I was hoping to find the only house I knew in Balanga, Bataan. It belonged to my granduncle, my grandmother?s brother.

Everything was now unfamiliar. It was very clear in my mind how it looked, well, at least 25 years ago when I was last there. It was the wake of my granduncle, and we were eating the best grilled bangus (milkfish) I had ever tasted, freshly harvested and cooked.

My recent trip was to research on the local cuisine, but I really wanted to taste once more that perfect bangus. Unfortunately, bangus harvest had ended two weeks before we got there.

My greatest regret is that I never saw the fishponds of my grandmother?s family. One summer we spent in Balanga, I told my aunt I wanted to see them and to walk on the pilapil, the mound of earth bordering every fishpond which also serves as a footpath.

She laughed and said I needed a banca because every fishpond was so big. I couldn?t imagine then what she meant, until I saw the body of water at the back of one house. It was so big and, yes, you needed a banca to negotiate the area.

Entrepreneurs

The house where I saw that fishpond belonged?still does?to one of the entrepreneurs in the area. She makes bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) and smokes fish for a living.

Armanda Batag learned the trade from her mother. She went on her own after graduating from college. In her smokehouse, I saw for the first time how tinapa is processed. Batag said that working hours are usually at night, because it?s in the afternoon the fish come in. However, that morning we visited, she saved some for us to see?a most hospitable gesture.

In the ?smoking? area, several pieces of my favorite Bataan specialty?the tinapang banak (smoked grey mullet)?were taken from the pit for us to see. Batag said that while the fish is a favorite among locals, it doesn?t sell when she brings the fish to Divisoria, her Manila outlet.

Later on, I was told the banak was called kapak locally and that it belongs to another kind of mullet, one that doesn?t grow any bigger. There are three sizes of kapak?small, medium and large, the large no longer than six inches. My hosts told me they like the medium-size kapak best.

You must be an expert in the art of removing the bones of the kapak, which are harder and consequently more lethal than those found in bangus. I learned the art from the time I was old enough to eat the fish on my own, because my grandmother always served it.

Another granduncle remembered to send me some when he heard I loved it. The old folks are gone and I certainly miss them. I hope the familial connection can be made again.

Memorable

Some of my most memorable meals happened beside fishponds. My best friend in college, whose maternal line also hails from Bataan, invited me to a fish harvest but this time at their Quezon property.

The bangus were glistening beside the pond, already inside tubs or bañera. The bangus and the shrimps were caught earlier with nets during the low tide, when the water is let out from the pond. Some shrimps and bangus were placed on top of grills and we could smell the wonderful aroma of freshness.

We were in time to see my friend?s younger brothers and some of the help inside the pond catching by hand the mud crabs (alimango). Those crabs went straight into the pot to be steamed.

Simply cooked food like this needs only rice, a great dipping sauce and a local salad like mango, tomato and bagoong alamang to make for a feast.

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