Marikina Culinary and Heritage Tour part 2

Marikina City

altar

We proceed with the tour around the Iglesia Filipina Independiente or the Aglipayan Church.  The group saw the church choir rehearsing for holy week .

Birhen  Maria Mulawin

  Mulawin aka Molave  ( Premna integrifolia )  is a tree species reaching a height of about 10 meters, that is found in Southeast Asia.   When the tree was cut they found an image of a virgin in the wood. The image was venerated by the locals hence acquiring the title . The Virgin Mary of Mulawin ( Mulawin ) . The tree was from Laguna. A big slab was given to Marikina.

Our Lady of the Barangay

choir

The choir was rehearsing for holy week, The group was able to take a few snap shots

Mama Ting’s

Mama Ting’s is one of the best places to buy everlasting, rellenong bangus , pork hamonado  and beef morcon in this part of Marikina – Their store is located near Kapitan Moy along J.P. Rizal street .

Mrs. Lourdes “Mama Ting” Diguangco started cooking rellenong bangus for selling in 1998 and she would bring only some of them to the public market. She was only selling 30 to 35 pieces every week. It was only in 2010 when she decided to open a takeout store.

 everlasting

We opted to buy everlasting , It is comparable to embutido but it is presented in a llanera ( oval shaped mold ) the aluminum mold is commonly used for the more popular leche flan ( steamed ceme caramel ) .   It is also advisable to pre-order their specialties especially on weekeneds , holidays and on Christmas season.

Address: 246 J.P. Rizal St.  Barangay Sta Elena, Marikina City

Contact  : Cellphone number:  0917-511-0208  Land-line Telephone 624-7100

lunch buffet

beef with mushroom

 beef is tender with mushroom – However it is a bit oily

fish fillet

 fish fillet is fried creme dory and with regular mayonnaise dip

Lumpiang Tagalog

Lumpiang Tagalog is also called Lumpiang Hubad – without the wrapper .  I have tasted this dish several times. The lumpia had chopped ubod ng niyog ( coconut palm heart ), togue (mungbean sprouts  ) tokwa ( tofu ) sliced carrots , beans, cabbage, chopped celery , shrimps .

baked spareribs

We ate a lunch buffet at Cocina de Kambal at the Kapitan Moy building

Our Lady of the Abandoned Church

History :

The original church was built in 1572 made out of light materials wherein both the Augustinians and Jesuits fought over the ecclesiastical control of the area. On March 10, 1687, Governor Gabriel Cruz Elasque ordered the transfer of Marikina to the oversight of the Augustinians and merged with the ministry of San Mateo, Rizal   . He instructed Don Juan Pimentel ( Mayor of Tondo ) to vacate and demolish the visita  of Jesús de la Peña as the Marikina river would flood the site during the rainy season. Due to increasing population and floods,  the parish had to move into higher ground  the much larger, present structure was built. The church was subsequently made an independent parish in 1690.

The church enshrines one of several images of the Virgin Mary venerated as miraculous, which has received Papal recognition.

historical marker

In 1898, during the Philippine-American war, the first image was burnt along with pertinent records of the devotion in Marikina. In 1902, a new image was created, and is the one presently venerated in the parish.

interiors

The church sustained major damages during the closing months of the second world war . The carillion  ( church bells )  out of about 7 or 8 , more than half were destroyed from Allied bombings . The remaining bells were later kept within the church grounds –

Our Lady of  the Abandoned  replica

This was according to Mr. Jonathan Blaza . Renovation started in the 1950’s up to the late 1957 with the help of various civic groups .

side altar

The church was again renovated and enlarged in the mid- 2000 and additional trompe’l -oeil style of paintings were added .

apostle and saint statues

Architecture : The church was constructed  in Baroque  style, it is characterized by a heavily-fortified facade, large-scale ceiling paintings, a dramatic central projection of the facade, a round-style pediment for the bell-tower.

