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Friday, March 29, 2024

Feliza’s heirloom recipes

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At the turn of the 20th century, the house of Feliza Diokno, private secretary of the late President Emilio Aguinaldo for 45 years, was built in Taal, Batangas. Aside from keeping in order Aguinaldo’s official affairs, she also served as secretary and treasurer-general of the Asociacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion (Association of Revolutionary Veterans), which worked to ensure that former rebel fighters had access to land and pensions.

Diokno’s two-story house, with a lovely azotea where a 26-year old balete tree now grows, has since been converted into a charming bed and breakfast place called Feliza Café y Taverna. Framed black and white photographs, a peacetime flag, and elaborate 19th century dining pieces welcome guests, mostly expatriates who are eager to relive history in Taal which, aside from being hailed as the balisong and barong Tagalog capital of the Philippines, has been declared as a heritage town by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

Pancit 1913, an heirloom recipe made of miki-bijon topped with pork, shrimp, tofu, egg and chicharon

“We wanted our menu to reflect not just the rich history of our country, in general, but also of Batangas, in particular,” Chef Giney Villar told Manila Standard.

“We offer what we call heirloom recipes. These are recipes that are passed on from one generation to another and are guarded closely. After all, cooking food is power. And even if you want to, you cannot just buy these recipes: you have to earn the right to cook these food,” she added.

Sinaing na tulingan, which takes three days to prepare

An example of these would be the restaurant’s Chicken Relleno 1940s with salsa monja (P300). The dish, which takes two days to prepare, is based on a recipe that is close to eight decades old now. The roasted chicken is stuffed with chorizo, ham, quezo de bola, and dried fruits, and is served with green beans toasted in garlic and roasted potatoes or rice. Salsa monja, or nun’s sauce, is an appetizer made of pickles, shallots, and olives that is said to date back to the Spanish period when nuns prepared it to accompany main courses.

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There is also the Pancit 1913 (P315), which harks back to the early 1900s when Filipinos would line up for pancit and gulaman. The miki-bijon is topped with pork, shrimp, tofu, egg, fried garlic, and chicharon.

Chicken relleno 1940s, served with salsa monja and roasted potatoes

Villar also prepared dishes which, she said “any self-respecting Taal household would serve.”

These include Adobo sa Dilao (P235) with the chicken cooked in fresh turmeric, garlic, onion, and vinegar until the meat is tender in its own sauce, and is served with singkamas and mango salad. It is Batangas’ own version of the more common adobo that is cooked in soy sauce. (There are other versions across the country, such as Adobong Pula cooked in atsuete and Adobong Puti, which uses only salt.)

Taal’s Adobo sa Dilao, which uses turmeric instead of soy sauce

Another Taal dish is the Sinaing na Tulingan (P175) and Tapang Taal with spicy mango and papaya salad (P205). The tulingan is still made in the time-honored way of pressing the fish in a clay pot with dried kamias and slivers of pork fat for three days.

And of course, what is a Taal menu without steamed maliputo, a rare fish endemic only to Taal Lake. (A piece of trivia: maliputo and talakitok actually come from the same fry. If the fry from Pansipit River, the sole drainage outlet of Taal Lake that empties to Balayan Bay, goes to the ocean, it becomes talakitok with a bluish sheen. But if the fry remains in Taal Lake, it becomes the flavorful maliputo, with yellow streaks instead.)

Taal suman served two ways

For dessert, Feliza cafe offers Taal Suman ala Feliza (P100) which is sweetened sticky rice served two ways – traditional and deep fried – and comes with three dips: Batangas tablea, coconut cream, and mango purée; and Bunuelos con Tsokolate – lightly crisped, melt-in-your-mouth puff balls that were once known as Suspiros de Monja or nun’s sigh.

If only for the dishes at this heritage house-turned-cafe, the three-hour trip to Taal town from Manila is worth it. Feliza’s azotea beckons, as does her kitchen.

For feedback, send comments to 

joyce.panares@gmail.com

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