What keeps us away from Manila

Instead of hovering for a secure

space somewhere in mall parking

lots for an hour or two, try going

out of town on a weekend for an

hour or two

THE LONG weekend took us to the

countryside for some folk food, the

time really for people to flee the city

for a much-needed breather, but not

necessarily too far for comfort.

Besides, about an hour or two

(which in reality should be only

30-45 minutes) out of town is much better than hovering for a

secure space somewhere in the middle of mall-goth parking lots

for an hour or two. Besides, nothing could be farther from the

discomfort of pollution, noise or feeling that your bag will be

snatched.

What we discovered along the way:

The 'itik' man

Mang Danny Villegas plies his food business in a cart with the

sign that's almost scratched out: ''Tina's Fried Itik.'' It belongs to

his sister who owns several carts under ''Jane'' and ''Tina'' but

then Danny is wearing a Marlon's fried itik T-shirt, so it looks

like one happy family, all beneficiaries of the itik business.

His moveable feast is located along the highway of Binangonan,

Rizal in Barangay Pag-Asa. He is a katutubong Angono which

is pronounced, says Danny, as Ang-go-no, not Ang-ngo-no

even if Binangonan is pronounced as Bi-na-ngo-nan] and not

Bi-nang-go-nan. One of our companions who was trying to be

funny suggested, ''Ba't hindi ninyo na lang tawaging

'Binagoongan'...''

In this area we thought all fried itik tastes the same. But Danny's

were actually a bit tastier.

''Kanya-kanyang timpla ng itik. Adobo ang timpla nung aming

tinda, kaya't malasa. Sa mantikang itik din namin piniprito ang

mga ito,'' he explains. (You pick the itik from a big basket and in

a while, the oil is hot and ready.)

When you watch Danny frying the prefried itik until it turns

golden brown, you are already eating it in your mind, pulling its

wings and biting the crispy skin of the back part. This bird is

bony, so expect the meat to be dried and to be a bit stringy. And

because it is a duck variety, it is all dark meat and tasty like mild

game.

Brown paper bag

After it's fried, Danny's wife and kids help in wrapping up the

goods in a brown paper bag. No other material can keep the skin

crisp, except paper which will absorb the drippings of oil and

keep it from getting soggy. (Remember this is the same for

lechon. To keep fried and roasted meats crisp, wrap in paper,

never in foil and not on your life, in plastic.)

As of a month ago, one fried itik sold for P65 and I guess the

price scheme is the same for all the others. There is also an extra

option of the eggs and the innards of the duck for P25. But even

if it looks so tempting seeing those yellow globules of eggs like

a bunch of grapes waiting to enrich your meal, forget it--it's too

malansa for taste. Perhaps Danny and his fellow ''itik men''

should process them further to remove the pungent-fishy taste

and smell.

Fried itik is actually a duck way past its balut-laying days. Thus

they are tough meat to begin with and with a diet of shellfish,

the meat tends to taste fishy. Thus, Danny's adobo treatment

works well.

I wonder if these ducks are the same flock ''hired or invited'' to

go to fish ponds and eat up all the shellfish and snails around.

You sometimes see them on the job, when you travel along

highways where there are fish ponds.

These ducks are quite feathery with calcium-rich feathers that

may be difficult to pluck. Danny said that the processing of the

ducks is yet another source of income for some. Pluckers are

hired at P4 a piece to make himulmol and clean up the skin. They

use a crude handmade tool which works like a labaha or shaving

blade, and it's a mabusising (makulit) gawain but at least, it's still

a job. We agreed.

When the rainy season starts, I hope Danny can find a good

spot where we can still check him out. Danny and his brood

wish it would always be sunny and bright and probably wish

some traffic to come their way so motorists can be enticed to

make a meal out of their adobadong fried itik.

As the bread winner, Danny has a daughter who is totally deaf

and she lost her hearing aid or probably used to own one which

didn't suit her. He's looking for a special school where he can

afford to send his special girl.

Fish till you drop

We had a great time fishing at Bulawan Floating Restaurant, the

latest highway resort blockbuster in Pililla, Rizal. On weekends,

cars from Manila would show up and crowd the area, that the

owners decided to expand their business this early.

Families come for a whole afternoon of fishing with crude

bamboo-nylon-hook assemblies to get the biggest, smartest

catch. Our own group (Bread from Heaven Community Church)

just came from a retreat in Caliraya when fellow members Rolly

and Mia Sacdalan suggested this ''fun stop'' before getting back

to the stark reality of Monday and Manila. And so we started

with halo-halo and grazed through the day.

The fish started to bite on the masa or fish pellets, provided free

by Bulawan, which we used as bait. You have to knead this

brown meal quite a bit so it will not disintegrate right away in

the water, and don't be surprised if you're shaping the brown

mass into a kadiri shape. (You'll know what I mean.)

The secret of fishing, as my husband taught me, is to

concentrate on the tiny movements of the line. And be

sensitive. One flick of the wrist can yield a fish tale or a real fish!

Bulawan's waiters gather the catch in a Styrofoam box to keep

the fish alive. When you're ready to pay, your choices are

weighed, the rest are set free. Cost per kilo of hito or tilapia is

P80. Not that bad, considering it is as fresh as the moment you

caught them critters--and worth all the fun and the rewards of

being cunning and patient.

One kid was so engrossed that when he got a bite, he fell into

the water. The big one got away, though. In between fishing

and clowning around and ''Kodak-ing catch and catcher,'' our

friends Rolly and Mia, Nini, Jackie, Jenny, Mila, Jun and Lee,

Ana, Jaurein, Sophia, Mang Sam enjoyed the other specialties

of the restaurant such as Buko Pastel, a chicken ? la king

version with apulid or water chestnut which made it nice to the

bite.

The dish came in a buko shell and you'd still have to scoop out

the coconut meat and eat it along with the slurry of cream and

the chunks of chicken. I just found it contained too much liquid

seasoning. We also got to try Sinigang na Kanduli sa Miso

which needed more seasoning (and not just sourness) and

roundness of flavor.

Best pick

Our best pick was the Pinaputok na Pla-pla, very fresh and

cooked delicately. It's all right if the fish turns up a bit

underdone when you get to the bones, you can always ask for it

to be recooked. At least you're sure it's not overcooked like a

rubber sandal.

Other typical inihaw and sinigang dishes are on hand. I just

can't understand why every rural ihawan menu offers sizzling

steak, which makes me ask, ''But why?!''

Bulawan is the third business venture of couple Nora and Joey

Virrey. They both worked in Saudi for 12 years, Nora as a nurse

and Joey as an X-ray technician. Their two children were born

there.

Nora recounted, ''When we got home, we didn't know what

business to invest in. First there was the 'hito-an' but then that

industry suffered; next was nata de coco, but when people

heard about the formalin scare, the business industry fell.''

On their third attempt, an ihaw-ihaw restaurant, they got

encouraged and leased a bigger space. The business started to

grow. But Nora got stricken with cancer and was operated on

just before the restaurant opened in December 1997. She got

cured and is now managing the place with her family, while Joey

is overseeing the expansion of more family cottages with indoor

pools.

Clean facilities

Bulawa