Our Lady of the Abandoned  Parish Catholic Cemetery

apartment style niches

The cemetery is well-kept with small manicured lawn planted with common plants like ixora ( santan ) dracena

columbary

century -old acacia tree

This century -old acacia tree is a mute testament to the colorful history of the place. The old acacia tree is a host for ficus , Drynaria quercifolia ( oak leaf fern)

We opted to walked along the J.P.Rizal street and saw a lot of old houses and beautiful gardens. The house above was probably made more than 50 years ago in concrete with  grill works , balcony , arches and adobe ( volcanic tuff ) walls.

garden

This is a private garden along 205 J.P. Rizal street within Barangay San Roque , Marikina City – it had semi-terete orchids, cattleyas, bromeliads, neogerelias , dischidias , ixoras , ficus

San Roque chapel

Salud Panciteria

Salud Panciteria is among the most favorite panciterias in Marikina . The panciteria ( noodle house ) started in 1960’s as a home-style restaurant.

I have eaten there several times and i must say that their Salud Pinagulong and Breaded Chicken is the best not only in Marikina but in Metro Manila. Located along 205-A 141 JP Rizal Street. There is a signage pointing the quaint restaurant along a small alley ( within a compound)

cashier area

Aling Salud

History

 The original founder is Aling Salud who have Chinese descent and have learn the art of making noodles from her parents. They eventually started selling their home-made noodles for less than a peso in one of the busy corners of  Barangay San Roque along JP Rizal street in Marikina in the 1960’s.  Soon, after she opened her panciteria which she named after her. family also continued running one in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte province. The current restaurant is now being managed by a third generation clan member.

Salud Pinagulong

The miki- bihon noodles strands is named as ” Pinagulong ” . What makes this noodle so special is that there are topping of fried pork  ( lechon kawali ) on top of the noodles.  Php 150 good for 2 to 4 persons

Torta con Carne with Special Sauce

Torta con Carne with Special Sauce is another MUST TRY  An additional sauce is added . The torta dish is a combination of Spanish , Chinese and Filipino influence .

personalized plate

Area:

The area can accommodate between 30 to 60 people at any given time.  Reservation is advisable . The restaurant also offers catering for baptismal, birthdays, weddings and meetings.

Address: 205A JP Rizal Street, Barangay San Roque , Marikina City

Contact Details: (02) 369-43-69 Cellphone : (0927) 752-6751

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NewSaludPanciteria

Sisig Sarap

Sisig Sarap is located within the sports complex . The restaurant caters to students and budget conscious individuals.

concrete murals

We also toured around the Marikina Sports Complex  . There used to be a railroad track which runs along the present day  Marikina sport complex ( daang bakal ) railroad system which also includes parts of Montalban , Rizal

Marikina Sports Stadium Bells

We end the culinary and heritage tour with a bright mood past 4:00PM

Note: I would like to ” Thank” Mr. Jonathan J. Blaza , Shoe Museum staffs , Cocina de Kambal , Salud Panciteria , Aling Remy’s Puto , Goto Garahe , Kapitan Moy -tourism office staffs and the people that we met during the tour.

Marikina Culinary and Heritage Tour part 1

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Marikina Culinary and Heritage Tour part I

Marikina City, Metro Manila -Philippines

Kapitan Moy house

Marikina is known as the ” Shoe Capital of the Metro Manila ” and even in the Philippines. The author together with Mr. Jonathan J. Blaza and Ms. Vonette Fernandez both residents of Barangay Santo Niño  in cooperation with Marikina Tourism Office organized a Culinary , Industrial and Heritage tour.  All the itineraries were made by our group. Mr. Jonathan Blaza’s family were one of the pioneers of the city. They have an old ancestral house which unfortunately burned-down in 1998 .

Don Leureano Guevarra statue

 Don Laureano Guevarra  ( aka Kapitan Moy ) (4 July 1851 – 30 December 1891), who was known as the Founder of the Marikina Shoe Industry. Also known as Kapitan Moy, he served as capitan municipal in the city.

historical marker

A historical marker honoring him as the Pioneer of the Shoe-making Industry in Marikina was installed at his birthplace in 1970. The house is 225 plus years- old. It is located along J.P. Rizal street corner Deguangco street within barangay Santa Elena .  As time passes -by , Doña Teresa dela Paz was actively engaged in philanthropic services for the poor and underprivileged. She bought the house of Kapitan Moy to serve the needs of the marginal sector of the community. The  dwelling place of Kapitan Moy was eventually transferred to his brother-in-law Don Jose Espiritu. Subsequently , it was transformed into a primary school in 1907-1955 and many years later, the local government of Marikina developed it to be the city’s cultural center.

