced
whenever they'll bring pasalubongs.