SUMMER'S LAST HURRAH

Insider’s guide to Ilocos Norte

Ilocos Norte, at the tip of northwest Luzon, is fast becoming a destination of choice. And the administration of Gov. Michael Keon is organizing special events to lure tourists, domestic and foreign, to savor the unique offerings of the province. Here are some of the things you can do in Ilocos Norte.

In Batac, look for Riverside—where the best empanada and miki (a thick chicken noodle soup, akin to lomi) are served from mid-afternoon to late evening. Balut, fried squid, fried quail eggs, and other delicacies are also served. Both the empanada and the miki are colored deep orange—the color of achuete (anatto).

In San Nicolas, look for Dawangs, home of the original crispy dinardaraan (the dry Ilocano dinuguan), insarabasab (grilled pork strips served with fresh tomatoes and onions), papaitan (beef, carabao or goat sweetmeats boiled in bile, and the juice of half digested grass), higado (pork meat and liver sauteed with onions, garlic and bell pepper), and other Ilocos delicacies. Make sure to get there early—food runs out before noon.

If you like al fresco breakfasts, look for the itinerant livestock markets (Wednesday mornings in Badoc, Sunday mornings in Batac) and sample fresh carabao meat carpaccio—sliced into bloody red cubes mixed with onions and ginger, and doused with boiled bile, sukang Iluko and salt. The half-cooked variant is called imbaliktad. The other meat offerings in Dawang’s menu are usually offered as well.

When visiting the Luna Shrine in Badoc, make a side trip to Mino’s, a short two blocks away. Chef de cuisine Giacomo Iavarone and Manang Ida prepare home-made ham, bacon, anchovies served in authentic Italian style pizzas and pastas—at unreasonably cheap prices. Get there before the crowd discovers this gem of a place, and the owners are forced to increase prices. Closed on Sundays. Mino also caters, but only within Ilocos Norte. The tiramisu, crema, and Macedonia are an excellent end to his fabulous meals. Its address is No. 1 Barangay Canaan, Badoc. Yet another sign that Ilocos Norte is the promised land.

If you’re into kakanin, Barangay Pias in Currimao is the place to be—get your fill of tinupig, dudol, patupat, linapet, puto, kutsinta at fire sale prices. The delicacies are also available in practically all of the towns on market days. Sarrat also boasts the best sapin-sapin, but sadly, only for the savvy—the goodies are made only on special order. The cassava cakes of Dingras are justly famous, and there are now tinupig variants, made from the root crop.

San Nicolas also has itinerant vendors selling carioca made of purple glutinous rice, called ballatinaw. Further north, Bangui boasts its mysteriously named Chinese bibingka, made of glutinous rice with a peanut filling—a distant relative of the kalamay.

The town of Pasuquin takes pride in its original biscocho made from soft, anise-flavored bread. It comes from an old Spanish recipe that has been copied but never equalled. There are rumors that the bakery, recipe, house and all are for sale—another reason to seek out this popular bread. The soft bread is best eaten with cheese spread, sardines straight from the can, or condensed milk, while still hot from the oven. Shorestop, a restaurant immediately south of the town, offers biscocho sandwiches, with its original fillings—longanisa, tuna and chicken.

If you want seafood, drive all the way north to Barangay Gaoa in Pagudpud for fresh fish, pitik, lobsters, and other seafood. The village of Davila in Pasuquin is the source of dorado (the Hawaiian mahi-mahi) and bonito (dumadara in the vernacular). The San Nicolas public market is open every day, and its fish section is acknowledged as the best source of seafood up north.
What food guide is complete without bagnet and longganisa? Each town insists that its produce are the best, but the more popular meat products are available at the Batac and Laoag public markets (longganisa and bagnet), although San Nicolas is a contender for best bagnet as well. The best sauce for longanisa is sili with sukang Iluko, and the best dip for bagnet is the old reliable KBL (kamatis, bagoong and lasona).

The coastal towns of Currimao, Burgos, Bangui and Pagudpud are also well known for seaweeds. For salads, the pokpoklo is best served with sliced tomatoes, just like its more famous cousin the ar-arosip (lato to Visayans, the seaweed that comes in grape like bunches). The black, fragrant gamet, the seaweed called nori by the Japanese, is gathered on the shores of Burgos during the cold months.

