A Pampanga getaway for bon vivants

Looking for a weekend getaway rich in romance, gustatory pleasure and Filipino-style pampering? Follow in the footsteps — literally — of one of the Philippines’ great bon vivants and head to Magalang, Pampanga, where you’ll find Abe’s Farm.

Nestled in the foothills of Mount Arayat, Abe’s Farm was the weekend retreat of the late, great Larry J. Cruz, founder of the LJC Restaurant Group, and now his family has opened it to the public.

“We’re trying to make sure that we keep the legacy that my father has passed on,” says Larry’s daughter Lorna Cruz-Ambas. “The idea of having a farm here started when my grandfather, Emilio Aguilar Cruz (popularly known as Abé), died. Part of his ashes was strewn on the foothills of Mt. Arayat, and the germ of an idea of having a vacation house here started.”

In his native province of Pampanga, LJC acquired a property so pastoral it was adjacent to livestock ranches, and developed it as a rest house and farm, where they grew fruits and vegetables, “just enough to give to friends and to supply the restaurants.”

Now the main house, which was designed by Cruz and artist-architect friend Agustin Goy as a “grand bahay kubo,” has been converted into an airy restaurant overlooking a garden and swimming pool. The house is Filipino down to its bones, made of native wood, bamboo and cogon grass. But personal items like faded photographs and a hat rack from which LJC’s trademark Panamas still hang are oddly moving and remind you that, yes, a very tight-knit family once lived here, and still do, in fact.

“We’d spend long weekends here, hold birthday parties, and LJC would invite his friends,” continues Ambas.

More importantly, friends wanted to come over in numbers so significant it couldn’t fail to catch the enterprising restaurateur’s notice. Wanting to pay tribute to his late father, Abe Cruz, who was a painter, ambassador, journalist, gourmet and all-around lover of the good life (as Larry himself was), in 2007 LJC put up Abe restaurant in Serendra serving Kapampangan cuisine. He also published a book and built the E. Aguilar Museum at the farm to showcase Abe’s life and works.

Light and refreshing: Pako salad with salted egg and onion

“It was my father’s idea for it to be called Abe’s Lifestyle Village with a restaurant, spa, museum … and to complete the package, arts and handicrafts showcasing the local flavor of Pampanga,” Ambas says. “It was fast-tracked when he got sick; he sat us down and said, ‘Do this, do that.’”

Alas, LJC, who died in February 2008, never saw his dream fully realized.

But today we can enjoy the fulfillment of his vision thanks to Lorna and partners Merlie de la Peña and Eugene Billones, who now run Abe’s Farm together with operations manager Dominic Diaz and LJC marketing manager Malou Evidente.

Start your weekend with a great meal

Technically, the restaurant at the farm is a branch of Abe in Serendra, featuring the same Kapampangan cuisine but authentic down to its ingredients. One standout dish is the refreshing pako salad with salted egg and onion, made of farm-to-table baby fiddlehead fern.

After such a light and healthy appetizer you can eat the chicharones with conviction and less guilt: these crispy pork-rind curls with the fat decadently attached are not to be missed. Also excellent are the burong mangga and sinigang na bangus belly with bayabas — the guava used as the souring ingredient gives this sinigang a distinctive, unique flavor.

Among the mains my favorite was Lola Ising’s adobo, which is crisped in the deep fryer after being cooked in soy and vinegar. Also offered at Fely J’s in Greenbelt 5, this dish is named after Larry’s mom, who wanted the family adobo deep-fried before it was served with lots of toasted garlic. An utterly soul-satisfying dish, the brilliant Lola Ising definitely knew what she was doing.

For a vegetable accompaniment, try the Kapampangan version of pinakbet, which adds squash to the vegetable medley and is sautéed, not just boiled. The bagoong employed is also made of real shrimp, and not mere fish paste.

For dessert, let an LJC signature, Sekreto ni Maria, reveal her secrets: soft, fresh little logs of suman and mango slices steeping in a heavenly bath of gatas damulag (carabao’s milk) and ice cream. You will savor other desserts like the sweetened saba (plantains) and tibok-tibok (another carabao-milk confection), but believe me, Sekreto ni Maria will command your full appreciation.