Cafe Kapitan

There are 2 restaurants at the ground floor area which are tenants of the historical house . Cocina de Kambal and Cafe Kapitan .

Cocina de Kambal

Bulwagan bayani

The second floor serves as an event or venue place . It is  fully air-conditioned and can house 300-500 guests. It also had a stage area and an elevator service for people with disability. Venue rentals starts at Php 15,000 for 4 hours and payment can be made at the Marikina Cityhall.

old house

This is a pre-world war 2 house along J.P. Rizal owned by a lawyer .

The building had a fish gargoyle and a Spanish -Mediterranean style architecture.

Mr. Lance Manasan

 Mr. Lance Manasan selling his slogan t-shirts beside the Our Lady of the Abandoned Church . He works at a BPO industry and his sideline is selling slogan t-shirts.

contact : 0922-8994948

email: lance.manasan@yahoo.com

Shoe Museum

The shoe museum is another historical place in Marikina.  The original building used to be a rice storage area ( Camalig )

shoe park

The shoe park is just adjacent to the shoe museum with manicured lawn , century-old  acacia tree and some ornamental plants.

The museum was conceived in 1998 under then Mayor Bayani F. Fernando on the assumption that the City, being the Shoe Capital of the Philippines, can be a significant venue for nurturing the historical and cultural values of its shoe industry.

Bayani Fernando’s construction hat and shoes

It was opened in February 16, 2001 and was initially called the Footwear Museum of Marikina.

Entrance fee of Php 50 per head , big groups must have a prior appointment before visiting the place.

There are also over 100 famous people like politicians, artists , celebrities , former presidents   which donated their shoes at the shoe museum list includes Dolphy, German Moreno, Maria Venus Raj , President Fidel Ramos, President Joseph Estrada , Postmaster General  Maria Josefina dela Cruz , Senator Ralph Recto among others.

Mrs. Imelda Marcos shoes

The 800 pairs of shoes of Mrs. Marcos, are part of the 3,000 pairs collection which she accumulated performing her duties as first lady during her husband’s 20-year incumbency.

Imelda Marcos portrait

She wore those shoes at meetings with dignitaries both here and abroad. Aside from the shoes. Most of the collection came Malacañang Palace

porcelain shoes

group photo

L-R author, Ms. Evelia Tapel ( vol . staff ) , Ms. Rosechelle Abella ( Tourism staff ) Ms. Hennesy Joy L. Villaniz ( Treasury Staff) Mr. Karl Aguilar ( Urban Roamer ) Mr. Jonathan J. Blaza ( stamp blogger, postcrossing ambassador, heritage advocate ) and Mr. Bryan Jalipa ( Cebu blogger)

Marikina postcards

Before we left the Shoe Museum , We bought some interesting postcards ( 6 pieces ) per pack – Php 50 .  All the participants signed the postcards and will be send via the Marikina post office for posterity and part of our collection.

Don Isabelo Mendoza Street

Isabelo’s Restaurant

Rustic Morning Restaurant is some sort of garden, artists haven , gourmet place . The place is also an event venue place. Rustic Morning’s by Isabelo.

old wine bottles

Some of the paintings are for sale .   We would also recommend that a prior appointment must be made several days or weeks in advance.

Isabelo Garden Restaurant

Isabelo Mendoza Street , Barangay San Roque, Marikina City

Website: http://www.isabelogarden.com/

sales ladies

Aling Remy’s puto and kutsinta started their operation in  1935 , the business was handled down to a second generation son who continued the business .

Mr. Ramoncito Dalmacio

The specialties includes the traditional puto ( rice cakes ) brown colored ones . They use brownish sugar with cheese toppings, kutsinta and the flavored ones like ube ( purple yam ) ,  white , strawberry

It used to be made at their home and eventually words quickly spread and orders began turning almost an entire block into a colorful array of native delicacies .

kutsinta

229 J.P Rizal Street, San Roque , Marikina City

Contact : 645-6607 / 940-48-67/ 467-98-06

Cellphone : 0916-319-1811

Goto Garahe

Goto Garahe is a home -style restaurant which is located along 269 J.P. Rizal street . The restaurant started its operation in the late 1999 and closed down for several months after it was inundated by Ondoy in 2009 .  The place can accommodate up to to 50 to 60 people at any time of the day

specialties includes Goto , Tokwa’s Baboy , Okoy, Halo-halo, Minatamis na Saging ,  Ginataan sa Bilo-bilo, Tapsilog , Lumpiang Prito

goto

This is one of the specialties in the restaurant . This is  a MUST TRY

saging con yelo ( minatamis na saging)

halo-halo

We planned to tour around  the historical district and concentrate the tour within district 1 .

