A Taste for the Exotic at Copung Copung Grill, Angeles City

It was our second and last day in Pampanga and the last day of the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, and after the  fast food breakfast  amongst the balloons at Clark, we wanted something natural and  home-cooked.  Rene suggested we go to Copung Copung over at McArthur Highway, which  was just a short walk away from our hotel. Copung Copung  looks like your typical native restaurant, but  it is known to serve a number of exotic dishes unique to Pampanga. Best sellers include the roasted  crickets or camaro, and fried frogs, among other dishes. I've never had any of those before, so I was eager to try them out.

Going in  you will really see that the restaurant is going for a native,  laid-back vibe, one that makes you think you're just having lunch in your backyard. There's the restaurant whichis visible from the street, and then once you go in you are led to the back where bamboo cottages stand in a row. Large, square pillows are  strewn on the floor of each cottage, and there's a small table in the middle. Rene said something about the traditional way of sitting down on  the floor and eating on  low tables, so this must be how Kapampangans used to eat back in the day. The waitresses are in the native Filipiniana get-up too, which  adds to the authenticity of the place.




FOOD
Ah, the food. Where shall I begin?We ordered  the crickets, deep fried frog or betute, bulalo, and chicaron bulaklak. The camaro (crickets) were done adobo style, and looked like your typical Pinoy dish. I think it was sauteed in soy sauce and vinegar along with a few herbs, which gave the crickets a really tasty aroma. The crickets are rice field crickets, so this must mean that they are cleaner than your regular crickets. They are very juicy, although while eating them I felt like I was eating a cross between  hemp and shrimp.







I think the betute agreed with me more, but I found its skin to be a bit tough and leathery. I have no idea if that's how tough frog meat should be, but it was still tasty, a little bit like chicken meat. The frog was stuffed with diced vegetables and meat, which added  a bit of flavor. I had no problem picking the meat off the bone, since it was really just like eating chicken.

The chicharon bulaklak, ( deep fried pig intestines) was more familiar, so naturally we finished it first. It came mixed with onions, and none of the  tell-tale intestine-y smell that bad chicharon  have. It was crispy and was not oily at all, and  went well with the beef stew, which came piping hot in its own clay pot.

Paired with  rice wrapped in banana leaves (there's something about banana leaves that just makes rice smell soooo good!), everything came together to make one sumptuous lunch for four hungry travelers. To top it all off, I got to flex my 'try-anything-and-everything muscles. For a while  there I thought about completing my bucket list, since I could definitely cross off  'eat adobong crickets' and 'eat fried frogs' off.

Tasting Aling Lucing's Sisig for the First Time

When new-found travel buddies suggested that we head off to Aling Lucing's for dinner, I didn't know that I would finally get to taste the famous Pampanga sisig that even Anthony Bourdain crossed oceans and mountains  just to taste in Kitchen Confidential. Aling Lucing's is considered the best sisig  in Angeles, and  perhaps the entire Philippines. 

Aling Lucing's from the street. At dusk, not a lot of people, but this quickly changes when the clock hits 7.   Families in  SUVs  would start arriving and the place is packed in no time. 

According to Rene, who lives just an hour away from  Angeles City, Aling Lucing's serves the original sisig in the Philippines, although you would not know it just by looking at the place. When we arrived at around 6 pm, the place looked like any other carinderia in Dumaguete. There were dishes  displayed in front, and someone was preparing the grill right on the street. We did find photos of Anthony Bourdain on the wall, and he was grinning from ear to ear, so the sisig must be that good. 

We ordered the sisig, of course, and another dish called buro, which is fermented rice paste mixed with shrimps. You eat the rice with eggplant, okra, or lettuce. I had no idea  how buro would taste but I was in a  'try anything' mood (I was in  freakin' Pampanga, for Pete's sake!) and  if I could try it, then I would.  So we ordered that, and the guys ordered the usual BBQ chicken innards, which tastes really good, especially when paired with ice cold Coke.  

Aling Lucing's celeb patrons  taking time for photos. Anthony Bourdain! 

You choose what you want for dinner here. That's buro right there, right next to the shiny red tomatoes. 

The famous Aling Lucing's sisig! They  weren't kidding, it tasted really good. It was overflowing with onions, and the meat was soft and crunchy at the same time. They told me  that that they mix chicken liver in with the pork meat, so that gives the sisig  that distinct, nutty flavor. 

The buro and  eggplant and okra plate. We did eat all this stuff up (if I  remember correctly).

I don't know if you eat  buro as an apetizer, but  it certanly served the purpose for me. the rice was sour and sticky, and it had a sour smell   mixed in with the familiar burnt smell of cooked rice.  It felt weird when I tasted it for the first time, since it  looked like something that someone just threw up. But surprisingly, buro grows on you.  The taste gets better especially if you pair it with the  greens. 

Proof that I had a really great meal. For  my first night in Angeles City,  not bad! :)