After such a wonderful feast, we had to meet the chefs, Carmelo “Ninoy” Aquino and Leonila Caballero-Pitogo, both of whom have worked for LJC for over 20 years. After perusing the rest of the menu I was only sorry I couldn’t stay for breakfast, which features a roster of local favorites like pork longganisa hamonado and Magalang dried fish.

The good life: The E. Aguilar Cruz Museum at Abe’s Farm showcases the life and works of artist, ambassador and journalist Abe Cruz.

Hut two, three, four

Aside from the food, another lure of Abe’s Farm is its mini-spa village. In inviting native huts, you can indulge in a full-body massage (aromatherapy is an option) or, for those reluctant to commit to lengthy pampering, foot therapy or a 30-minute head and shoulder massage.

While the air-conditioned huts can be booked for overnight stays, those who crave an even more authentic Filipino experience can stay in ulogs, or raised Ifugao huts, with their futon-like beds and living area with hammock below.

‘Elegance is the worn patina of things valued and treasured’

After a meal like that, however, we felt compelled to walk the property’s hilly terrain. A bridge and steps set into the hillsides led us to the E. Aguilar Cruz Museum, a 1930s Art Deco house that LJC bought mainly for the beauty of its wrought-iron grills. Intending to use it as a restaurant, Larry and friend Agustin Goy set about rebuilding the fixer-upper, but, rotted by age and termites, only 50 percent of the house could be salvaged. Goy had to resort to parts from pulled-down houses in Masantol, Pampanga, to fill in the rest.

Cruz, according to Goy, fell in love with the design, with its tri-color Venetian glass windows, distressed old wood and traditional furniture, which squared perfectly with LJC’s philosophy: “Things should never be too new or shiny,” he once said. “Elegance is the worn patina of things valued and treasured. And it’s not just material things.”

So it’s telling that instead of being turned into an eatery, the house is now dedicated to Abe Cruz’s art and memorabilia honoring not just him but his son, and their lives as writers, gourmets and bon vivants.

An innovation that trumpets an innovator

“Abe’s Farm is a treasure in the LJC Group of Companies, the most multi-awarded group of dining companies in cuisine,” says Judith Marie Dayrit, MasterCard vice president for marketing and member relations. “They’re innovative in the kind of dishes they prepare, and have over 1,000 dishes!”

Wanting to herald this treasure, 18 months ago MasterCard partnered with the LJC Group and RCBC to create the very first dining credit card offering loyalty rewards and discounts.

“Pinoys love to eat with family, friends, and business associates,” explains Dayrit, “and we want to demonstrate our national pride in our Filipino cuisine.”

If you stay at Abe’s Farm, eat at the restaurant and relax at the spa, whenever you use the LJC RCBC Bankard MasterCard, you automatically get 10 percent off. And this applies not just to the farm but also LJC’s 13 restaurants, all the time.

“These benefits are on a year-round basis, not on promo or weekend periods,” says Irene Taylo, RCBC Bankard associate vice president for marketing. “You can use it for birthdays, frequent dining, and special occasions.”

“There’s also zero-percent interest and no minimum spend required,” adds Dayrit. “As long as you use the LJC Bankard MasterCard in paying for your dining under LJC Group, you can avail of benefits 365 days a year.”

And it’s a runaway success. The only credit card on the market featuring an original painting by Emilio Aguilar Cruz, 20,000 have been issued already. “You cannot match the discounts and benefits given by LJC, so this credit card/dining card and its benefits are already being copied,” Taylo says. “For Abe’s Farm, you get a 10-percent discount on a weekend vacation stay plus food and spa.”

That’s an offer any lover of the good life could get behind.

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To inquire/reserve at Abe’s Farm, call the Manila office at 506-8140/41, the Pampanga office at (045) 865-1930, or visit www.abesfarm.com.ph.

 For information on the LJC RCBC Bankard MasterCard, visit www.rcbcbankard.com.