If there’s one prominent person known in the Town of Mexico in the province of Pampanga, it would be Lillian Borromeo also known as “Atching Lillian.”
For those who don’t know or are familiar with her, she is said to be the last maker of the traditional Kapampangan pastry which is the San Nicholas cookies, a family heirloom, considered to be the oldest cookies in Pampanga and, also in the Philippines.
Kapampangan cuisines’ history came from a long period since Spanish colonization. With the influence of Spanish, Chinese, Mexicans, Malays, and other neighboring countries, Kapampangan cuisine is a unique cuisine that is what it is today!
In the town of Mexico in the province of Pampanga where you find her famous kitchen.
Considered to be one of the top-visited places of some tourists in Pampanga, Kusina ni Atching Lillian is must visit place for those who would love to experience and learn a traditional Kapampangan cooking method and have a taste of Kapampangan cuisines that have been passed from generation to generation.
Everyone is welcome to experience Kapampangan hospitality in her ancestral house. Inside her ancestral house located in Barangay Parian is her famous Cusinang Matua or old kitchen, where she cooks almost all of her traditional and known Kapampangan cuisines.
The Kusina ni Atching Lillian can accommodate 50 people in her kitchen.
Everything from the kitchen, kitchen equipment used for cooking, and utensils, are all antique which made the whole restaurant unique and is considered a heritage place that everyone should visit once.
You can consider it as a museum, where you find some unique and traditional cooking equipment used during the old times.
One of the traditional Kapampangan cuisines that you should try is Atching Lillian’s Adobong Puti. The Adobong Puti is considered the oldest and original form of Filipino Adobo.
What’s the difference? It’s an Adobo without soy sauce. It’s not darker because it doesn’t have much soy sauce.
Next to try is Atching Lillian’s Bobotung Asan. The recipe is an heirloom which makes the dish more traditional.
What’s more?
You can’t miss her version of Morcon.
For some people, this dish will bring confusion because it’s quite similar to Dinuguan but it’s not!
If you still haven’t tried eating Pampanga’s very own Quilayin then, you should try it here in Kusina ni Atching Lillian cooked by the Queen of Kapampangan Cuisine Guru herself, Atching Lillian. This dish is a mixture of dinuguan with its thickened pork blood and the dish, kinilaw with its sliced internal pork.
Of course, you have to try Atching Lillian’s version of Sisig. One of the best in town!
For those who don’t know, Kapampangan also has its version of Spanish paella. So, if given a chance, you must try Atching Lillian’s signature Bringhe. It’s something worth trying!
Okoy is okay! You have to try the Papaya Fritters or also known as “Okoy” a simple yet enjoyable dish paired with vinegar as a dipping sauce.
Never forget a sweet dessert that Kapampangan inherited from Spanish explorers Tocino del Cielo, which can be translated literally as “Bacon from Heaven” or “Lard from Heaven”.
This tiny syrupy custard is the smaller version of Leche flan with a twist
Visit Kusina ni Atching Lillian, if you’re interested in traditional ways of cooking Kapampangan cuisines.
In this place, we can experience learning and going back to our roots through the method of cooking traditional food and its taste that will bring us to reminisce the history of our very own Kapampangan Cuisine.
For the recipe and the process of cooking, you can visit Atching Lillian’s Youtube channel for more detailed recipes and methods of cooking.
Discover more great places here in Pampanga.
Kusina ni Atching Lillian
Location: Barangay Parian, Mexico, Pampanga.
Contact: 0915 773 0788
Facebook: Atching Lillian L. Borromeo
Facebook: Cucina Ng Atching Lilian Borromeo Pampanga
Youtube: Atching Lillian
