Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Agoda.com announces top eco-friendly hotels 2012- Negros’ pride Nature’s Village Resort makes the cut



  • Agoda.com selects Top 10 eco-friendly hotels from its international network.
  • The Philippines garners one place – Negros Occidental’s Nature’s Village Resort in Bacolod.
  • Others in the list are hotels from more internationally prominent destinations such as Shanghai, Sarawak, Melbourne, Melaka, Barcelona, New Delhi and Bangkok. The hotel from Bacolod is another moment of Filipino pride.
  • Agoda.com’ CEO quote included in the press release.


SINGAPORE (October 31, 2012) – Agoda.com, Asia’s leading hotel booking site and part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN), today released its annual shortlist of eco-friendly hotels.

Far from being a fad or passing trend, the environmental impact of a hotel is now something that almost every property takes into account during the planning stage, as well as something that many customers take note of. Most hotels do their best to limit any negative environmental effects but only a handful truly go the extra mile to make sure that as many business decisions as possible can be justified or supported from an ecological point of view. With increasingly cheaper technology andeco-materials and new ideas and strategies helping push eco-boundaries, it’s becoming easier for hotels to ensure that their properties provide a maximum level of comfort with a minimum level of environmental disruption.

This includes obvious touches like solar panels and low-flush toilets, but there is much more to building an eco-friendly resort than that. Practices such as using only renewable building materials, letting gravity do the work of water pumps, orcomplying with international environmental standardsshow that there is endless room for innovation when it comes to ecological responsibility.


“Hotels that once considered ‘eco-friendly’ to mean a small environmental footprint and conservation of resources are now taking things a step further, cleaning up trash, investing in best-practices, actually improving the sustainability of the communities that surround them,” said Robert Rosenstein, CEO of Agoda.com. “Whether in big cities or remote resort islands, our customers love these eco-friendly resorts.”

With that in mind, we present Agoda.com’s list of this year’s ten notable eco-friendly hotels that are doing their part to create a comfortable, beautiful balance with nature.


Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam, 5*
Perched up against limestone cliffs and dramatic scenery in this bay on Vietnam’s southeast coast, it offers lush jungle, white beaches and secluded five star luxury in one great package. Even better, it’s all done with an eye toward environmental sustainability. Built with renewable and recycled materials and designed in a way that allows for refreshing sea breezes to cool the premises, the hotel also recycles wastewater for its gardens, collects rainwater for use throughout the hotel, and allows guests to take part in environmental reclamation projects such as planting trees. In addition, the restaurant prepares some amazing meals with locally-caught fish and vegetables from the hotel’s garden, and the spa uses 100% natural products in its full-service treatments.


URBN Hotel, Shanghai, China, 5*
Housed in a converted factory in Shanghai’s French concession area, the minimalist URBN hotel Shanghai is China’s first carbon-neutral hotel, a fact which is easy to believe as you enter the lobby and step into your room, elegantly designed with various greenery and richly colored wood that was sourced from recycled local materials. Sustainability is key to operations at URBN, who employ energy-efficient approaches to lighting and achieve full carbon neutrality by participating in the Million Tree Project, a program that offsets carbon emissions with the purchase of trees planted in Mongolia’s Kulun Desert.


Alto Hotel on Bourke, Melbourne, Australia, 4*
Melbourne’s multi-award winning eco-friendly boutique hotel is notable for its near-obsessive dedication to being eco-friendly. Indeed, the hotel boasts some of the lowest energy, waste & water usage per guest in the whole country when measured against EarthCheck, an industry standard environmental certification program. Renewable sources provide 100% of the hotel’s energy, which is a nice touch when you’re recharging your electric car downstairs. And if you feel like sweetening your complimentary coffee with honey, you can relax knowing that the coffee is Organic & Fair Trade from the Penachi region of Peru, which helps lift poverty-stricken communities out of harm, and the honey is harvested from the hotel’s rooftop beehives. Even the guestroom key cards are made of corn starch instead of plastic!


