Ilocos Road Trip: A Gastronomic Adventure

Traveling up north became a food trip  for me. Although I am from the north, I am really not the type to put twist on recipes. I also do not offer my kind of food to people around me because I know that they find it weird that I am eating such. But all these changed when my sisters-in-law decided to have a road trip up north.

kare-kareng bagnet

sinigang na bagnet

pinakbet

 When we say food, we think of  certain province's delicacy. Say Bicol express, Bacolod inasal, Ilocos bagnet and so on. Since we were in Ilocos, we had to try the famous bagnet and pinakbet. We had our first lunch at Tummytalk in Vigan and we had pinakbet, kare-kareng bagnet and sinigang na bagnet.  The food was great. I have been craving for authentic Ilocano food for so long and there it was, putting an end to my cravings.

pinakbet na sili

Dinner time was also a surprise because I did not expect a restaurant to serve something I never dared share to my peers before. They thought it was weird back then. Cafe Leona, also situated in Vigan served pinakbet na sili. This time I urged my sisters-in-law to try it because it is really not hot. They did. I believe they enjoyed it.

pinakbet pizza

crunchy dinuguan

We also tried the famous pinakbet pizza of Herencia Cafe. They also have fish sinigang (you get to choose from different fish variety) and crunchy dinuguan.

My favorite was the pinakbet pizza and I believe I had three slices... This is aside from having rice, dinuguan and sinigang.I have to admit that I was never that full my whole life. :)

I enjoyed our trip because of the sites--old churches and all and of course, THE FOOD!

Visiting Ilocos

My last visit to Ilocos, if I am not mistaken was almost 2 decades ago. It was a relatives wedding.

I can vaguely remember how everybody looks like so when my sister-in-law decided to have a road trip to Ilocos, I thought, it is time to visit my relatives and show my companions where I once used to play.

Everybody was so welcoming. Lolo Lario, Lola Imay, Lola Julia and Inang Maria (my father's mother) were there. My Mama and Papa were there too. They traveled all the way from Cagayan Valley to join us. My father's cousins gladly welcomed us even if they do not know my companion. They prepared dinner for us. They cooked calderetang kambing (goat), papaitan and kilawin (kambing). I was not able to take a picture because we were so busy eating.

We spent the night at Lola Laring's house. She was so warm and even stayed up late just to have a chat with us. I can still remember her old house. It was made of wood. But it's all different now. Her house is now modern. It's huge and was built with modern materials.

I was telling my sister-in-law how they "cook" tobacco using a pugon made of soil and hay and we were lucky enough to see one in Napo Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. We took pictures of it.

Pugon

Tobacco inside the pugon

We also saw bamboo bridges. I used to cross this kind of bridge when I was young. We use to roam around not minding even if it is 12 noon and the sun is burning.

Now it is my daughter's turn. She was scared of course but at least she experienced crossing such bridge and she can share stories about the bridge and her whole experience in Ilocos.