Celebrating 57 with old Manila’s culinary treasures
I celebrated my birthday—my 57th—quite differently this year. I decided to take my family and some of my closest friends to seven of my treasured churches around old Manila for a Jubilee pilgrimage tour, with side trips to some of my favorite museums.
I started the day with a birthday mass and breakfast at Bahay Nakpil in Quiapo, a heritage house built in 1914.
Descendants of Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesus were present. Bobbi Nakpil Santos Viola welcomed us to their ancestral home, while Dominic Faustino, the caretaker and executor of the family’s heirloom recipes, cooked my birthday breakfast.
For my special day, Faustino put together a menu that consisted of popular Quiapo fare.
The star of the early morning feast was the famous Cabeza de Jabili, a staple dish in all Nakpil celebrations. It is made with pork head that has been deboned, rolled, and stuffed with chorizo de Bilbao, dill pickles, carrots, and thinly sliced pork ears and tongue. The cabeza is wrapped tightly in muslin cloth then boiled for three hours. It is brought to room temperature, refrigerated, sliced and served cold.
During the olden days, the cabeza used for the recipe was that of wild boar. The family delicacy is presented and enjoyed alongside queso de bola, jamon and aceitunas aliñadas, with either bread and/or old-fashioned potato salad.
Faustino also whipped up adobong antiguo, particularly adobong puti, a precolonial recipe devoid of soy sauce. It is one of the Nakpil family’s favorite comfort foods.
Their adobo is prepared with chicken, liempo, chicken liver, chicken gizzard, and simple local ingredients such as sukang paombong and rock salt from Malolos or Cavite. To achieve the perfect Nakpil adobo, three heads of garlic are used. Back then, adobo was paired with molo soup or pochero and white rice.
Best of Quiapo
The breakfast spread mirrored the family’s menu from yesteryears, Faustino said. Then, the occupants of the Nakpil house would gather the best of Quiapo. There was always Excellente ham and bacon, and tinapang bangus, which Quiapo is famous for. Luckily, my birthday this year fell on a Friday, and tinapa is fresh on Fridays as there are many buyers, mostly devotees of the Black Nazarene.
Tinapa condiments like tomatoes, onions, and salted eggs are all purchased in the market right in front of Quiapo church.
Faustino was equally proud to serve the beef tapa he recreated from a recipe of their old cook from Bahay Nakpil. Thinly sliced sirloin beef with salt and white pepper, no preservatives, is gently seared and served with achara.
Pastil (rice wrapped in banana leaves, capped with slivered chicken cooked in lots of red onions, garlic, chilies, and a dash of soy for color) from Quiapo’s Muslim quarter completed the elaborate morning buffet.
As a refreshment, a juice dispenser full of freshly squeezed dalandan from the abundant carts of the dalandan vendors of Quiapo was served.
After breakfast, my guests sang the birthday song, and I blew my pretty birthday Burnt Butter Chiffon Cake by Marlene Monfort.
Old-time favorites
It was time to move and commence our Jubilee pilgrimage.
Our first stop was Quiapo church. Then the churches of Binondo, Manila Cathedral, then San Agustin and its captivating museum.
I was thrilled to walk with many of my family members and friends who were visiting the religious and cultural sights of Old Manila for the first time.
Birthday lunch was at the iconic Aristocrat, the first restaurant that championed Filipino cuisine in 1935.
We partook of old-time favorites: Corn Soup, Liempo and Boneless Chicken Barbecue, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pancit Canton, and Halo-Halo. The food that day was sublime. The barbecues were tender, the pancit ultra flavorful. The halo-halo was just as delectable as it’s always been.
The Mango Cake from the Aristocrat Bakeshop was also very good—old-fashioned chiffon cake slathered in no-frills buttercream icing with fresh mango chunks. I have Renz Navarra, the restaurant manager, to thank for the unforgettable meal.
Final blessing
After our quick lunch, we headed to Malacañang where director Louie Esquivel guided us around Bahay Ugnayan, a museum dedicated to the head of state’s journey to the presidency. Teus Mansion, the beautifully appointed and newly curated Presidential Museum, was our next stop.
Armed with tidbits of history, we continued on our Jubilee pilgrimage, visiting churches along the palace grounds. San Miguel and St. Jude were churches 5 and 6.
Our last stop was Sta. Ana Church, and the breathtaking, hidden chapel and dressing room of Our Lady of the Abandoned, the Camarin.
Our family friend, Fr. Salvador Agualada, who commenced the day with a thanksgiving mass, gave his final blessing; it was a most befitting way end to a day of nourishment in all its forms.
Before heading home, we celebrated even more at the Sta. Ana community center, where merienda was prepared by my dear friend, Vietnamese chef Thy Thy Chin. Her 12-hour beef pho infused with nine spices was unforgettable. We enjoyed it with crispy banh mi sandwiches with homemade liver paté, Vietnamese cold cut hams and grilled meat, and fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.
For dessert, we had Vietnamese-style pandan suman, with fresh coconut shaving fillings, melted palm sugar, and roasted sesame seeds, and a sweet potato soup—coconut milk with tapioca and sweet potato dumplings… a warm and hearty finish to a meaningful and memorable birthday.
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