dine•o•crat

On another trip to Claude Tayag and Mary Ann Quioc's Bale Dutung in Pampanga, Philippines, I tried the special menu with lechon. In addition to some of the more customary fare at the restaurant , such as fern salad and balo-balo, the famous whole roast pork of the Philippines is also served. If you're a fan of this Filipino pork preparation, you should try to time your reservation at the renowned Capampangan food spot when the menu includes it. It's served in the following ways: traditionally, i.e., the meat chopped straight from the just-cooked pig all skin, in my opinion the best part, at least when it's still  hot and cripsy as paksiw na lechon , a more vinegary preparation as filling for Korean tacos, with the meat fried and shredded like pork floss and sisig, the spicy and sour concoction made from pig's ears. Here's Claude about to cut up and carve the roast. The first serving you'll receive is the meat of the pork. Get it while it's h...

Bale Dutung (Wood House) is a restaurant within artist Claude Tayag's house-cum-studio. It specializes in the regional cuisine of Pampanga or Capampangan food. It's located in Angeles City, long known for being home to Clark Air Base. Nowadays, it's known as one of the Philippines's gastronomic centers, a reputation that has elicited many a trip through the bustling province. I've had lunch there several times and it's quite an experience each time. It satisfies gastronomically and intellectually. While Claude (pronounced "cloud") stays mostly behind the scenes in the open kitchen, Mary Ann Quioc, Claude's wife, puts on a show. She tells a story behind each of the dishes. It may be a dish's history or an anecdote, and it provokes the intellect or whets the appetite, or both. Mary Ann graciously started us out with an ideal blend of dalandan juice and muscovado sugar ice cubes. Because of the nature of muscovado sugar—or inuyat as Capampanga...