When I was planning my birthday outing with the family, I originally wanted to go to Isdaan in Gerona, Tarlac. We could just take SCTEX since we would be coming from Pampanga as we would be visiting Tatay’s resting place first. But they find the place too far and so I had to look for other options. Sister suggested we try Apag Marangle which is located near Greenbelt in Makati. Thinking of the Makati traffic, I said we should just visit the original branch which is located in Bacolor, Pampanga. ย And so we did.
First off, the place is a bit too hard to find. They are literally located along the highway with just a medium sized banner. We got lost and drove thru the highway twice before we found the place. It wasn’t much help that the people we asked gave different directions. I guess the place is not that popular with the locals.
The restaurant is made up of several dining area in bamboo stilts. It is located in a fish pond where you can also opt to catch fish for consumption. Sister said they recreated this set up in Makati.

Menu is printed in a tarpaulin that is shaped and colored like a banana leaf
After we ordered some dishes, our server recommended chicharon and atsara for appetizer. Now that is something I have not heard before.

Chicharon and Atsara. Good combination. (4.5/5)
I remembered two friends while having this. I think they’d love to have this with brew kettle. ๐ This is a solid 4.5/5.
Here’s what we had.

Ensaladang Mangga (3/5)
Usually ensaladang mangga tastes good because of the bagoong. This is where the dish failed. Shrimp paste was too salty.

Sago at Gulaman . (3/5)
Instead of the usual soda, we ordered sago at gulaman. I think the syrup used was overcooked. It had a bit of a bitter taste.

Rellenong Palaka (Betute) . 3/5
I didn’t really try this one. I was just not in the mood. Lol. I guess I prefer just the frog legs. Not the whole frog that definitely looks like a frog.

Nasing Marangle. (3/5)
Sister said this is good so we ordered it aside from the plain rice that we got. It wasn’t that good. It is just rice with pinakbet and some lechon kawali as toppings. Nothing brilliant, really.

Pork Humba. (4/5)
This one is good. We wanted to get another order but it would take them a lot of time to prepare it so we just enjoyed this one.

Sinigang na Manok. (3.5/5)
This is good but a bit too oily. The good thing about this is they used native chicken so it was quite tasty.

Steamed Shrimps. (3/5)
Overcooked. ๐ฆ Not good. I could have cooked shrimp better.
We also has some grilled hito which I wasn’t able to take a pic of.
Overall, I wouldn’t be coming back to this place. Location wasn’t that nice. The food was mediocre. Nothing memorable.