Borneo Highlands Resort, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 3*
Borneo is known the world over for its incredibly varied ecosystem, which includes ancient rainforest, extensive cave systems and thousands of varieties of wildlife, much of it endangered or rare. It stands to reason that any hotel should do its best to blend in, and the Borneo Highlands Resort manages to do this very nicely. Located 1,000 meters above sea level where the air is cool and moist, the hotel uses organic farms for its meals and even provides a trained horticulturist to educate guests on just what it is they’re eating. The number of guests is strictly limited to 60 per day to reduce overall impact on the surrounding area, which includes walking trails, waterfalls, bird watching and, of course, clean mountain air.


Philea Resort and Spa, Ayer Keroh, Melaka, Malaysia 5*
If you’re going to go eco, you might as well go all the way, and Malaysia’s Philea Resort and Spa does a great job in making old new again. Designed to resemble an alpine village and built with locally sourced pine logs and marble from the famed quarry in the nearby province of Perak, it goes the extra mile in proving that materials bought brand new don’t have the market cornered on comfort. Indeed, the hotel proudly offers stately furniture and decorations built from materials recovered from shipwrecks and old railway cars, all of it located on property sheltered from the elements by 3,000 trees that have been specially added to the lush landscape.



Bangkok Tree House, Bangkok, Thailand, 3*
Bangkok isn’t a city that conjures up images of eco-friendliness, but the Bangkok Tree House is a notable exception. Located in the ‘Green Lung’, a jungle-covered peninsula on the edge of the city, great pains have been taken to ensure that it’s not only eco-friendly, but eco-positive – for instance, for every booking made 1kg of trash is removed from the Chao Phraya River. In addition, discarded containers and driftwood are used to make the planters and trellises that support the growth of organic vegetables, which serve to provide shade and supply the kitchen. Clothes are laundered using biodegradable detergents and hung in the fresh air to dry, and 100% of the outdoor lighting is supplied by wind and solar power. And let’s not forget the quiet jungle evenings with a river breeze and zero light pollution from the city.



The Tongsai Bay, KoSamui, Thailand, 5*
Any island can only offer a limited amount of resources, so it’s especially important that care is taken when building on one. From the first day of construction The Tongsai Bay has done its part to make sure the natural island environment of KoSamuihas flourished. Care was taken when building to avoid cutting down trees, and a customized ‘Green Project’ ensures that water and soil is recycled, plastic use is minimized in favor of cloth bags and ceramic bottles, and that heat generated by air conditioners is used to heat water. The hotel also recycles garbage to fertilize the gardens that provide the hotel with organic produce, advises local school children on low-carbon lifestyles, and funds activities to plant trees, clean up litter, and rescue wildlife. With these practices firmly in place, the integrity of The Tongsai Bay’s private beach and surrounding ecosystem should be healthy for a very long time.



Nature’s Village Resort, Negros Occidental, Philippines, 4*
With the dramatic peak of Mt. Marapara as a backdrop, Nature’s Village Resort has a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it does just that with its focus on the promotion of sustainable practices and efforts to educate guests on green tourism and their impact on the environment – a practice that resulted in the hotel’s nomination for an ASEAN Green Hotel Recognition Award in 2010. Organic vegetables from the garden are used in cooking, and the interior of the hotel is decorated with reclaimed supplies from around the region – everything from glass beads from scrapped ocean buoys to grain and food preparation materials used in traditional Philippine kitchens.









Casa Camper, Barcelona, Spain, 4*
Minimalism can be beautiful, and Casa Camper sets out to prove this while at the same time leading the way with several important eco-initiatives. Starting with the layout of each room, which all have a bathroom facing the 18m tall hanging garden, the same message is extended throughout the hotel – unclutter. Carpets are avoided to cut down on dust, solar heated water fills your shower, and linens and the bed frame itself are both washed every day. To make sure that nothing is left to chance, a sophisticated biomechanical water treatment system cleans wastewater for use in secondary places like toilets, and bicycles are provided to guests for easy, emissions-free transport around the city.



