# Lumpia And Other Good Local Foods



## Pheonix (Aug 7, 2013)

Just out of curiosity, is anyone familiar with both Angeles City area and Baguio area? One of the main reasons I had my sights on the AC area (not necessarily on AC itself,) was the local foods. My best friends wife was from there, and I loved her cooking (except when she went crazy on some of the fish dishes.) When we visited, I loved to foods while I was there (Odobo, Lumpia, Pansit, for examples.) When I read on the local foods in Davao (another city suggested,) I couldn't find any similarities, which is why I moved it way down my personal list. On the other hand, I've been reading on the climate in the Baguio area, and I really like what I've read  Again, wouldn't expect to live in Baguio itself (as it is a tourist town,) but close enough to remain in contact with any expat presence, and access the town when I can.


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

Those dishes (Adobo, Pancit and Lumpia) are everywhere and not confined to just Angeles City. They are national dishes and i love them too, though Lumpia and Adobo is hardly the healthiest of foods lol.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

I don't know why but I rarely find lumpia, I think it's a conspiracy! Easier for me to get it in the US it seems lol. Hotel restaurant doesn't have it...Filipino restaurant I go to at Mall of Asia doesn't have it, can't catch a break.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Lumpia*

Check out "Chow King" local fast food, it's a regular item on their menu list. Lumpia is sort of pain to make and get right so that could be the reason they don't sell it every where, we sometimes get off the streets by neighbors but they use a vegetable version and its pretty good.

We end up making our own Lumpia but getting someone to ground the pork several times is a pain the grocery stores don't grind their pork well enough for Lumpia or Dim Sum... Monterey Meats does have an already pre-mixed ground up and ready to go sausage and we use that for Lumpia and Dim Sum and the key to great tasting meat or even sausage is in the grind it has to look like mush, my next toy for the kitchen is an electric meat grinder.


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

Also, check out the Chooks franchises. Chickens are their main deal but they also sell some good Lumpia. You will find it in markets and as street food too.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

I'll try those places, thanks!

I'm just too spoiled by how good my wife's family lumpia recipe is. I could make a fortune if I knew how to sell it lol. Lost 300 pieces when Hurricane Ike knocked out power in the Midwest for 5 days which really sucked. They're not the usual small tightly rolled type, these are nice and meaty. Vegetable type are great also.

Another thing is hot sauce, must have that on my lumpia and pork bbq. Most restaurants I found don't have it. I shipped a couple big bottles of Frank's Red Hot in my last balikbayan box so I'll have it when I'm back next week!


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

Ahh well if you can have it home cooked, what ya worrying about? Wish mine could cook that! Gonna see about finding the recipe and how to do it myself.

I can cook Adobo and Pancit, though my favourite at the moment is Chicken Curry.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

*Lumpia*



MikeynJenz said:


> Ahh well if you can have it home cooked, what ya worrying about? Wish mine could cook that! Gonna see about finding the recipe and how to do it myself.
> 
> I can cook Adobo and Pancit, though my favourite at the moment is Chicken Curry.



Well like McAlley said it is kind of a pain to make so I like to give her a break 

I don't think they really have a recipe, they just throw it all together and somehow its marvelous lol.

I think one factor why its so good is we wrap it raw and just fry it a long time to make sure it's cooked thru, most others cook the ingredients first then wrap.


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## Pheonix (Aug 7, 2013)

cvgtpc1 said:


> Another thing is hot sauce, must have that on my lumpia and pork bbq. Most restaurants I found don't have it. I shipped a couple big bottles of Frank's Red Hot in my last balikbayan box so I'll have it when I'm back next week!


You can't get Frank's Red Hot there?  OK, that changes everything!! Guess I'll have to buy a case or two to bring with me.....


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

*tabasco*



Pheonix said:


> You can't get Frank's Red Hot there?  OK, that changes everything!! Guess I'll have to buy a case or two to bring with me.....


I've seen Tabasco and the local Mama Sita hot sauce. Probably have Franks in the major expat stores, never been to the groceries people talk about here that have Western products.


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## raconnor (Oct 30, 2012)

Pheonix said:


> You can't get Frank's Red Hot there?  OK, that changes everything!! Guess I'll have to buy a case or two to bring with me.....


You can get Frank's Red Hot in most of the "foreign" sections of the mall grocery stores in Manila, from what I've seen. They typically only have the small bottles, though, so if you eat it often you might want to bring a case of the large bottles with you. 

Re: fried lumpia (lumpiang shanghai)... I find it different just about everywhere you get it. My wife can make a good version but we typically don't like deep frying things often because it's a pain. If we want something deep fried we usually eat out somewhere. The lumpia in "Chicken Savory" restaurant isn't too bad (though I don't like anything else there) and you can get lumpia in almost every carinederia you come across for a few pesos. 

