A sprawl of houses with stone bases, wooden upper floors, and red clay roofs greeted me behind sliding capiz windows as I went sauntering along a narrow hallway once used by alipin sagigilid, a type of Spanish-era servants who were not allowed into the main halls of these stately homes. I caught a shimmering glimpse of the past behind a façade of the present. A time where carriages carried the rich illustrados, powerful friars, and gobernadorcillos across cobbled streets; an era which is arguably much more regal and opulent than our present.

JOINED A GUIDED DAY TOUR OF LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR ON FOOT

I was at the much talked about Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in the town of Bagac in Bataan. It gained popularity among the masses and equal parts infamy for heritage conservationists with the way it restores old houses from across the Philippines.

► CHECK OUT: PAWIKAN FESTIVAL

During the old days, when the sky is clear, you can see the cross of Mount Samat from the roof of our house in Malabon, recalls my mom as I told her I was going on a trip to Bataan. That’s a long way off, about fifty kilometers way off. To step on the cross near the apex of Mount Samat had always been a dream of mine ever since having a glimpse of it from a window of a speeding bus during my high school years.

THE PEAK OF THE CROSS, 555 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Dubbed as the Dambana ng Kagitingan or Shrine of Valor, the 73,665-hectare park built in 1966 is dedicated to the fallen heroes of the Second World War. The site itself is part of bloody battlefield where the Philippines’ last stand against the Japanese Imperial Forces took place.

► CHECK OUT: BATAAN WORLD WAR II HISTORICAL TOUR 

The peeling white-plastered walls of the St. Dominic Church in the town of Abucay tell a lot of stories. To be honest, I wasn’t really as impressed by its façade until I came to know the history that these silent walls have borne witness to.

TWIN DORIC COLUMNS FLANK THE EMBOSSED DOUBLE DOORS OF THE CHURCH

Our group arrived at the church’s courtyard just as the sun was about to set. Too bad, it was descending right behind the edifice and it wasn’t too keen on giving off any drama that day.

The church doors, which was embossed with figures of a bull, a man, an eagle, and what appears to be a jaguar, was closed. We thought then that that was probably it and started heading back to the van right after taking a few posterity shots.

► CHECK OUT: LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR DAY TOUR

The culinary scene at Bataan has been surprising me at every turn. First we ate a gelato at Stregato Gelateria, then Kapampangan dishes at Ima’s Pamangan, and finally Vietnamese food at Loleng’s Hu Tieu-an. And now,we’re turning to authentic Japanese cuisine at Café Kyoto!

► CHECK OUT: PAWIKAN FESTIVAL

THE PLAZA HOTEL’S MODERN LOBBY

The restaurant is located at the posh second floor lobby of The Plaza Hotel in Balanga City. The interiors aren’t quite as Japanese as the restaurant is—plush velvety chairs and no-nonsense dark wooden tables line the halls. I find the ambience a bit too intimidating especially for casual diners.

► CHECK PLAZA HOTEL’S DISCOUNTED ROOM RATES

I was buying something from a sari-sari store somewhere in Bataan, a quick stop before we go to the site of this year’s Pawikan Festival, when the proprietor suddenly pulled up a basketful of pawikan eggs. Do I want some, he asked. I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked, to say the least. We were, after all, celebrating these gentle creatures' existence and promoting their welfare. The exchange was a total opposite of why we were here.

A SEA TURTLE HATCHLING, OFF TO THE SEA

But this is not new to me. I actually know someone close who used to eat pawikan eggs as if it were the norm. Well, to be fair, it was something natural to them, his uncles and aunts, heck, the whole town, was doing the same until it was banned. They really didn’t know that the practice wasn’t good until someone told them so. Now, they know otherwise.

► BOOK AN ISLAND HOPPING TOUR IN BATAAN

One of the things that made its lasting mark on me during our Vietnam trip a few years back is banh mi; a bread snack hawked along the sidewalks of Ho Chi Minh. Imagine this; French bread sliced in half and filled with all sorts of veggies, meat, pâté, and cheese (Laughing Cow, at that), all for almost next to nothing. Never, in my wild imaginings that I would be mouth to mouth with this Vietnamese delight once again during our Pawikan Festival trip in Bataan.

► CHECK OUT: VIETNAM 3 WEEKS ITINERARY

LOLENG’S SIMPLE STREET FACADE

Loleng’s Hu Tieu-an is a humble non-descript eatery located on one of the narrow side streets of Barangay Binaritan in Morong. The place is not air-conditioned, the furnishing is very simple, and its floor—left unfinished. You’d hardly take a second look if not for its peculiar name and the number of people going in and out of its door.

I’ve passed through the town of Morong in the province of Bataan a few times over the years, but I never knew it harbors a colonial church worthy of a visit. During the second day of the Pawikan Festival, we checked out a curious church en route to our hotel, Brizo Resort, for a brief respite from the festivities of the day.

THE LICHEN-COVERED WALLS OF BATAAN’S MORONG CHURCH

Morong Church, not to be confused with the a similarly named Morong Church in Rizal, is very squat. Situated on an elevated patio, the façade is broad but not very tall. I somehow find its proportions to be unsettling, being used to churches with towering heights.

► CHECK OUT: LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR DAY TOUR

I’m not really that familiar with what Bataan has to offer when it comes to food. Being a peninsula, I know it has an abundance of seafood. During our first night in the province for the Pawikan Festival, our host surprised us with a Kapampangan culinary spot in the town of Pilar.

DIGGING THE VERY HOMEY CHARACTER OF IMA’S INTERIORS

WALL DECORS — BUSTED CLOCKS AND SUNGKA

CARINDERIA-STYLE FOOD TRAYS

Well, I really shouldn’t have been surprised as the province of Pampanga is located just on the north-eastern side of Bataan. The restaurant’s full name is Ima Flora’s Pamangan, which is kampampangan for Mother Flora’s Food. Unpainted wooden benches and tables, faded stained floor, and knick knack-filled wood-paneled walls dress the interiors of the restaurant—and on a counter, a buffet spread, carinderia-style, was set.

Indeed, the ambience felt like an upscale carinderia, except the food is still quite affordable. At PHP250.00 per person, it doesn’t hold Bataan’s cheapest buffet title for nothing.

► CHECK OUT: ATCHING LILLIAN PAMPANGA