The Park New Delhi Hotel, New Delhi, India, 5*
It’s usually the smaller hotels that specialize in eco-friendly practices, but the Park New Delhi is a big player with a big impact, and does its utmost to ensure that the environmental effects of its operations are as minor as possible. Located next to Connaught Place, one of the largest financial and commercial districts in New Delhi, the emphasis on luxury is never at the expense of its eco-aims. Not only are low-energy LED lights installed throughout, but its menu is focused on organic food and a unique engineering system has been installed to control water pressure and reduce water wastage – a practice that continues outdoors as well, as rainwater is collected and used in hotel landscaping. The Park New Delhi even takes care with its garbage, as all of the trash bags it uses are biodegradable.

About Agoda Company Pte Ltd:
Agoda Company Pte Ltd (Agoda.com) is a leading Asia-based, online hotel reservations company, which specializes in securing the lowest discount hotel prices. Agoda.com is part of Priceline.com (Nasdaq:PCLN). Agoda.com’s network includes more than 200,000 hotels worldwide. The multinational staff of more than 1,200 professionals, located throughout the world, provides a first-rate reservation service that uniquely combines local knowledge and local connections to provide the best hotel deals to both business and leisure travelers.

In addition, agoda.com customers participate in the agoda.com Rewards Program, earning further discounts and free stays. Unlike programs that limit travelers to a single chain, the agoda.com Rewards Program allows customers to redeem Rewards Points at thousands of hotels around the globe, at any time. A member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), agoda.com’s aim is to promote travel by making it more affordable and more accessible to more people.


Abe’s Farm in Magalang, Pampanga: Leaving Everything in Manila to Relax and Unwind, Part 1 – The Food




Written By

  •  

When In Pampanga
, what comes to a traveller’s mind?

Food. Glorious, sumptuous food.

The Pampanguenos are proud of their rich food culture. And they should be. Colorful, flavorful, diverse in cooking preparations, Kapampangan cuisine is fiercely guarded by its gatekeepers. Whereas we Manilenos are admittedly more liberal in what we call Filipino food, for the Pampanguenos, no, they’re very regional, possessive of their dishes, even to the point of claiming that Kapampangan food – REAL Kapampangan food – can only be prepared by someone who has Kapampangan lineage.

That’s what we found out when we set off to Magalang, Pampanga to visit Abe’s Farm. 


Originally an estate where the late journalist-restaurateur Lorenzo J. Cruz (“Larry” or“LJC” as he was fondly called within his social circles) would bring family and friends for the weekends, Abe’s Farm was opened to the public in the 1990′s, serving our favoriteKapampangan dishes as well as offering pristine accommodation and impeccable service to its patrons.

Abe’s Farm is roughly a two-hour drive from the metro via the North Luzon Expressway. From the Angeles Exit, it’s about a 45-minute drive towards the direction of Mt. Arayat. Located far from the town proper, pollution is practically non-existent in Abe’s Farm. And that’s good, considering that the vegetation they grow here are distributed to the different establishments under the LJC Restaurant Group.

We were welcomed in this old-Filipino sala with cold drinks as  our rooms were being prepared.

The Main House and Restaurant @ Abe’s Farm


The main house of Abe’s Farm is the original vacation house of the Cruz family. The ground floor has since been transformed into the resort’s  restaurant. The menu is identical to the one they serve at Abe (Serendra, Trinoma, Mall of Asia). What makes Abe’s Farm worth the visit in terms of dining is the change in ambiance. Compared to the high-class feel of the restaurants, Abe’s Farm is proud of its cozy setting and home-cooked food presentation.

Some of the many trinkets inside the main house of Abe’s Farm.

