Artichoke Adobo: Will the real Tapa Queen please stand up. (Please stand up)

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Will the real Tapa Queen please stand up. (Please stand up)

First off, I've decided to stop counting the number of food review posts that I make. More and more the Artichoke Adobo has taken a life all its own and it's mostly about food. The name, apparently, is prophetic.

I was scrounging up some relatively old pictures a couple of days back and I happened upon some pix I took in Taal, Batangas. It reminded me of the reason why I get excited whenever I take a trip to Mox's province. It is the one place in the world where you can meet royalty right dab smack in the middle of the local wet market.

Mox and the Tapa Queen

I'm talking about the real Tapa Queen (please stand up). The lady is apparently Mox's distant relative. You can find her everyday sitting on top of her high bench (which just reminds me of a throne --- seriously) master of all the meat products that she surveys. Her only activity is dully swatting away at the visiting flies and occassionally looking from side to side. At least until a suki comes along.

The small stall sells at least two kinds of longganisa, tocino, hard hot choco tablets, and sundry other food products. Its claim to fame, though, is and will always be the Tapa. Tapa in Taal is unlike the tapa we're so used to here in Manila. Actually, the first time I brought a bag of this tapa home, my folks and I argued about the way it was made. My dad said it was made of pork while my mom and I insisted that it was beef. After confirming with the Tapa Queen herself the verdict is...pork. It tastes a lot like beef, though, and while I don't think I can get the recipe for this concoction short of by prying it off of cold dead hands, I'm pretty sure patis is involved somewhere in the marinade.

Three at Caysasay

Anyway, go and visit the Tapa Queen's store if you wander into the Taal or Lemery, Batangas area. You can find her a brisk walk away from the Caysasay Church, in the middle of the market that recently burned to the ground.

Pork Tapa. Quite an experience.

Price: About 200 Pesos/Kilo
Gaping Navels: @@@@ out of 5
Pros: Tastes very different... no sweet.
Cons: It's pork... so don't expect jerky consistency.