The province of Pampanga is known for a lot of things, one of which is its “culinary capital of the Philippines” designation. This means that the region has quite a long list of delicacies that you can enjoy. From savory goodies to pastries to sweets, Pampanga has a selection that may make it difficult for you to choose which ones are the best.
With such a long list of items that you can enjoy eating in the region, as well as take home with you, we will list down only a few for each type that you might want to try. Here are some of the notable items in their long list of delicacies:
Uraro or sampaguita uraro – this flower shaped cookie, as the name implies, is considered a specialty of Guagua. These cookies are not your typical ones since these are not made with regular flour, but rather are made with what is called arrowroot flour. Also called arrowroot cookies, these are white and have a powdery texture that makes you think of polvoron when you eat it.
Pan de Citos – also called monay tigas, this bread is named as such because of its hard texture and consistency.
San Nicolas – this is a biscuit that is also made using arrowroot flour, butter, sugar, lard, coconut milk, and cornstarch. These biscuits also use dayap rind and cornstarch in its composition.
Panara – similar to an empanada, this halfmoon shaped pastry is filled with mung bean sprouts and shrimp, with the outer pastry encasing this filling being made with rice flour instead of regular wheat flour.
Moche – if you are a fan of buchi, then you will probably love this variation. While buchi has a brown outer crust, this one has a white appearance due to the fact that it is not fried but steamed. It is still stuffed with sweet mung bean paste and the outer covering is made using ground up sticky rice. This is usually topped off with a sauce made out of coconut milk.
Galang galang – shaped like a doughnut, but is not a doughnut, and is actually a cookie-type delicacy that has a hole in the middle.
Tocino del Cielo – you may think it is leche flan, and it looks as well as tastes like leche flan, but in reality it is smaller and richer version of this famous dessert.
Sans Rival – this is a very popular dessert found all across the country but is said to have its roots in Pampanga, particularly San Fernando. This is a Filipino take on the daquiose, with generous layers of buttercream icing sprinkled with chopped cashew nuts interspersing with sheets of meringue. The entire concoction is smothered in the same buttercream and sprinkled generously with more nuts.
