7NNT25: Days 23 & 24 – Angeles City

Soundtrack: any bass-heavy party track from the last 30 years.

Angeles City is just down the road from Manila, less than 100km, so only about 2-3 hours to drive if the traffic is normal. It seems to have three claims to fame: the food is awesome; they know how to party; and there used to be a really big US air base here (now converted to an international airport). I was hoping I could use it as a base to do the Mt Pinatubo trek, but sadly that was not to be. When picking accommodation options, I stumbled across a hotel too swanky to really be true, at a price that I could afford, the ABC Hotel. You have to admire a hotel that has its own helipad, and its promo material is just the next level (helipad and heavies with guns). Other promo pics feature pool parties, lots of bikinis, muscle folk, swanky facilities, and rooms that just have more illumination effects than really necessary. Expecting to need a huge bath at the end of the trek, I booked an “aqua suite”. (It was also a non refundable booking, so I couldn’t really change plans.)

The traffic was okay, so I got to the hotel in plenty of time to check in and check out my suite. The heavies at the door didn’t carry guns, but certainly look imposing. The guy carrying my luggage then gave me a quick tour of the suite, it has a wine fridge and a regular fridge, extensive minibar, its own sound system, a deck of light switches. There’s a phone in the toilet, the hotel has many services, spa/massage, gym, karaoke rooms, the rooftop bar area is one big pool beach club with cabanas, dj, dancing platforms, the whole shebang. If ever there was a crazy hotel run by or for “colourful characters”, this is the place (though glancing through the directory I couldn’t see any dedicated numbers for ordering a bag of Colombia’s finest, or to organise a hit on anyone called Sergei or Gino, or to order extra “entertainers”, so maybe only the really swanky suites get access to those.

While the drive wasn’t overly long, it was still tiring, so after a quick wander through the hotel to check where all the different facilities are, I had a nap. Just being near so much swank and party must have worn me out. I took a wander out later to see the local area, the hotel is a couple of hundred metres away from the main party area of Angeles City, and the bits in between are a collection of little shops, hotels, and a couple of bars that seem to be open 24 hours/day.

Angeles City is the home of sisig, the sizzling pork head bits I had in Manila. Apparently sisig used to refer to some sort of sour salad or sauce. During the US occupation some locals noticed that the Americans were eating lots of pork but throwing away the heads, so they started buying these cheaply. One enterprising lady came up with a wonderful recipe, first boiling the heads then grilling the pieces with onions and offal to give them a bit of texture, before serving with sour calamansi to make a wonderful meal that pairs well with beer. Add some rice to soak up the excess fat and it’s a masterpiece. I picked a hotel with a restaurant and cheesey name “Kokomo” and tried their sisig. It was okay, a bit on the chewy side, but there was a nice grilled char to the dish,

Figuring I had a duty to at least hit the rooftop bar for an expensive cocktail, I diligently sat and drank a rather nice slightly pink concoction while having my ears assaulted by the DJ, the music was fine but I really don’t know how anyone could talk over that volume. Back in my room, at least two floors down, I could still hear the bass. I also had to work out a way to cover the temperature display on the wine fridge, as it’s enough to bathe the suite in a bit of a glow.

My last breakfast in Manila was a monster clubhouse sandwich at the Filling Station (the diner on steroids, though hilariously I noted a record stuck to the roof above my booth was by the Australian band Icehouse), and breakfast in Angeles City was also a clubhouse sandwich, though a bit scaled down (I took a morning walk and stopped at the first place I found that had coffee and aircon once I had sweated enough). The breakfast in Manila worked out well, as there were a few drivers on the street who offered to take me to Angeles, and managed to get one down to 3200 PHP (it’s a lot cheaper by bus, but then it’s a car to the bus station, the bus, and a car from the AC station so convenience won over budget) though I then tipped up to 3500,

After more airconditioned napping, I headed out for an early dinner to Aling Lucing, the apparent origin of sisig, to try their dish (sadly the originating chef was murdered at the age of 80 about 10 years ago, and the case is unsolved). There’s no menu, just some guy asking if I just want sisig or grilled squid as well, then I picked a table and waited. Sadly there’s no beer, and no small bottles of coke, so I went with mountain dew. The sisig came out well and truly still sizzling. Along with the calamansi was a tangy sauce, so with this and the rice it was absolutely delicious, not as chewy as the other one, lots of flavour, and a wonderful hint of the grill. So good, so much pork goodness.

Noodle 9.1: Pancit Palabok (Susie’s Cuisine)

Not having noodled in Angeles City I felt I should correct that, and found some folks recommending, only 20 minute walk away, the pancit palabok at Susie’s Cuisine. I figured that’d let me digest the sisig. As I walked, I definitely felt that I was in areas that don’t see many tourists, as it was all little local shops for car parts and household things. I think some people were surprised to see a big white guy wandering through, but all smiled when I said “mabuhay”. A little over halfway and the heavens opened up, and I had a bit of a wait under an overhang, before it stopped and I headed on. Susie’s Cuisine is apparently a fairly well known place in Angeles, and they sell a mix of hot food and baked goods. Their pancit palabok uses an almost vermicelli like noodle, which is great for collecting the thick prawn-based sauce, while they also sprinkle dried pork rind on top for extra crunch. Again, with a squirt of the ubiquitous calamansi for tang, it was delicious. They do a great halo halo, this time with taro icecream, beans not corn, and other random ingredients that was wonderfully refreshing.

Took a Grab back to the hotel, and stepped out of the aircon into humidity that immediately fogged up my glasses — then again when I step out of my hotel room into the warm corridor it often does the same. Figured another cocktail on the rooftop was in order to watch the thunderstorms, this time a lychee and elderflower flavoured one. Then a quick dip in the spa, just so I could say I used it — and also to marvel at the plumbing, this spa doesn’t have little faucets taking forever to fill, turning the taps releases a cascade down a chute that fills the tub in about 5 minutes. Sadly there weren’t any extra jets in the bath, so it didn’t take me long to hit my saturation point (literally and metaphorically). The bathroom does have its own volume control so I could play the in house mix loud if I wanted to (after another ear bashing at the bar, I didn’t want to).

Tomorrow I say goodbye to luxury, and possibly the award for the most boring guest that has ever stayed at this hotel, and head south to the island of Cebu, where Magellan and other things await.