I personally prefer fresh lumpia (lumpiang sariwa) with peanut sauce (similar to a fresh thai spring roll) and you can pick one of those up at one of the Max's chicken restaurants. 

As mentioned in other posts regarding adobo, etc., those are all national dishes and you can get them anywhere. 

Pancit just means "noodle" and there are a lot of different versions. 

Pancit canton are like cantonese style fried noodles (similar to Lo Mein); 
pancit bihon is glass noodles (rice vermicelli) typically with carrots and sliced green beans inside; 
pancit molo is a wanton wrapper dumpling noodle soup type thing; 
pancit palabok is thick rice noodles with a shrimp paste sauces, sliced eggs, and pork cracklings on top; 
pancit malabon is rice noodles thicker than palabok that sometimes has squid and shrimps

...and there are a lot more...

I lived in Baguio for a couple of years and the main expat hangout is Red Lion, on the road that leaves SM towards Mines View. You can get tacos, burgers, and stuff like that there if you get tired of the local fare. 

Baguio has the best Shawarma (sort of like a persian gyro if you're unfamiliar) that I've ever had and you can get some good street bbq if you go to the right vendor. 

As far as specific dishes to the Baguio region that you might not get elsewhere, you can get soup #5 there (though you might not want to) and dog meat. 

The best thing about Baguio as far as food goes, though, is the market. The climate is perfect for vegetables and fruits so you can get just about any ingredient you want picked fresh that day, any time of the year, for pennies.


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## jdavis10 (Oct 1, 2012)

Maybe not but they sure hit the spot. haha





MikeynJenz said:


> Those dishes (Adobo, Pancit and Lumpia) are everywhere and not confined to just Angeles City. They are national dishes and i love them too, though Lumpia and Adobo is hardly the healthiest of foods lol.


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## Pheonix (Aug 7, 2013)

I was mostly joking about the Franks Red Hot... Though I do love the stuff. The only thing that keeps me from drinking it straight from the bottle, is I don't want to be a goop  Generally, though, I tend to get the medium size bottle, and it usually lasts me a couple of months. I like it on some things, but not everything.

I seem to remember Lynn's lumpia as being crispy, but I don't remember her ever deep frying it. She didn't have anything to deep fry with. She generally made just cheese lumpia, and I think that's all I ever really got in AC while I was there. I don't know how to make it though.

Her pansit was basically just these absurdly thin noodles. I'm talking thread size. She made several kinds. Mostly with vegetables if I remember correctly. Again, never learned to make this.

She tended to cook her odobo to death though. She generally started it in the morning, and left it cooking very slow all day. Which is how I tend to cook it myself now. Marinade it over night, get up and throw it into the slow cooker, then forget about it until dinner. Add rice and enjoy  (though many times, I'll skip the rice, not very good at making rice that doesn't turn into mush or end up crunchy


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

This thread is making me extremely hungry...

Liempo is another favorite of mine but again not very healthy. Sometimes i wonder if she is trying to kill me via food lol.

Slow cooking the adobo sounds like an excellent idea. I can cook adobo myself but never thought of that.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

MikeynJenz said:


> This thread is making me extremely hungry...
> 
> Liempo is another favorite of mine but again not very healthy. Sometimes i wonder if she is trying to kill me via food lol.
> 
> Slow cooking the adobo sounds like an excellent idea. I can cook adobo myself but never thought of that.


Yea, same here. Really makes a person hungry reading these posts. My wife has good pork kaldereta cooking (Filipino stew) and I'm gonna get my fill--Hahaha. Funny, I have friends from the US, Australia and other places and many of them will not eat local foods at all or even try them. They don't know what they are missing. Good stuff!!


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Beef bone soup is one of my favorites, with the roasted garlic and spring onions added after along with patis and hot peppers. Another soup, corn beef with baby Bok choy or pechay chinese cabbage and diced potatoes plenty of roasted garlic and onions as the first step.

Going to make chinese duck soup tomorrow our 25th wedding anniversary along with American style spaghetti, I have three ducks and the water is starting to creep up to our house looks like another flood this year.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

*Great Food*



mcalleyboy said:


> Beef bone soup is one of my favorites, with the roasted garlic and spring onions added after along with patis and hot peppers. Another soup, corn beef with baby Bok choy or pechay chinese cabbage and diced potatoes plenty of roasted garlic and onions as the first step.
> 
> Going to make chinese duck soup tomorrow our 25th wedding anniversary along with American style spaghetti, I have three ducks and the water is starting to creep up to our house looks like another flood this year.


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!! That's quite a few years. 15 more years than us.
That food all sounds good except for the patis. 
Looks like a wet one this year for sure and hope your place stays dry. We're outside of Angeles out in the country and plenty of rain and high water here today. Feels good though and keeps things good and cool for a change.