For lunch, some of the dishes we tried that struck a chord were the Sinigang Bangus Belly with Ripe Guava (Bulanglang), Knockout Knuckles (Crispy Pata), Sinuteng Baby Squid, and Sikreto ni Maria.

Nothing spells home-cooked like pans and other cooking equipment dangling above the counter in a traditional Filipino kitchen. 

The Bulanglang starts out sweet and then turns salty to the taste. I have to admit, it is an acquired taste. After the first few awkward sips of the soup, I grew fonder of the sweet-yet-flavorful thick soup. The bangus belly was fatty, melt-in-your-mouth lovely. The conventional eater (such as my fiance) may not appreciate a sweet soup for appetizer though, so I highly recommend it to the adventurous foodies or natural guava lovers out there.

Sinigang Bangus Belly with Ripe Guava

The Knockout Knuckles in Abe’s Farm was really crispy, drizzled with sliced chilis for that added bite. Though deep-fried, the pork knuckles aren’t dripping with oil. We even thought they used a different method of cooking it! Paired with atsara and a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, and hot chili for its sauce, Abe’s Farm provides a fresh, hot take on the Pinoy fried favorite.

Knockout Knuckles 

The Sinuteng Baby Squid was presented so simply, so casually I didn’t take a photo of the dish anymore. But what it lacked in presentation, it certainly made up for in taste! Served in a small, purple plate, the baby squids were soft and crunchy. Sautéed in garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, and laurel leaves, the dish bathing in the mixture of oil and what little black ink the baby squids produced, this unassuming dish reflects the simplistic theme of Abe’s Farm and the slogan of the LJC Group that everything is “a matter of taste.”

Experience a luxurious and comfortable life + affordable rates and plans. Click here.

Speaking of the unassuming, we capped our lunch off with Sikreto ni Maria. Literally presented as a heap of ice cream and milk, you have to dig in to find out what lies underneath this sweet sensation. The macapuno ice cream is paired with carabao milk, making the dessert extra strong and creamy. Covered beneath are mango slices and suman. Finally, Sikreto ni Maria is topped with drizzles of panutsa (caramelized sugar bits), further adding to the texture and sweetness of the dessert.

 Natikman mo na ba ang Sikreto ni Maria?

Fast forward a few hours and it’s dinner time! The dishes that made an impression that night were Abe Farm‘s signature Binukadkad na Pla-Pla, Ox Tail Kare-Kare, Kapampangan Sisig, and Ube Jalea with Macapuno.

The Binukadkad na Pla-Pla, somewhat resembling Dumbo with his humongous ears, is deep fried with a light batter. Dabbing the flakes of fish with balo-balo (better known as burong hipon which consists of fermented rice and shrimp bits), this fried tilapia is uniquely sweet, salty, and flavorful.

Binukad na Pla-Pla with Balo-Balo

Ox tail, peanut sauce, vegetables, and there you have it. For us Filipinos, Kare-Kare is not something that needs to look lovely. You just know that it is. No exception here. No embellishments whatsoever. Served as sloppily as it could be. Everything’s already mixed up. All we needed to do was pick up the utensils and dig in. The contrast of the lean meat, fatty skin, and crunchy vegetables was amazing! And you have to suckle the peanut sauce from the bone. To the last damn oily drop. Now that was a good dish!

Ox Tail Kare-Kare

Sisig is a dish that is all too familiar to us, and yet we don’t really know where it came from. Apparently, it’s Kapampangan. True story! Look up Wikipedia if you don’t believe me. Sisigis generally served two ways: sizzling on top of an iron plate, or non-sizzling and served on a ceramic plate. Previous experience has conditioned me to prefer the former over the latter. By previous experience, I mean partaking Sisig that is stale, gummy, plainly disgusting. TheSisig at Abe’s Farm, however, is none of these. Served hot; with the perfect proportion of cheeks, ears, and liver; and of course a good amount of chopped onion and hot, spicy peppers; their Sisig kept me adding rice and more rice to my plate as we took this fatty beast down!

