I heart Bulacan: Bulacan Road Trip (First of Two Parts)

People were asking why we did it, and I say, why not? We’ve tried food-tripping in other places, why not do it in our own beloved province – Bulacan?

I initially just wanted to go back to Rosalie’s in Marilao because I loved their ube macapuno and I wanted to try their other delicacies, and maybe have bulalo for lunch at Consoling’s in Bocaue, and then drop by Eurobake in Guiguinto to buy inipit as pasalubong, but Jeremy Bourdain had another idea. If we are to go food tripping in Bulacan, we have to take it seriously, because our integrity is at stake.

We tried to cover as many towns as possible but due to time constraints, the traffic and the weather, we managed to try the specialty in only 12 towns, namely, Marilao, Meycauayan, Guiguinto, Malolos City, Paombong, Hagonoy, Pulilan, Baliuag, San Miguel, San Ildefonso, Plaridel, and Sta. Maria. Not bad for a 12-hour food slash road trip. Note that for this particular trip, we limited ourselves to tasting one product per town.

So here is a list of some of the finest food to try when in Bulacan (in no particular order).

1. Sevilla’s Pastillas de Leche in San Miguel, Bulacan. Who knew sugar and carabao's milk can taste so heavenly? These goodies literally melt in your mouth and make the trip to faraway San Miguel worth it. They also have macapuno mix packed in microwavables so one can enjoy a spoonful of pastillas anytime. They also have pastillas yema, pastillas de langka and pastillas de queso. A pack of 24 pastillas costs Php50.

Pastillas de Leche

Their other products look delectable too.
Macapuno Balls

Espasol

2. Eurobake’s Inipit, in Guiguinto, Bulacan. I've written about Eurobake's specialty for a feature-writing class in college. This pastry with custard in the middle has become a bit pricey, but a trip to Bulacan would not be complete without tasting this fare. The inipit bunso pack costs Php126. My favorite product from this store, though, is their turones de mani.

Inipit

Eurobake's products

3. Minia’s Seafood Special, in Hagonoy, Bulacan. We came to eat seafood in Hagonoy and we had low expectations when we saw the dishes in Minia's. No seafood in sight. But a fellow photographer confirmed that they do serve seafood in Minia's and so we ordered their Seafood Special (Php240 per order). We didn't know what to expect, and our hopes were kinda low as we waited for the food.

Imagine our surprise when we tasted our dish. Ours was an assortment of seafood - mussels, prawns, bits of crab cooked in coconut milk and served on a hot plate. The seafood tasted fresh and the coconut milk tasted just right, its richness was tempered by the taste of celery.

The dish does not only taste great, it looks perfect, too!





4. Sukang Sasa in Paombong, Bulacan. We planned to buy suka first, then chicharon in Sta Maria later. We were already in Paombong and we were asking, "where's the vinegar?" and we passed by stall after stall of vinegar stored in recycled softdrink bottles - not exactly what we had in mind. Then we saw Aling Florentina Clemente's row of earthen jars in front of her house. Jackpot! Also, she readily answered our questions and gamely posed for the cameras.

Sukang Paombong is thicker than the usual commercial vinegar, its flavor more intense.







5. Dolores’s Chicharon, Sta. Maria, Bulacan. Now we cheated on this part of the trip. Because Dolores's was just after Bocaue Exit and the traffic was horrendous, we were forced to take the Marilao Exit (I would have loved a second go at Rosalie's!) and we ended up in the town proper of Sta. Maria. We looked for chicharon, any chicharon, and we found some beside the church. Not the best chicharon in town, but still delicious. I think chicharon is a lot like love, it makes your heart skip a beat - literally.





Coming up: I heart Bulacan: Part Two.###