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Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture

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You are here: Home / Food Tales / Eating Our Way From Vigan To Laoag

Eating Our Way From Vigan To Laoag

Although we had dinner in Vigan on the day that we arrived, the real food trip didn’t begin until the following day. Ilocano food is so good that I am prepared to say that I am officially in love with it. From the purely vegetable dishes to the very carnivorous ones, every morsel was worth the oohhs and aahhhs that we uttered.

We checked out of Mel-Sol’s Tourist Inn (a.k.a. Bates Hotel) because there was no water among other horrors. We knew hotels were full but we asked around anyway. Fortunately, we were able to get a room at Hotel Salcedo de Vigan. One room only which meant additional beds had to be brought in.

Still, we felt lucky because Hotel Salcedo de Vigan is a beautiful hotel and located smack at the center of Vigan. While waiting for the room to get fixed, we had snacks at the hotel’s Bistro Amarillo.

Sam wasn’t hungry, she said, and didn’t order anything.

Maiz con hielo at Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Maiz con hielo

Alex had maiz con hielo, a Filipino cold snack with corn, shaved ice, milk and sugar. 

Turon a la mode. Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Turon a la mode

I had turon (banana-stuffed fried spring rolls) a la mode. Really delicious. Oh, so delicious! 

Halo-halo. Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Halo-halo

Speedy ordered halo-halo, another cold snack with sweet beans and fruits, shaved ice, sugar and milk. Bistro Amarillo’s version was tipped with ice cream, ube (purple yam) and leche flan (steamed creme caramel).

By the time the lunch crowd started to trickle in, our room was ready. Some ten minutes after entering our room, Sam declared she was hungry and wanted room service (room service at Hotel Salcedo de Vigan is by Bistro Amarillo).

Room service menu, Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Room service menu
Cheese balls. Hotel Salcedo de Vigan.
Cheese balls

She ordered cheese balls. I figured that since we would be driving north to Laoag after showering, we might as well eat a light lunch since we really weren’t sure when our next full meal would be.

Ladek (not the same as warek-warek), the Ilocano version of sisig. Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Ladek

So, in addition to Sam’s cheese balls, I ordered rice. And to go with the rice was ladek(not the same as warek-warek), the Ilocano version of sisig…

Poqui-poqui (eggplant omelet, Ilocano version). Hotel Salcedo de Vigan
Poqui-poqui

… and the vegetable dish that had me intrigued since the previous night — poqui-poqui. The name might sound like a redundant articulation of the Tagalog word for vagina but in Ilocos, poqui-poqui means an egg and eggplant dish. Very, very delicious. I’ve made my version of this dish last weekend and I’ll be posting the recipe soon.

We left the cheese balls to Sam and Alex but let me tell you that the ladek and the poqui-poqui were simply divine.

Before 2.00 p.m. on Thursday, we were off to Laoag City, some 80 kilometers north and, from there, drove 35 kilometers north some more to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos. Happy with our sunset photos, we drove back to Laoag in search of Saramsam’s where we intended to have dinner before the drive back to Vigan.

It was in Laoag, at Saramsam’s Cafe, at I totally fell in love with Ilocano food.

Poqui-poqui. Saramsam's, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

I ordered poqui-poqui again and, although Bistro Amarillo’s version was better, the pork dishes that we had at Saramsam’s totally blew us away.

Bagnet. Saramsam's, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

The bagnet was light and crisp but not dry at all.

Dinardaraan, a less soupy though more oily version of dinuguan. Saramsam's, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

The dinardaraan, a less soupy though more oily version of dinuguan, was the crown jewel of our dinner. Melt-in-the mouth tender, creamy, tasty meat.

Spring rolls with dragon fruit flowers. Saramsam's, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

The spring rolls with dragon fruit flowers were so-so as the filling did not have any real distinctive flavor.

Pasta with ripe and unripe mangoes. House specialty at Saramsam's, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

The pasta, a house specialty, was magnificent. The noodles were tossed in garlic-flavored oil and topped with ripe and unripe mangoes, tomatoes, fresh herbs and shrimps. I didn’t touch the shrimps, naturally (allergy) but I dug into the pasta to relish the flavors. Amazing.

Let me end this post by saying that I am an atheist. I don’t tell Catholics that the no-meat during Lent practice is silly (I used to tell everyone it’s silly but I have learned to respect difference in opinion, so there) so don’t bother criticizing our carnivorous diet during Lent. In fact, I will say it right now — we have a tradition of eating dinuguan on Good Friday and this year was no exception.

April 30, 2011 : Food Tales Travel Tales, Ilocos, The Philippines

About Connie Veneracion

To feed my obsession with Asian cultures, I created Devour Asia. Why Asia? It goes back to my childhood through early adulthood. Chinese food, Samurai and Voltes V, Asian Civilizations and World History. Read more.

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