Learned the trade from her mother, Batag said that she went on her own after graduating from college. In her smokehouse, it can be seen how tinapa is processed. The working hours are usually at night, because it’s in the afternoon the fish come in.

In the smoking area, several pieces Bataan specialty are available 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.

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. It’s said that the medium-size kapak is the best. [via]