Mama Chit’s

collection

Mama Chit’s collection of old bottles, coke items, advertisement posters, car plate number , old photos , toys are simple astonishing . According to some, They got some of the biggest collection of coke items in this side of Marikina on display.

giant size-burger

It took us a while before we finished the giant size burger. 1 burger can feed 4 to 6 people.

Address : 278 J. P Rizal Street ,Barangay San Roque , Marikina City

Contact ( 02) 646-85-47

Note: It is just a few meters away from Shoe Museum, Our Lady of the Abandoned Church and Kapitan Moy Heritage House

mural

 The city-hall structure was built in the 1940’s.  Eventually,  a more modern building replaced the old one in the 1960’s while several renovation and structure was built  after the 2009 Ondoy floods.

Marikina Cityhall

 There are also bust of all the former mayors  .  The area was severely flooded due to Bagyong Ondoy aka Typhoon Ketsana , floods reached the second floor of the building and almost all the records were destroyed .

grill works

The group passed and visited the city hall with its unique grill works and murals .

Marikit statue

Origin and Etymology

– Marikit is a 40 feet statue ( about 4 to 5 story)  along the riverside area. In one legend it was believed that she was the first lady who accidentally fell and got drowned in the river. The riverbanks area is a hub for the people of Marikina and nearby places. Before 1788 according to some historical account the name of the town was ” Marikit – Na ” Tagalog term for pretty .

rows of restaurants

There are rows of restaurants , bars and grilling stations . During the Yuletide season , there are flea market style bazaars which showcases the products of Marikina.  Another legend was a young priest named “Mariquina” who was given the task of baptizing children to Christianity. Because of this very noble job, Mariquina was named in his honor, However there was not historical records to verify such claim. Another story was there was a beautiful and noble lady named a beautiful, virtuous, polite and intelligent lady named Maria Cuina was residing in the town. Because of her expertise in business, she became rich and her fortunes were expended in charity and eventually became famous in the whole town up to Manila. When a traveler from other towns visited the barrio, he asked for the name of the town, a resident replied “Maria Cuina” thinking that what was being asked was their admirable lady. Since then, the story spread throughout and the town was known as “Mariquina”

Captain Felix Berenguer de Marquina y FitzGerald.

The most acceptable historical claim was the name that came from Captain Félix Ignacio Juan Nicolás Antonio José Joaquín Buenaventura Berenguer de Marquina y FitzGerald. ( Former Governor General of the Philippines –  July 1, 1788 to September 1, 1793. ) Philippine historians like Dr. Trinidad Padro de Tavera and Dr. Teodoro Agoncillo.

Website: http://velascoberenguer.es.tl/F-e2-lix-Berenguer-de-Marquina-d–Virrey-de-Nueva-Espa%F1a.htm

Marikina river

There is a flower decorated right in the middle of her chest. It’s not just a decoration.  It is a mark to signify how high the flood was during the typhoon “Ondoy” a.k.a. Typhoon Ketsana.  It is one of the 3 or 4 legends which the name ” Marikina” was derive.  We also toured parts of the river and we saw some birds and fishes.

Teatro Marikina

Teatro Marikina is the cultural, convention, trade fairs and socio-civic center of Marikina.  The theater had a seating capacity of 1,100 . Note: The rates may vary but usually starts at Php 15,000 ordinary days and Php 20,000 for weekends

Teatro Marikina is located at the corner of Shoe Avenue and  V. Gomez Street,  Barangay Sta. Elena Marikina City.

  Contact number: (02) 647.3360 or 646.2360 loc. 208

Website: http://www.marikina.gov.ph/

Santos House

We toured some of the old houses that remains in the area.  The Santos house used to have a small clinic . Now, the former clinic is now a small convenient store.

inverted pots and potted plants

Iglesia Filipina Independiente

Part 2:  Marikina Culinary and Heritage Tour

Website: http://marikina.gov.ph