A Celebration Like No Other

Last week-end, I went to Subic and Bagac, Bataan with 7 LGV ladies to attend the 80th birthday celebration of Nanay Benita, the mother of our neighbor, Maritz Ochoa-Montejo, last Saturday evening. Since we knew the party was going to finish late, we decided to stay overnight in Subic at one of the rental houses owned by the friend of our neighbor, Paz Clemente. So it became a food trip as well.

We left LGV a little past 8AM in Paz's very roomy and comfy Club Wagon. First stop was brunch at Susie's in Angeles, Pampanga. We had the pancit palabok which was so delicious with lots and lots of sauce with chicharon bits, shrimps, and eggs. We had the P300 bilao and it was enough for the 8 of us. We also had bringhe (which I learned to love all those summers I spent in Pampanga with my cousin, Corrie Vergara-Pineda) which is a rice dish with chicken, red pepper, and luyang dilao which gives it its yellow color, siomai (surprisingly very good considering that this is not a Chinese restaurant), tibok-tibok (another personal favorite very similar to maja blanca but so much richer because it is made of carabao's milk) and mochi (another sweet delicacy which I don't fancy too much because it is too sticky). After a short drive, we reached Subic and unloaded our stuff in the rental house. Comfortable enough with 3 bedrooms and 2 T&B.

We then went to Royal Subic which I was happy to see was very well-stocked and very well patronized. So the economy seems to be humming along, thank you. After a little shopping, we went to Meat Plus for a late and light lunch. I shared and enjoyed a garden salad and grilled salmon with my across-the-street neighbor, Florie Mariano. Then back to the rental house to dress up for the grand party at Ciudad de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan.

The drive took longer than expected so we caught only the tail-end of the mass presided by Bishop Soc Villegas. But we were awestruck by the place! It's part of a 600 hectare property and the owners (Maritz's youngest sister, Tess, and her husband, Gerry Acuzar, the owners of San Jose Builders) are recreating a Spanish town, similar to Vigan. They've already bought and reconstructed 20 old houses (including houses in Ermita, Lubao and Candaba). Similar to Vigan, the roads are also cobble-stoned. But this will even be more amazing because it is so spacious and it has views of the mountains and the sea. They are also constructing a hotel, and eventually, it will be open to the public for period weddings and other events, and relaxation.

The party was fantabulous! It had ALL the works! Excellent food (garden salad, mushroom soup, paella valenciana, herb chicken, lengua, grilled prawns, and roast beef, with a whole slew of desserts including halo-halo) by Manila Catering, open bar by Z Bar (I had 2 margaritas and a honeymoon drink), followed by a 90 minute concert directed by Rowell Santiago, hosted by Arnel Ignacio, with performances from Bo Cerrudo, Agot Isidro, Pilita Corrales, and a young threesome (I didn't catch the name) which includes Ryan Cayabyab's daughter, accompanied by the Manila Philharmonic, and a fashion show with about 10 models wearing beautifully embroidered Maria Clara gowns by Rene Salud while Bo Cerrudo did his medley of kundimans. The program also included welcome remarks from Gerry, a speech from the eldest child, Marlene, and a poem by Maritz which brought the house down. Since the Ochoas are from Pulilan, the poem was in pure, lyrical Tagalog and Maritz talked about her mom (a teacher), her dad (who passed away much earlier who became mayor of their town) and her siblings (all professionals) and how life was difficult at first with 6 children to feed and to educate, and how Nanay Benita is now reaping what she has sown. There was also an AVP where Nanay's friends including her yaya talked about her simplicity, her goodness and her sense of humor, and how she loves to shop and to dance; and another AVP with greetings from all the children and grandchildren. The night was capped by a 10 minute fireworks display. So it was a love-filled celebration with about 300 guests which included Senator Noynoy Aquino, Mayor Sonny Belmonte, and the Governor of Bataan (senior moment because I can't remember his name). And the best part was that we didn't have to dress up formally. Since it is summer and the party was held outdoors, the attire was summery. And since the roads are cobble-stoned, we were advised not to wear heels so we all wore step-ins or sandals.

We left the party around 10:30PM and drove back to Subic. There were many very dark stretches when we were the only vehicle on the road and I was praying that we wouldn't get ambushed. Except for Tony, Paz's cousin who drove for us, we were all women in the vehicle. Thank God we reached Subic safely around midnight.

The following day, we had a light breakfast of fruits, suman and banana bread (thanks Lilu!) and did a little sightseeing in Subic. We went to Treetop Adventure, owned by Maritz, which features adventure rides like treedrop (yup you're dropped from a tree), Superman where you fly from one tree to another, etc. Again, we were glad to note that business was good with many daredevils enjoying the rides.

Then we checked out Lighthouse, a boutique hotel in Subic with a magnificent view of the mountains and the sea, similar to Discovery Shores in design. It is also located in a nice area with many restaurants.

We left Subic around 11 and did a roadside stop to buy mangoes (P40/kilo for the yellow mangoes, and P20/kilo for Indian mangoes; had them for breakfast today and they were very sweet), then proceeded to Susie's again to take home palabok, bringhe, balo-balo (fermented rice and fish which you eat with mustasa and hito; truly an acquired taste since I learned to like it only when I hit my 50s!), and then to Everybody's for lunch. By this time we were so hungry so we ordered a lot - morcon (so delicious), stuffed frog's legs (more tasty than fried chicken), paksiw na bangus, fresh lumpia, and hito with balo-balo - and everything was good.

We got home past 3PM, all a picture of contentment, from what we saw, heard and tasted and looking forward to our next trip. So thank you Paz, Lilu, Lorna, Florie, Pet, Carol and Melody for 2 days of fun and laughter, and to Maritz for making us a part of your Mom's unforgettable birthday celebration!

Please see slideshow below. If you wish to view bigger images, please double click on the first picture.