Good day! It's Sunday again!  Today, we were off again to our favorite Sunday breakfast nook...... Angeles City's The Brickhouse Cafe!

   

       I have to come up with another post about The Brickhouse since there are many new things about the place.  First, they added waffles in their buffet set.  These waffles are also filled with peanut butter!  I am not a big fan of peanut butter, but for the others, it was a very good addition to their "menu".  Another new thing I discovered was their Longganisa.  Aside from the mass produced sweet longganisa that they offer, they added my mother's favorite Native Longganisa mentioned in my past post on The Brickhouse Cafe. 

       Another new and exciting addition that I tried today, is their Lemon Cucumber juice drink.  It replaced their Iced Tea drink.  But it was great to see that my favorite Tanglad Juice is still available for us to enjoy!

     

       Other additions are Tortang Itlog or Pinoy Omelette and a new style of their Turon or Fried Banana.  Their Buffet price per head also increased by 20.00 pesos...but given that their services has improved coupled with new and improved offerings, plus the increase in the prices of basic goods in the Philippine market..the price is justified...Sulit na sulit pa din!...no shortchanging....definitely a "value for money" experience!

       The Brickhouse Cafe in Angeles City now offers Breakfast Buffet every Friday, Saturday & Sunday of the week!  So we'll take it easy on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays!  No worries...just easy....Easy Like Sunday Morning!

        It was a Saturday when we had a delivery service to a town called Bulaon in San Fernando, Pampanga.  Surprisingly,  the downtown market area of Bulaon was not any different from what happens in our Angeles city counterpart.  It was a busy place like in our business area.  However, the only difference I believe is the width of the sidewalks and streets.  Bulaon had narrower ones compared to Angeles City.  On the way back,  we stopped over at a local Filipino-style eatery.  In english, they call it cafeteria or canteen...but for us, we call them Carinderia.

        The Carinderia that we visited is called Manok's Canteen...well yes, it used the English counterpart given the influence of western culture in the Philippines. Haha!  This is a staple carinderia for us when we deliver goods in different areas of Pampanga.  The place used the word Manok's or Chicken since it specializes in fried chicken that is sold on-the-go...however, they only offer this specialty in the late afternoon and evening where their target are those customers who buy these to pair up with beers or other alcoholic beverages.

        In the morning, Manok's offer early brunch or lunch food menu where Rice & Ulam combo is lined-up by students, workers and walk-in families. The Carinderia has a very local ambiance with walls painted in candy-green color while the chairs & tables are red.  Manok's also offers sari-sari store items such as chichiryas, candies and cigarettes.

        By 9:30 in the morning, the canteen already has several ulam or viands available.  In the Philippines it is very common for people to eat rice paired with an ulam of their choice. On that day, I chose to eat Rice and an ulam called Dinuguan while my sidekick chose Rice and the world renowned Filipino Sisig.  Dinuguan is made from Pork's Blood or Dugo ng Baboy...thus the name "D-in-UGO-an".  The ulam also utilizes Pork as a main  ingredient plus vinegar and lady finger chillies.  There are two main types of recipe for Dinuguan, the first makes use of liquid/quashed Pork's blood while the second uses clotted, solidified Pork's blood.   The first is the more expensive recipe given that it uses Pork meat as a main ingredient while the second is a cheaper alternative where solid Pork's blood is coupled with chopped pork intestines.  Personally, I like the cheaper version not just because it is half the price, but I also love eating ulam with pork intestines. 

        On the other hand, the world famous Pinoy Sisig is made from thinly chopped pork ears and pisngi or pork "cheeks".  The chopped meat are mixed with a generous amount of chopped sibuyas or onions; then is seasoned with spices before being sautéed to perfection.  Some modern innovations of this putahe/ulam are variants with egg and chicharones for a more crunchy feeling in every bite!  Sisig is believed to be a specialty of Angeles City Pampanga.  This year in 2017, the local government of Angeles city decided to formally organize the first Sisig Festival in the country.  So if you're planning to visit Angeles City in 2018, be sure to stop by in June to catch exciting activities and events.  

        Other ulam that Manok's canteen offers are Kaldereta, Giniling, Tortang talong, Kamansi, Pork in tausi sauce, Chopsuey, Kilayin, Paksiw na Bangus and Sipo Egg.  They also offer hotdogs, fried egg, Tocino and fried galunggong (fish) as alternative ulam.  Traditionally, in Carinderias like Manok's Canteen, people line-up in front of a counter where ulam varieties are viewed via a glass covered display area.  The food server then scoops up the ulam into a platito(saucer) and cups rice onto your plate.  Carinderias also offer specialty drinks such as softdrinks, bottled orange juice and other packed fruit juices.  But remember, to save up some moolah, drinking water is 100% free!