Kapampangan Sisig

And for dessert, the home-made Ube Jalea with Macapuno was perfect! Served as a scoop, the purple yam was fresh, chunky, and really tasty. I’m not the biggest fan ofube, but this dessert’s chunkiness and the fact that it doesn’t taste like the typical sugar-loaded ube won me over. It’s light so you wouldn’t have problems with the sugar rush ruining your night’s rest.

Ube Jalea with Macapuno

LJC made it a point that everyone working in Abe’s Farm is a proud Pampangueno. Ask anyone what dish you’re partaking, and they will not only tell you what it is, but how it’s prepared as well. Trust me, they know their Kapampangan dishes.

I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” (Bourdain being one of my major inspirations in writing) and he was in Paris, curious about the new generation of chefs doing away with the high-class restaurants and Michelin Stars. Menus are changing day by day, depending on what’s available in the market. What’s fresh. What’s good. Everything’s casual. Everyone’s convivial with each other. The food, the company is good.

I guess Abe’s Farm (and I’m sure a dozen other Kapampangan restaurants out there) exists in a similar vein. No, the food doesn’t change from day to day. In fact, it’s relentless in sticking to what is Kapampangan, a highly regional take on food even as the globalization of the food we eat becomes all the more undeniable. But that’s just it: they don’t care. The food is cooked and served by Pampanguenos, prepared and presented just like they would be at home. The venue is cozy, rustic, more like an old, traditional house rather than the high-class restaurants of the LJC Group we find in Manila. The ambiance is so relaxed you’d be tempted to put up a leg and get food with your bare hands. And no one will prevent you from doing so.

 A rustic chandelier and the long table we were seated on for dinner.

During our stay, several families visited Abe’s Farm to dine in the restaurant. Not staying for the night, I assumed that they either resided in Pampanga or had relatives inPampanga. Either ways, they would be Pampanguenos in part or in whole. They didn’t eat a lot. Two to three dishes, rice, and that’s it. Point is, when locals eat in a place that serves local cuisine, I guess that restaurant is doing something right.

When In Pampanga, be sure to visit Abe’s Farm for great Kapampangan food, a good rub, and a relaxing stay (the latter of which I’ll write about soon).Visit their website to learn more about what the resort has to offer. When In Manila, you can also visit Aberestaurants found in Serendra, Trinoma, and  SM Mall of Asia.

 

ABE’S FARM

98 Livestock Village, Barangay Ayala in Magalang, Pampanga
Open daily, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Except Tuesdays
For overnight accommodations, pre-booking is needed
Phone: + (045) 865-1930
Mobile: +(0917) 8085187
Email: info@abesfarm.com.ph
Website: abesfarm.com.ph

Special thanks to Ms. Evelyn and Mr. Oliver for the top-notch service you provided us!

ABE’S FARM IN MAGALANG, PAMPANGA: GREAT FOOD, GREAT PLACE!


When In Pampanga, what comes to a traveller’s mind?

Food. Glorious, sumptuous food.

The Pampanguenos are proud of their rich food culture. And they should be. Colorful, flavorful, diverse in cooking preparations, Kapampangan cuisine is fiercely guarded by its gatekeepers. Whereas we Manilenos are admittedly more liberal in what we call Filipino food, for the Pampanguenos, no, they’re very regional, possessive of their dishes, even to the point of claiming that Kapampangan food – REAL Kapampangan food – can only be prepared by someone who has Kapampangan lineage.

That’s what we found out when we set off to Magalang, Pampanga to visit Abe’s Farm. 


Originally an estate where the late journalist-restaurateur Lorenzo J. Cruz (“Larry” or“LJC” as he was fondly called within his social circles) would bring family and friends for the weekends, Abe’s Farm was opened to the public in the 1990′s, serving our favoriteKapampangan dishes as well as offering pristine accommodation and impeccable service to its patrons.

