We feel the comfort of home wherever there is good food. Nothing compares to the taste of home cooking, and dining at Ima Flora’s Pamangan gives you exactly that experience.
Ima Flora’s Pamangan had its humble beginnings as a food stall in the 1970’s. Third generation owner Darlene shares that the food business was started by Flora, the matriarch of the family. Ima, Kapampangan for mother, would cook local favorites and serve them turo-turo style. As Bataan tourism started to gain momentum in 2010, more and more travelers made Ima’s eatery part of their itinerary. Moving with the times and with a growing customer base, the small food business became a full-blown restaurant and a significant part of the province’s tourism.
Ima Flora’s Pamangan, which translates to mother Flora’s food, serves Filipino cuisine short order from as low as PHP 70 up to PHP 300, or buffet-style for only PHP 230 per head. The restaurant’s specialties include sinigang, sinigang na isda, binagoongang lechon kawali, and pako salad. The buffet, meanwhile, serves over 40 viands, as well as a selection of local desserts every day.
The restaurant’s food selection is wide-ranging, with something to satisfy even the most discerning palate. For those craving savory delights, the restaurant serves fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs in a sweet sauce, binagoongang lechon kawali that’s crunchy, with just the right saltiness, kare kare with a tasty, rich peanut-based soup and a shrimp paste side, as well as an appetizing ginataang laing. The restaurant’s bulalo is perfect for warming up the stomach, while pako salad cleanses the palate and prepares you for more eating. If your cardiologist allows it, Ima Flora’s Pamangan also serves chicharong bulaklak.
As it is situated along Bataan’s major thoroughfare, Ima Flora’s Pamangan has become the hungry travelers’ go-to stop, and rightly so. Customers would begin to come in as early as 7 AM, the store’s opening, and continue to visit until it closes at 9 PM. Its main dining area can accommodate up to 100 customers, while its function space, which shares the same capacity, most often serves as an overflow area. The function area can also be rented out for events.
Ima Flora’s Pamangan is located at Gov. JJ Linao highway AlaUli Pilar Bataan, and is open from Monday to Sunday.
Words by Mia Carisse Barrientos
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE April 2019