Gene


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

Yes very Happy Anniversary mcalleyboy! I will have a beer or three for you tonight.

25 years wowsers! I am sitting 22 years behind you on that score lol.

And Gene yes this thread has made me so hungry, so much so that i have asked her to cook an hour earlier than usual and she has gone to the market whilst the rain has stopped. Adobo it is....


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

MikeynJenz said:


> Yes very Happy Anniversary mcalleyboy! I will have a beer or three for you tonight.
> 
> 25 years wowsers! I am sitting 22 years behind you on that score lol.
> 
> And Gene yes this thread has made me so hungry, so much so that i have asked her to cook an hour earlier than usual and she has gone to the market whilst the rain has stopped. Adobo it is....


Yea know whats gonna happen, we are all eat till we're fat and end up meeting each other at the doctors office--Hahaha!!!


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

cvgtpc1 said:


> I've seen Tabasco and the local Mama Sita hot sauce. Probably have Franks in the major expat stores, never been to the groceries people talk about here that have Western products.


Bicol express hot sauce is fantastic. Come on guys,you"re in the Philippines. Embrace the culture,you"re missing out........


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Thank you for the anniversary replies, I met my wife in Washington state I was 25 or 26 years old when we married there, I was stationed in Whidbey Is, WA search and rescue.

Gene the weather does feel so much better, I'm hoping it will taper off soon otherwise I will be need to get out the inner tube raft I constructed last year to get to and from the house, boy what a pain that was.

Bicol express that is one tasty dish, I had the chicken and slightly ripened papaya and hot peppers once...that was good, I think coconut milk is one of the ingredients in that dish, that's the secret to Bicol express and also making some terrific Currie I found that by adding coconut milk it comes out perfect every single time.


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

yep i always use coconut milk for the curry. Just mix it with some curry powder and you are good to go...love the stuff.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

*Hot Sauce*



lefties43332 said:


> Bicol express hot sauce is fantastic. Come on guys,you"re in the Philippines. Embrace the culture,you"re missing out........


Never heard of it, I'll have to look for it but the stores I go to been lucky if they even have the Mama Sita stuff. I go to the sticks!

Edit: Oh, looking back thru the thread Bicol Express is a restaurant it appears....never seen it!


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

*Kaldereta*



Gene and Viol said:


> My wife has good pork kaldereta cooking (Filipino stew) and I'm gonna get my fill--Hahaha.


Kaldereta, the first dish I was exposed to and some more memories. Mid-80s AC and Olive's Carinderia on Fields and across from Johnny's Supermarket. Both of us could eat for 20P including a Mirinda or a Coke, a buck at the time. Rarely ate those small hard peas in it lol. Anyway that was the life at the time!

We've been making it with boneless chicken lately and the Mama Sita kaldereta mix packet. Lazy but still seasoned perfect!

Plus plenty of Sriracha sprayed on...I put this stuff on everything besides cereal lol


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## MikeynJenz (Oct 8, 2012)

Has anyone tried soup number 5?


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## overmyer (Aug 15, 2013)

cvgtpc1 said:


> Kaldereta, the first dish I was exposed to and some more memories. Mid-80s AC and Olive's Carinderia on Fields and across from Johnny's Supermarket. Both of us could eat for 20P including a Mirinda or a Coke, a buck at the time. Rarely ate those small hard peas in it lol. Anyway that was the life at the time!
> 
> We've been making it with boneless chicken lately and the Mama Sita kaldereta mix packet. Lazy but still seasoned perfect!
> 
> Plus plenty of Sriracha sprayed on...I put this stuff on everything besides cereal lol


Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is GREAT! I've got a buddy stateside who keeps me well suplied via balikbayan box! I like "hot" spicy food but my wife and her family no so much. She endulges my tastes though - for lunch today she cooked up a batch if she calls 'dynamite' for me. She buys very large green chilis, stuffs them with a spicy meat mixture, breads them and fries them until crispy! Delicious!


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*siracha*



cvgtpc1 said:


> Kaldereta, the first dish I was exposed to and some more memories. Mid-80s AC and Olive's Carinderia on Fields and across from Johnny's Supermarket. Both of us could eat for 20P including a Mirinda or a Coke, a buck at the time. Rarely ate those small hard peas in it lol. Anyway that was the life at the time!
> 
> We've been making it with boneless chicken lately and the Mama Sita kaldereta mix packet. Lazy but still seasoned perfect!
> 
> Plus plenty of Sriracha sprayed on...I put this stuff on everything besides cereal lol


I have never seen that hot sauce here, that's a California hot sauce for sure and in most US grocery stores, sure miss that stuff, it was also found in all the California Chinese spots.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

Siracha...I noticed Siracha flavored Lay's and Jack Links jerky at Walmart the night before I left. I love the stuff but those two might be a bit much lol.


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