What to buy

Abel Iloco has had a following for years. Look into your grandparents’ baul or aparador, and chances are, you will find an Ilocano blanket or two. The same sturdy and virtually indestructible fabric is still being made by the weavers of Sarrat, Paoay and Pinili. The high-end items can be found at Sarusar, the souvenir shop of Museo Ilocos Norte located immediately west of the provincial capitol. T-shirts, native baskets and other collectibles and foodstuffs, are also on sale.

The markets in Laoag (open everyday), and Paoay (Tuesday and Saturday mornings) have relatively extensive abel offerings. The weavers’ cooperatives in Nagbacalan by Paoay Lake are good sources for abel (ask for the shops of Manang Charito Cariaga or Manang Cely Domingo).

Saramsam Cafe in Laoag is also a consignment cafe that offers wooden bauls, altar tables, chairs, glass and silver items, among others—enjoy some shopping after a filling repast or snack.

The more adventurous can look for dried venison at the Solsona market on weekends, as well as native baskets, handicraft, and fresh produce (purple glutinous rice called ballatinaw in the vernacular, pinipig, ube, vegetables, and fruits). Roadside stalls in Pasuquin sell high-quality refined salt, with gallon jars of vinegar and freshly harvested bunches of garlic and onions. The wild mushrooms called uong are available during the rainy months, while fire ant eggs (abuus) are commonly seen during the summer. Natural honey is also collected during the warm months, but generally available most of the year.

The cloistered Carmelite nuns of Laoag (their convent is right beside the bishop’s residence) prepare very good preserves (candied kamias, tamarind, sweetened bits of communion host cuttings). If you are willing to wait, the octogenarian nuns offer handmade linens and church vestments too.

The persistent shopper will find unusual items in unlikely places. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Visit and discover the insider’s Ilocos Norte.

Additional things to eat

The original pinakbet pizza was first offered by Herencia Cafe in Paoay, located right across the famous church. They also developed the dinuguan and bagnet variants which have also received quite a following. While others may claim to be first, Herencia Cafe has the TV footage from various programs and features to prove that its products are the real McCoy.

Saramsam Café in Laoag City has also developed a Poque Poque variant—topped with the innocent mix of grilled eggplants cooked omelet style with onions, tomatoes and eggs, along with their inkalti, which is essentially carioca cooked on the table a la fondue.

Green mango slices, karmay, singkamas, siniguelas, manibalang na papaya, green balayang bananas and other local fruits are soaked in sukang Iluko, and called by the collective name inartem. A perfect foil to the oily flavors of barbecued and fried meats. Many of the inartem stalls can be found in front of the Central Elementary School in downtown Laoag, and by the national high school grounds. Local markets in every town would usually have a place devoted to inartem.

During the long hot summer, what can be more refreshing than a cool glass of halo-halo? The Ilocano variant is suitably austere, made with limited ingredients—banana (boiled or fresh), with camote, kaong, sago, fresh corn, buko, gelatin or agar-agar, plus the local melon called murod (which gives it the flavor and aroma that the Ilocano identifies as their halo-halo).

The latter replaces the cloying aroma and sweetness of langka which is absent in the local halo-halo.

Things to do

The smaller children can experience snorkeling in the placid waters of Mairaira, Pagudpud, while the teenagers and grown ups sample surfing farther offshore. Kapuluan Resort, located near Dos Hermanos at the far end of the Blue Lagoon, offers comfortable accommodations for serious surfers and divers.

Mothers would love the farmgate prices of local vegetables (P20 per kilo of sun-ripened tomatoes in the farms by the highway at Currimao, and Sarrat). The market offerings are slightly more expensive but already at bargain prices. This is Ilocos, where consumers know everything about value for money.

History and culture buffs will appreciate the heritage structures all over—from the much photographed Paoay Church, the Dingras Church ruins, the reconstructed Luna Shrine, the still functioning Cape Bojeador lighthouse, Tobacco Monopoly Marker, Museo Ilocos Norte in a refurbished tabacalera. Those interested in pilgrimages will find the Milagrosa of Badoc a worthy destination.

Trekkers and mountain bikers will love the hills in the eastern towns, but specially the charming hanging bridges of Adams. The rough but well-kept road to Adams is an experience in itself, with several rivers running its length.
The sand dunes are also a hit—being the only one in the Philippines. And lately, the windmills of Bangui are gaining attention for the many possibilities of clean energy, and the beautiful silhouette of the turbines against the blue seas.

There is something for everyone in this province.

Much of Ilocos Norte remains unexplored, and the intrepid traveler will find something unique in each visit.