Reminiscences of home cooking

They say that home is where the heart is. And nothing tugs at our heart strings more with reminiscences of hearth and home than food. It is wondrously mysterious how even just the scent of food brings us back to those long lost days when life was simpler and the world was good. Just ask Anton Ego, that scathingly jaded food critic in the Disney animated movie, “Ratatouille”. One bite of the “little chef’s” signature dish and he was transported to his mother’s table, where a simple peasant dish of vegetables was enough to dry his tears and lift his spirits.

Such is the powerful connection between food and memory. And all of us have at least one cherished food memory that brings us back to days that we can only long for with malcontent sighs.  It may be your lola’s chicken soup or lugaw from when you were a sick convalescent kid, or your mom’s chicken and pork adobo that you and your siblings and cousins and everybody else who happened to be around, had to fight for—down to the last morsel of meat and sauce that clung to the caldero.  It can be your favorite uncle’s sizzling sisig, which he served when he and your dad introduced you to the fine art of beer drinking during your last couple of years in high school, or that pasta dish that your ex-girlfriend, (now your wife) used to make every time you’d visit her, and which you and your kids now petition your wife to make every time everybody is home for the weekends.

 

And this connection between food and memory is especially powerful for us Filipinos—who as a people find ourselves in front of a table full of food in most, if not all major milestones in life. Be it a christening, a birthday, a wedding anniversary, a favorite relative’s homecoming, a job promotion, your friend’s despedida before leaving for foreign shores to look for work, or even at the last vigil for a dearly departed loved one, you can be sure that Filipinos will not only eat, they will eat well.

For us, food is not only sustenance it is a way to remember.  It is a way to honor someone dear, a means to express love, a channel for coming together. 

It is this ethos which drives the people behind PARIMEX, your dining destination and portal to fond memories of old.

The name of the restaurant itself is a contraction of Parian, Mexico, the place in Pampanga where PARIMEX was born. A loving tribute by a devoted family to their Ima or mother, the restaurant was conceived as a showcase for the best in traditional Pampango home cooking.  However, don’t let the term “home cooking” deceive you.  Pampango cuisine after all is renowned all over the country for its quality, its unique flavor and its diverse palate.

Take the erstwhile ersatz roadside food called sisig. Despite its humble origins in the street-side eateries and watering holes in Angeles City, sisig has conquered the national consciousness and is now available throughout the country in every conceivable version—pork, chicken, fish and even tofu!

It is also one of the signature dishes in PARIMEX, together with Pampango staples and Filipino favorites like crispy hito (—served with buro and mustasa leaves, of course!), kalderetang kambing, crispy fried quail, salpicao and other Pampango and regional culinary delights..

So if you are craving for a piece of home, a reminder of your mom’s cooking or simply a great place to eat with value for money, then come to PARIMEX. Take a seat and be prepared for a wondrously nostalgic gustatory ride.