A taste of history: Pansit Langlang

Mga ginoo; ang pansit-langlang ay siyang sopas na pinakamabuti! —ang sigaw ni Makaraig; —gaya nang makikita ninyo, Sandoval, ang halo ay kabuti, hipon, tiniping itlog, sutanghon, manok, at hindi ko na maalaman kung ano pa. Bilang pamago ay ihandog natin ang mga buto kay D. Custodio; tingnan natin, magpanukala siya tungkol dito!

Chapter XXV- Tawanan – Iyakan

El Filibusterismo

By Dr. Jose Rizal

When we came upon this text in El Filibusterismo in high school, our teacher asked us if we’ve tasted Pansit Langlang.

None of us even knew that it existed before that time.

So you can imagine our surprise when she said that a local canteen just a few blocks away still sells original Pansit Langlang. It took three blocks and six years for me to go there.

The place is called the Plaza Canteen because, I guess, people were less creative than then. It’s found (you guessed it!) just beside the Imus Town Plaza.

Its pastel-colored interiors and poster-paintings on laminated wood panels- makes the place feel homier and warmer.

 

A quick look on the menu posted at the counter makes you feel even more welcome if only because the prices are so affordable.

Since I didn’t really research on what Pansit Langlang was supposed to be like, I was surprised when they served us soup. Apparently, that was why there was a penciled-in note beside the name in the menu that said Mami.

This version of Pansit Langlang combined Miki and sotanghon noodles, hardboiled egg, chicken, chunks of bread, green onion stalks, Kinchay (coriander) and crispy fried garlic. As mentioned by Dr. Jose Rizal, other recipes for the same dish would also put in ground pork, dried baby shrimp, sitsaro (snow pea) and tengang daga (a type of mushroom).

Despite its simplicity, the dish feels like comfort food to be shared with your family during twilight in the porch of your house in the province.

This is probably why Dr. Rizal used to have his brother Paciano mail him the noodles for Pansit Langlang while he was in Europe – it reminded him of home.