Food review - Sisig Hooray!

It seems like I’m making up more time for “Eat” posts. Featuring now is my favorite sin indulgence: sisig from Sisig Hooray! And it’s so bad it’s good. Or so good, it’s bad.

According to the almighty Wikipedia, sisig had its origins in Angeles City, Pampanga; where the locals bought pig heads from commissaries at Clark Air Base because these were not used for the meals of US Air Force personnel stationed there. Lucia Cunanan, also known as “Aling Lucing” is credited for bringing sisig to the limelight when she began serving it on sizzling plates. It has since become a favorite accompaniment of alcoholic drinks (which Filipinos call “pulutan”).

The next stage of the evolution of sisig is the leap from the sizzling plate to the styrofoam box (more on this later). According to the company website, Sisig Hooray! is the brainchild of “foodie” Immanuel D. Balce when he opened his first branch at Ever Gotesco Ortigas. There have been many businesses who have been serving sisig with rice but served on a sizzling plate. But Sisig Hooray! is the first to serve it with rice and make it accessible to the masses. The rest, they say, is history.

I first encountered Sisig Hooray! at the Ever Gotesco in Monumento, Caloocan (now defunct, destroyed by fire). Conscious for my health, I first ordered a chicken sisig. (They have the usual pork sisig, plus bangus, squid, and steak variants.)

I was amazed by the characteristic way they prepare the dish. A male cook would chop the pork and the chicken meat with two flashy cleavers using a distinctive chop-chop rhythm. Another crew member (usually a girl) would place the pork or chicken meat into small plastic containers. Slices of onion, peppers, chicharon(!!!) and other ingredients, topped off by a special sauce (which I think is mayonnaise mixed with secret spices).The surprising thing is that the sisig mixture into a microwave oven, “cooked” for a few minutes, dumped into a styrofoam box, and served with a cup of rice.

This is why they call themselves as "The First and Original Freshly-Prepared Sisig".

The experience was so enlightening. The meat was cooked just right; it was moist from the secret sauce; the peppers and onions gave a terrific taste; and the chicharon gave a crunch to every bite. One cup of rice is not enough!

I got to know another Sisig Hooray! branch at Starmall Muntinlupa. I used to (repeat, used to) go there and get sisig every Sunday! (I have since repented of my wicked ways.) I would buy it from their kiosk, sit in one of those plastic chairs and tables at the foodcourt, and order extra rice from the other food stalls. (Most of the food stalls there serve halal meals, but eating halal rice doesn’t make a haram dish of sisig halal.) (The last time I was at Starmall, the Sisig Hooray kiosk has disappeared from the foodcourt.)

Sisig in a cardboard box: Eases some of the guilt. (Starmall Muntinlupa)

Sisig Hooray! used to serve their meals in styrofoam boxes—I call the substance “the work of the Devil”. At the time, Muntinlupa City was spearheading a charge against plastic bags and containers. So Sisig Hooray! (and other food establishments) began serving their meals on cardboard boxes (sometimes lined with aluminum, at other times wax paper). That eased the burden of guilt at bit.

Nothing to see here. Keep on reading... (SM City Manila)

I once had to bend over backwards to do a favor for a friend (it was more like my fault so the deed seemed more like penance) then this friend of mine treated me to—my surprise—at a Sisig Hooray! at SM City Manila! Instead of a kiosk, it is now occupying a stall in the foodcourt, alongside other mainstream food joints. I was also delightfully surprised that they also served sisig on regular ceramic plates!

Like a beacon beckoning me from afar. (SM Megamall)

My last brush with Sisig Hooray! was after I attended a seminar somewhere in Ortigas. I was looking for a place to eat at SM Megamall when I recognized a familiar orange sign signaling like a beacon. I haven’t had sisig for some time so I decided, why not? I ordered some pork sisig which was served to me in a cardboard box. As I enjoyed my meal, I thought, Just like old times.

Pork sisig + large ice tea = ENLIGHTENMENT!

With Sisig Hooray!, extra rice is not an option. It's a necessity!

Of course, I have to be cautious. I need to stay away from my favorite indulgence for long periods if I want to enjoy it (and life) longer.

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For a blog review with the concern about the use of styrofoam boxes, see this entry from The Products Blog.

For a review of Sisig Hooray!’s branch at SM City Fairview, see this blog entry from Lette’s Haven.

For an article on tourism in Pampanga, including the origins of sisig and Angeles’ “Sisig Festival”, see this page from the Department of Tourism.