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Restaurants were Happy Ongpauco’s playground of choice growing up. Her parents owned renowned food joints — Barrio Fiesta, Bakahan at Manukan, Singing Cooks and Waiters Atbp, and Isdaan — so working at the different stations of the restaurants became a daily routine for Happy. In a way, it was her baptism of fire to a career that would make her a successful restaurateur.
In 2000, she took a chance and set up concept restaurant World Topps (on the menu: rice toppings) with hardly any cash and an almost maxed out credit card. Her tenacity paid off and she got the returns of her investment in just a year’s time. From there, she opened a string of restaurants in the metro, Tagaytay and Boracay, including multiple branches of Hawaiian Bar-B-Que and Pamana.
Her bagnet recipe is inspired by the crispy pata that Barrio Fiesta made famous. According to Happy, her dad used to entertain his friends at Barrio Fiesta all the time, until her grandfather got mad and shooed them away. Forced to look for another hangout, Happy’s dad gathered the kitchen’s unused pig knuckles and cooked them as pulutan. It became such a crowd pleaser that the family decided to offer it in Barrio Fiesta. Thus, the very first crispy pata was born.
This bagnet is spiced with the lemony notes of lemongrass. It takes time to produce, with the pork slab dry baked in the ref overnight, then fried twice to guarantee crispness. But it’s a dish certainly worth all the effort and wait. It seems that not much has changed as Happy still continues to play in kitchen — only this time, it’s her own restaurants. She is definitely at the top of her game.
Happy Ongpauco-Tiu’s Bagnet
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
600 grams pork belly
1 bay leaf
2 stalks lemongrass, pounded
1 head garlic, skin removed
whole roasted onions
salt and pepper, to season
Make:
1. Boil the pork belly in a large pot of water, skimming the scum off every once in a while.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes or until pork is tender.
3. Remove pork from water, pat dry and dry bake in the refrigerator uncovered overnight.
4. Deep fry pork in hot oil, at least 400F, until golden brown. Double fry the skin part only for extra crispness
Tasty Tip: Serve on a bed of gisang bagoong with green mangoes on the side.
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