        The next time you find yourself in Angeles City,  don't forget to try out some ulam from Manok's canteen.  You may opt to take it out, packed in clear biodegradable plastics or simply eat your lunch on one of their cool tansan(bottle cap) shaped monoblock tables.  Don't forget to take a selfie by the Sprite Lebron's mix poster if you still find it there.  Haha! Ingat and eat well. 

Update: Brickhouse Cafe now offers Breakfast Buffet on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays. 

                          *******************

       Sunday is the day, that the Lord has made!....for family bonding that is.  Last Sunday, it was a pleasure again, to be able to eat at my father's favorite Sunday breakfast nook.  The place is The Brickhouse Cafe, located along Sto. Rosario street in Angeles City, Pampanga near the Simbahang Matua(old church) beside Mercury Drugstore.  

        The Cafe offers a Breakfast Buffet menu that caters to people who love Filipino dishes, particularly treats that are served in the early morning hours.  Me and my late mother are fans of the Filipino culinary taste, thus when she was still with us, we usually had our Sunday mornings here at the resto with my father.  She loved everything that the Brickhouse Cafe offers in their buffet...but she didn't eat much then since she was already suffering from kidney ailment plus an impaired sense of taste caused by aging.  

        The first part of the buffet table offers the traditional rice and viands meal.  You will find hot garlic rice at the front end of the buffet but if you're not interested in eating rice, then you may opt to eat Bihon or thin rice noodles  cooked Filipino style.  These are then followed by a couple of dishes such as pork giniling(ground pork),  Scrambled Egg, fried hotdogs and Pindang or Tocino or a type of pork dish where the meat is marinated and preserved with a sugary syrup based mixture before being cooked sautéed in a pan, a specialty in our pampanga province. 

         Other treats are fried Talong(eggplant), Kamatis(tomato), Itlog na maalat(salted egg) and Longganisa, a Philippine "sausage" where ground meat and spices are thoroughly mixed, marinated, then inserted in pork intestine "skins" before cooking.  However, this procedure is the authentic Philippine Longganisa.  The Brickhouse's Longganisa is a mass produced one where use of intestine skin is discarded and the Longganisa is shaped into small sizes and then thrown straight in to the pan for cooking. The taste of this Longganisa is sweet, a common taste of Filipino dishes.  

        Next part of the table is the American inspired breakfast menu.  You are given the option to pick Pandesal or the Philippine staple bread.  This bread is usually round to oval shape.  It is cooked under the oven usually with a crunchy outer covering and or the plain soft finish.  Together with the Pandesal, you may opt to choose heart-shaped mini pancakes! Haha!  And you may drip over your pancakes, maple syrup and/or condensed milk.  Tiny rolled Turons are also offered, these are bananas rolled in rice crepes then fried with brown sugar overlays. Again, a sweet Filipino treat.  Lastly, if you are a fan of rice congees or porridge, the Brickhouse Cafe also provides it's very own Arrozcaldo.  This is my father's all-time favorite here at the Resto.  The traditional way of eating Arrozcaldo is to season it with a small amount of calamansi juice, patis(fish sauce) and a dash of ground black pepper. Hmmmm....yummy!

        For my brother who lives in Manila, his favorite feature in the Brickhouse is the bottomless or unlimited Brewed coffee!  Yes, together with the unli breakfast buffet, you also get a pass on unlimited freshly brewed coffee.  If you're not a coffee addict, like me, you must try the resto's specialty cold drink,  the Tanglad juice or juice made from lemongrass.  It is by far, the best Tanglad juice I had in my life...that is FREE of course!  Iced Tea is also a choice in their beverage line-up.  But for the overly health-conscious customers, the Brickhouse Cafe also provides bottomless Fruit water.  This is characterized by a generous amount of sliced fruits mixed in water then served via a classy glass jar that comes with a faucet!  It's a complete Filipino breakfast IMHO(in my humble opinion). 

        Sadly, the resto only offers its Sunday Breakfast Buffet during Sundays from 6:00am until 10:30am in the morning.  On that Sunday morning, it was my treat.  I paid for the sumptuous breakfast meal of my father and that of our kasambahay.  It is very unlikely for us to eat here when my mother passed away.  My sister, the usual sidekick of my father on Sundays, is not a fan of Filipino food.  Therefore, if you love Filipino dishes, and is highly interested in trying out Filipino breakfast Unli-style...please come, stop by at Angeles City and taste the specialty of The Brickhouse Cafe on a Sunday morning.  You won't regret it for sure.  This is Jamos the Explorer,  "Mangan ta na!"  (Let's eat!)

#Update: for a new write-up on The Brickhouse Cafe....please read this post. 

#Video: for video watch this here.