‘In Pasig, our plates are never just plates. They are canvases, heirlooms, and letters from the past. And to taste Pasig is to know that we are a people who love deeply, cook generously, and eat gratefully.’
FOOD is never just food in the Philippines. It is memory, history, and a thousand unspoken words passed down over heirloom plates. Here, a simple merienda can turn into a three-hour family conference. A pot of caldereta can heal rifts better than time. And if there’s anything truer than our appetite, it’s this: where there is good food, there are good people and in Pasig, both abound.
Just two weeks ago, I had the joy of organizing, together with the Kabataang Tambuli ng Pasig and the Cultural Affairs and Tourism Office, the very first Gastronomic Tour of the City, a humble beginning to what I hope becomes a tradition. We chose Barangay Kapitolyo, a neighborhood that wears its name like a crown and its culture like a well-used apron.
Kapitolyo, as its name suggests, once held the Capitol Building of the old Rizal Province, back when Pasig stood proud as its capital city. But long before the food trails and café signs, its roots traced back to Barangay Sumilang, where the Capitol once stood, a freestanding monument of American-era aspiration, designed by William Parsons.
The building is long gone now, reduced to ruins, but it was never just a government hall. It was a stage for the Pasig Carnival, for music and lights and beauty queens whose names lived on in old programs, photographs and younger songs. It was at one such carnival in 1926 where the composer Nicanor Abelardo was inspired to write the timeless kundiman, “Mutya ng Pasig.” The muse he conjured from the river’s depths now lives not in a pageant or a palace, but I dare say, in the kitchens of Kapitolyo. And on this tour, we followed her trail.
Our first stop: Café Juanita, the grand dame of Kapitolyo’s restaurant row. Stepping inside is like walking into your tita’s house, if your tita were a romantic hoarder of chandeliers, antiques, and whimsy. Owned by Dr. Efren Vazquez, an OB-GYN by profession and restaurateur by passion, Café Juanita is a living love letter to both family and flavor. Dr. Vazquez shared the story behind the restaurant, named after his mother, Juanita, and introduced us to their new creation: the “UbeKo,” a velvety marriage of classic biko and vibrant ube. Just like he is hands-on in medicine, Doc Ef treats his kitchen as an extension of healing, each dish tenderly crafted, each story shared with a sparkle of nostalgia.
Next, we visited the Arts and Beans Coffee Shop, tucked inside the Kapitolyo Art Space. Here, the aroma of coffee mingles with the scent of fresh paint. Monthly exhibits showcase works by local artists, offering guests a moment to pause and reflect. In a city that often rushes forward, Arts and Beans reminds us to look inward and backward. It is a gallery disguised as a café, or perhaps a café disguised as a gallery. Either way, it serves both art and espresso generously.
Our third destination was Three Sisters Restaurant, a Kapitolyo institution founded before the Second World War. This is comfort food at its finest: pancit, barbecue, and the kind of meals that taste like they were cooked in your grandmother’s kitchen. In an age of fast trends and fleeting tastes, Three Sisters proves that there is still magic in the familiar.
Finally, we arrived at Kainan Augusto, another restaurant helmed by Dr. Vazquez. While Café Juanita is flamboyant and theatrical, Kainan Augusto is quieter, humbler, but no less heartfelt. With the charm of a neighborhood turo-turo and the polish of a curated dining spot, it offered a fitting end to our tour: a reminder that greatness can be found in simplicity, and heritage can thrive even in the most unassuming spaces.
Through these four spaces, each distinct in aesthetic and experience, we witnessed Pasig’s evolving food identity. It is at once traditional and inventive, loud and soft, flamboyant and earthy. There’s a reason why Pasig’s kitchens are revered: their flavors carry not just taste but time. In a city as old and storied as Pasig, every meal is an archive. Behind every dish is a lineage of cooks, of elders who stirred pots while humming songs of their time, of children who learned to slice onions before they learned to write. Food here is not a trend, it’s a testimony to a life devoted to family, community and most of all continuity.
As we closed our Gastronomic Tour, what stayed with us wasn’t just the flavor profiles or the plating. It was the spirit of gathering. The communal act of sharing a meal is sacred; it binds families, neighbors, and generations. It transforms strangers into companions. It turns city dwellers into citizens of memory. In Pasig, our plates are never just plates. They are canvases, heirlooms, and letters from the past. And to taste Pasig is to know that we are a people who love deeply, cook generously, and eat gratefully.
Kapitolyo, once the political heart of a province, is now the cultural palate of a city. And through this tour, we came to realize: the best way to honor heritage is to keep serving it: beautifully, generously, and always with love.
