Amateur Chef and Boozy Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish
Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish
I just have to do a little segway into one of my all-time favourite Filipino dishes. The most amazing Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish. I don’t know if you ever read my version of this blog for the Thai dish Larb Gai? Well, this is just some exposure to how different the same dish can be. In this case, it is showing differences in the dish on the same island in The Philippines. And the difference is quite exceptional as you will see from the photos.
This is what I love about food. This is not even a regional variance. This is like 200 yards apart variance. So what is Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish? A little bit of DaddyPedia here. It’s a dish from the 17th Century, I kid you not when it got its first mention in a Kapampangan dictionary. It’s usually made from chicken liver and various bits of a pigs head. Then you normally season it with calamansi, onions, chilli peppers, top it with a raw egg and serve on a sizzling platter. The word, apparently, means to snack on something sour and salad.
I stole this from Wikipedia, but man oh man are Filipina’s serious about their food, and Sisig. Sisig has been a culinary tradition of Pampanga and the Kapampangan people feel very strongly about it to the point that they declared Sizzling Sisig Babi (pork) as an intangible heritage of Angeles City through a city ordinance. City Ordinance No. 405, Series of 2017 “An ordinance declaring Sizzling Sisig Babi as an intangible cultural heritage of Angeles City, and establishing systems and policies in safeguarding the original recipe of Sizzling Sisig, providing mechanisms of implementation, and for other related purposes. WOW!!! Go Sisig!!! You clearly have earned your name on the map!!!
I even had a crack at making my very own version of Sisig, using what I had available at the time. Luncheon Meat and Corned Beef. It came out pretty dam well actually. Have a look HERE AT THE RECIPE if you fancy having a crack. Pretty simple and bloody delicious!!! See what I mean re Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish? There is even my version.
First up is this fiery little number. And this is a belter, off the charts good. Jowel, ears, liver, crispy skin bits. It came sizzling like it was on fire. I had this with the occasional dip of native sauce = vinegar, soy, chilli, Calamansi. This was served at one of my favourite places in Tagbilaran. Eaten whilst sitting with family, overlooking the sea, full of locals chatting away, and of course with an icy cold San Mig. Yes, this is heaven!Unassuming little hawker type restaurant in Tagbilaran City, Luisa Gallery Shopping Centre. And here she is Fiesta Bol-anon Cuisine. Everything is cracking here and so so cheap, but I am in for the Sisig.Check that bad boy out. You stir the egg in whilst the skillet is still hot and it sort of scrambles it. An absolute cracker!Next up we are off to The Bellevue Resort, on Panglao Island. This is yet another sublime version of Sisig. Maybe tailored a little more to the Western palate with roast pork belly and crackling in there, with not so much pig ears and liver. Anyway, whatever it is a really really good Sisig. A must try if you happen to stay at the hotel, and by the way what a hotel it is.Now how about eating this incredible Sisig whilst looking at these beautiful things with that view behind them. I’ll take that any day of the week thanks!Next stop is The BBC, AKA Bohol Beach Club. This place is VERY exclusive You can’t just rock up here for lunch, you can’t use the beach etc. You have to be staying here. The food was really very good, I loved the Bulalo served on a hot skillet – more of that on another blog. But I did go Sisig this day. Nicely done, even with your own guy prepping at the tableside. A very nice touch BBC.Sad to say though BBQ, ‘Aunty’ let you down on your Sisig. It was not so good. I had to return the first one to ask them to cook it more and crisp the pork more. They sent a new one and pretty much did the same. It was gooey and slimy. It’s the only way I can describe it. Not good BBC. I will not be ordering that again from The BBC. Last on my list for this trip. “Needs Improvement” is your scorecard.But with a view like that how can one complain?And the final one for this trip was at yet another absolutely stunning location. The very first hotel I ever stayed at in The Philippines. Much has changed there since then, but one thing remains it is a wonderful resort hotel, in a stunning part of the world that also happens to serve some of the best food ever. This is the very hotel that Chef Raphael used to be Executive Chef at before creating his own place, Smoque Bistro & Bar. The Sisig does not disappoint. It’s a stunner. Nicely spicy this one. Crispy fat lumps too as you can see from the photo. Yeah, this one is top drawer and should be something you must try if dining at The Amorita. Oh yeah, mandatory is that you have an icy cold Pilsen with this. You just must!And if I must look up from my food, who better to look at than my gorgeous kids, with the stunning seas of Panglao Island behind them. Our last meal, for Amy and I, before leaving the next day. Extremely sad of course. But my food memories live on.
So there you have it, folks. One of my all-time favourite food dishes from The Philippines. Sisig, the multi-personality Filipino dish. This would absolutely be on my death-row cuisine list. Maybe not the one from The BBC though. It’s so simple, but versatile in the same breath. I have eaten tonnes of this and every single version has been different. For this trip, I really liked the cheapest and more traditional version from Fiesta. In fact crazily cheap and good all in one. Great work you guys – just stunning. So if you happen to be in Bohol and/of Panglao you have a few recommendations above of where to get your Sisig fix. Get in a tricycle and get chomping. Here’s hoping you do, and here’s hoping you do!
