Mila's Tokwa't Baboy

By GENE GONZALES

Pleasures of the Table

Pako Salad

MANILA, Philippines — In one of the events I had attended in Angeles City, Pampanga, I chanced upon the very friendly and young Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager of Century Hotel (at the back of PAGCOR) who had recommended Mila’s Tokwa’t Baboy located on San Andres St. Barangay Sto Domingo, Angeles City, Pampanga. This is very well known among residents of Angeles and San Fernando and has been an institution having been serving meals for more than two decades.

Mila’s is essentially an eatery that specializes in pork. It serves its sizzling sisig chopped in a crisp fried version rather than grilled and also serves a tokwa’t baboy version that I prefer because of the presence of more crisp pork ear cartilage on the mix. It also has a crispy pork face which is a rightful rival to crispy pata.

A truly and dangerously delicious order of chicken bulaklak sets me on the razor’s edge having its crisp gossamer exterior and a chewy but not fatty center that has been shed off of excess lard. Imang Mila’s kitchen truly knows how this delicacy is prepared because oftentimes, it is just an exercise in eating encased grease in other restaurants. The flavors are also clean and rid of the funk that comes with the serving of offal in many establishments.

Aside from the pork selections, many of my young companions found the pancit luglug to be deliciously “different”. It turns out this was made the old fashioned way using a good stock, a guisado using good rendered pork fat that gives you a very classic, country-style flavor. Mila’s is also very well known for its pako or fern salad. For 150 pesos, you can get a hefty platter, heaped with fresh fern tendrils, tomatoes, red onions and likerol slices of salted red duck egg. All you have to do is toss the sweet sour vinaigrette and the salad becomes a great side dish to cut the richness of the pork or meat courses.

Anybody who isn’t into pork can order the goat kaldereta which has been simmered to a decent tenderness and pairs itself to the cold beers they serve.

A word to those who linger and do marathon-style beer guzzling - the place is open only up to ten o’clock

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com and enjoy the taste of Southern Philippines.