Abe’s Farm is roughly a two-hour drive from the metro via the North Luzon Expressway. From the Angeles Exit, it’s about a 45-minute drive towards the direction of Mt. Arayat. Located far from the town proper, pollution is practically non-existent in Abe’s Farm. And that’s good, considering that the vegetation they grow here are distributed to the different establishments under the LJC Restaurant Group.

We were welcomed in this old-Filipino sala with cold drinks as  our rooms were being prepared.

The Main House and Restaurant @ Abe’s Farm


The main house of Abe’s Farm is the original vacation house of the Cruz family. The ground floor has since been transformed into the resort’s  restaurant. The menu is identical to the one they serve at Abe (Serendra, Trinoma, Mall of Asia). What makes Abe’s Farm worth the visit in terms of dining is the change in ambiance. Compared to the high-class feel of the restaurants, Abe’s Farm is proud of its cozy setting and home-cooked food presentation.

Some of the many trinkets inside the main house of Abe’s Farm.

For lunch, some of the dishes we tried that struck a chord were the Sinigang Bangus Belly with Ripe Guava (Bulanglang), Knockout Knuckles (Crispy Pata), Sinuteng Baby Squid, and Sikreto ni Maria.

Nothing spells home-cooked like pans and other cooking equipment dangling above the counter in a traditional Filipino kitchen. 

The Bulanglang starts out sweet and then turns salty to the taste. I have to admit, it is an acquired taste. After the first few awkward sips of the soup, I grew fonder of the sweet-yet-flavorful thick soup. The bangus belly was fatty, melt-in-your-mouth lovely. The conventional eater (such as my fiance) may not appreciate a sweet soup for appetizer though, so I highly recommend it to the adventurous foodies or natural guava lovers out there.

Sinigang Bangus Belly with Ripe Guava

The Knockout Knuckles in Abe’s Farm was really crispy, drizzled with sliced chilis for that added bite. Though deep-fried, the pork knuckles aren’t dripping with oil. We even thought they used a different method of cooking it! Paired with atsara and a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, and hot chili for its sauce, Abe’s Farm provides a fresh, hot take on the Pinoy fried favorite.

Knockout Knuckles 

The Sinuteng Baby Squid was presented so simply, so casually I didn’t take a photo of the dish anymore. But what it lacked in presentation, it certainly made up for in taste! Served in a small, purple plate, the baby squids were soft and crunchy. Sautéed in garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, and laurel leaves, the dish bathing in the mixture of oil and what little black ink the baby squids produced, this unassuming dish reflects the simplistic theme of Abe’s Farm and the slogan of the LJC Group that everything is “a matter of taste.”

Speaking of the unassuming, we capped our lunch off with Sikreto ni Maria. Literally presented as a heap of ice cream and milk, you have to dig in to find out what lies underneath this sweet sensation. The macapuno ice cream is paired with carabao milk, making the dessert extra strong and creamy. Covered beneath are mango slices and suman. Finally, Sikreto ni Maria is topped with drizzles of panutsa (caramelized sugar bits), further adding to the texture and sweetness of the dessert.

 Natikman mo na ba ang Sikreto ni Maria?

Fast forward a few hours and it’s dinner time! The dishes that made an impression that night were Abe Farm‘s signature Binukadkad na Pla-Pla, Ox Tail Kare-Kare, Kapampangan Sisig, and Ube Jalea with Macapuno.

The Binukadkad na Pla-Pla, somewhat resembling Dumbo with his humongous ears, is deep fried with a light batter. Dabbing the flakes of fish with balo-balo (better known as burong hipon which consists of fermented rice and shrimp bits), this fried tilapia is uniquely sweet, salty, and flavorful.

