Snake, ostrich to highlight ‘Sisig’ Festival

ANGELES CITY — Dumping its bid for the Guinness Book of World Records, the annual two-day "Sisig Festival" which starts tomorrow will nevertheless feature "exotic" highlights for culinary books: snake, ostrich, frog and other such unusual sisig dishes.

And there will be 177 kinds of such dishes to be presented by cooks from various parts of the province in a culinary contest to highlight the various activities lined up for the festival including kite flying events, motorbike races, costumed street dancing, and sisig jingle competition.

The sisig varieties to be presented are a variation from the traditional sisig this city has become noted for. The usual sisig’s main ingredient comprise of crisply roasted pork head and ears which are finely chopped and mixed with liver and seasonings before being served on a hot metal plate.

"We are no longer attempting to land in the Guinness Book of World Records as we were told that entry on food records has already been limited," said Irish Calaguas, information chief of the city government and one of the organizers of the fourth annual Sisig Festival.

In the past years, local officials attempted to lure Guinness officials by featuring sisig served on a giant metal plate. No less than 480 kilos of pork were used. Tens of thousands attended the previous festivals and organizers expect again a huge crowd to visit the festival which will be held this year at the grounds of the SM City-Clark, at the main gate of the Clark special economic zone here.

Mayor Carmelo Lazatin launched the project in 2003 as part of his effort to make Angeles a "wholesome tourist destination" and wean it away from the stigma of being a "sin city" for its nightclubs and bars which rose over the years since the US military base was established at Clark Field here in 1901. The US military abandoned Clark in 1991.

Calaguas said that 177 sisig dishes will be featured this year to commemorate the 177th founding anniversary of Angeles. The city was established as a town in 1829, after it was founded by Don Angel Pantaleon as a barrio called Culiat which was then part of San Fernando 33 years earlier. In 1964, Angeles was declared a chartered city independent from the Pampanga provincial government.