This is going to be a good year, I can tell! It’s a bit premature to announce but I can spare a few details. A small group in Sta. Rita is working on documenting heritage recipes. We are doing our best to be systematic and along with cooking the recipes, we’re also trying to recreate full meals complete with the china and utensils used. Not only do we wish to recreate the art of cooking but the art of eating as well.

I am very particular with the condiment plates. I still vividly remember using a small, square saucer with a divider in the middle. This was where the fish sauce (patis), vinegar (aslam), and soy sauce (toyo) were poured for individual servings. They probably stopped selling them in shops a decade ago but thankfully I spotted several at a mall a few days ago. Perhaps the popularity of international and Asian food has brought this about. One thing I found out, the Chinese spoons we used for serving achara and other sour food are properly called duck spoons in English.

Our pinggang malucung (slightly deep plates) are actually versatile pieces which many Capampangans use to serve rice and saucy dishes but can also be used as soup plates for formal sit-down dinners. They can also be utilised to individually serve pasta and for leafy salads too. A friend who was a hotelier says these are always a good investment, especially for homes that entertain often. I’m buying more of those in the future.