Binukad na Pla-Pla with Balo-Balo

Ox tail, peanut sauce, vegetables, and there you have it. For us Filipinos, Kare-Kare is not something that needs to look lovely. You just know that it is. No exception here. No embellishments whatsoever. Served as sloppily as it could be. Everything’s already mixed up. All we needed to do was pick up the utensils and dig in. The contrast of the lean meat, fatty skin, and crunchy vegetables was amazing! And you have to suckle the peanut sauce from the bone. To the last damn oily drop. Now that was a good dish!

Ox Tail Kare-Kare

Sisig is a dish that is all too familiar to us, and yet we don’t really know where it came from. Apparently, it’s Kapampangan. True story! Look up Wikipedia if you don’t believe me. Sisigis generally served two ways: sizzling on top of an iron plate, or non-sizzling and served on a ceramic plate. Previous experience has conditioned me to prefer the former over the latter. By previous experience, I mean partaking Sisig that is stale, gummy, plainly disgusting. TheSisig at Abe’s Farm, however, is none of these. Served hot; with the perfect proportion of cheeks, ears, and liver; and of course a good amount of chopped onion and hot, spicy peppers; their Sisig kept me adding rice and more rice to my plate as we took this fatty beast down!

Kapampangan Sisig

And for dessert, the home-made Ube Jalea with Macapuno was perfect! Served as a scoop, the purple yam was fresh, chunky, and really tasty. I’m not the biggest fan ofube, but this dessert’s chunkiness and the fact that it doesn’t taste like the typical sugar-loaded ube won me over. It’s light so you wouldn’t have problems with the sugar rush ruining your night’s rest.

Ube Jalea with Macapuno

LJC made it a point that everyone working in Abe’s Farm is a proud Pampangueno. Ask anyone what dish you’re partaking, and they will not only tell you what it is, but how it’s prepared as well. Trust me, they know their Kapampangan dishes.

I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” (Bourdain being one of my major inspirations in writing) and he was in Paris, curious about the new generation of chefs doing away with the high-class restaurants and Michelin Stars. Menus are changing day by day, depending on what’s available in the market. What’s fresh. What’s good. Everything’s casual. Everyone’s convivial with each other. The food, the company is good.

I guess Abe’s Farm (and I’m sure a dozen other Kapampangan restaurants out there) exists in a similar vein. No, the food doesn’t change from day to day. In fact, it’s relentless in sticking to what is Kapampangan, a highly regional take on food even as the globalization of the food we eat becomes all the more undeniable. But that’s just it: they don’t care. The food is cooked and served by Pampanguenos, prepared and presented just like they would be at home. The venue is cozy, rustic, more like an old, traditional house rather than the high-class restaurants of the LJC Group we find in Manila. The ambiance is so relaxed you’d be tempted to put up a leg and get food with your bare hands. And no one will prevent you from doing so.

 A rustic chandelier and the long table we were seated on for dinner.

During our stay, several families visited Abe’s Farm to dine in the restaurant. Not staying for the night, I assumed that they either resided in Pampanga or had relatives inPampanga. Either ways, they would be Pampanguenos in part or in whole. They didn’t eat a lot. Two to three dishes, rice, and that’s it. Point is, when locals eat in a place that serves local cuisine, I guess that restaurant is doing something right.

When In Pampanga, be sure to visit Abe’s Farm for great Kapampangan food, a good rub, and a relaxing stay (the latter of which I’ll write about soon).Visit their website to learn more about what the resort has to offer. When In Manila, you can also visit Aberestaurants found in Serendra, Trinoma, and  SM Mall of Asia.

 

ABE’S FARM

98 Livestock Village, Barangay Ayala in Magalang, Pampanga
Open daily, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Except Tuesdays
For overnight accommodations, pre-booking is needed
Phone: + (045) 865-1930
Mobile: +(0917) 8085187
Email: info@abesfarm.com.ph
Website: abesfarm.com.ph

Special thanks to Ms. Evelyn and Mr. Oliver for the top-notch service you provided us!