Pinac: Crispy Hito Balls, Mustasa at Buro, Atbp!

Happy Independence Day! How did you remember this momentous event? My husband and I had an all-day Filipino dishes. Our lunch was at a newly opened Filipino restaurant in Ayala Triangles, it's called Simple Lang, dinner at M. Cafe. I will tell you about our lunch on a separate blog post. Meanwhile, let me share with you a worth visiting Kapampangan restaurant at the heart of U.P. Town Center. 

Have you experienced a Kapampangan food tour? Well, I did about a year ago. There's no question how mouth-watering, unique and tasty Kapampangan dishes are. Kapampangans really cook well. I can still remember step mom cooking ginisang mais (sauteed corn), easy to prepare simple and delicious. That was many years ago. 

Fast forward, about a week ago we visited Pinac Heirloom restaurant in U.P. Town Center. The restaurant serves Kapampangan cuisines of Candaba. 

Thirst-quencher Dalandan with Cucumber smoothie deserves a mention. It was really good, perfectly blended, light and refreshing. We're not even talking about how healthy and nutritious it is!

I love the fresh, crunchy ensaladang pako or Fiddle fern with salted egg, green mangoes, cucumber and tomatoes. It was served with Pinac's special vinaigrette and topped with deep fried itik floss. Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss (P125) 

Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss

I'm not a fan of buro but it's okay to try it once in a while just to have an idea of its flavor. Buro is the Filipino term for "preserve" or "pickled" so it has a sour-salty taste, sometimes foul smelling. Surprisingly, Pinac's special buro doesn't smell bad. The hito balls may not look big in this photo but actual size was okay. For me, one is enough. To enjoy it, spread  buro on mustasa leaf then add hito ball/balls and wrap. Be sure to add the dip/vinaigrette. 

Pinac's Crispy Hito Balls, Mustasa at Buro was fantastic. This was one of my favorites. 

Pinac's Crispy Hito Balls, Mustasa at Buro

The main entree came one by one..

Prawn Thermidor (P395) 

Roughly chopped prawns and mushrooms with delicious cream sauce in a bed of baguette served with side salad. 

Prawn Thermidor 

We tried this plate that comes with generous servings of rice, veggie and lengua. Braised Ox Tongue in red wine and shitake sauce. The sauce was creamy, meat was tender and juicy. Carrots and french beans were crunchy and serving was big enough to share. 

Braised Ox Tongue in red wine and shitake sauce

Here's another one, meat-tender beef salpicao.

Beef salpicao

Pork Knuckle carefully cooked with aromatics in six hours to achieve that fall off the bone, tender and juicy meat. Pinac's Crispy Pata (P645) comes with Kapampangan atchara as a side dish. 

Pinac's Crispy Pata

Another fall off the bone dish was the tasty Smoked beef ribs (Smoked Tadyang) with Yellow Mango Chutney (P625). I like the combination of different flavors, smokey flavor with a little sweetness and saltiness on the side. 

Smoked beef ribs

Do you eat hito or catfish? Pinac serves Adobong Hito sa Alagaw (P185). Tangle or Alagaw also called fragrant premna, it's an aromatic herb and used in Kapampangan cuisine. If you're not a fan of hito or haven't tried it before, just think of your regular fish adobo. 

Adobong Hito sa Alagaw

It's impossible to miss the dessert so we had four kinds..

Smooth and rich Calamansi Panna Cotta and Dulce De Leche Cheesecake 

Calamansi Panna Cotta and Dulce De Leche Cheesecake

Brazo de Mais at Salabat (P185) - Meringue filled with creamy custard, served with hot ginger tea.

Brazo de Mais at Salabat

Brazo de Mais compliments well with the ginger tea. The tea was light and refreshing, it washes away the flavors of the food we had earlier. Brazo de mais was okay, soft meringue and the custard was less sweet. 

A dessert we are all familiar, halo-halo (P125) topped with ice cream.

halo-halo

Have you tried Pinac Kapampangan cuisine? What was your favorite? If not, from above photos which one do you like to try?


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