Hilagang Kanluran

Happy New Year, all!

I'm starting off the year with our recent road trip to the north east of Luzon--- Cagayan Valley! This isn't technically our first road trip for the year. We went up to the mountains on the first day of the year to check out the much buzzed about Zip Zone in Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich Bukidnon. We had some Grilled Chicken Steak at the Cowboy Grill, but I wasn't able to take pics. It was good though :)

So, back to this post. Mark had to attend a hearing in Buguey, Cagayan Valley which is just "next door" to Aparri. We were psyched to be able to drive that far, so we packed our bags and drove away...

On the way up, we saw some major fast food establishments along the highways, which just means that business is good in these areas. There weren't too many fast food joints in Region 1, so Region 2 got me excited... I wasn't going to get hungry!Yey!

We stayed at Tuguegarao City, and went food tripping as soon as we arrived! :P First stop, dinner at Kainang Pilipino. We initially wanted to go to Kusina Cagayana but they were closed that evening. The place had an old feel, but not Ilocos old. Just 1980's old, with garish green paint on the walls. Not very appetizing. I started ordering signature Ilocano dishes like:

Dinengdeng

I like this dish. Mark agrees too. It's very much like Pinakbet, only it's not oily. There isn't any visible bagoong, but the watery sauce is highly flavored with non- red bagoong. Yum!

Truth is, I've been wondering how this dish tasted ever since my cousin, who's mother hails from Tuguegarao, was craving it.

Halabos na Hipon

Mark's order and the restaurant's Catch of the Day.

It was good, but I was distracted by the Dinengdeng. :P

Nilagang Baka, compliments from the restaurant.

I love freebies, and I really liked their Nilaga :) Perfect for tired bums.

Dinakdakan

Another Ilocano specialty, which resembled a non-sizzling Sisig.

It's fried pork and slathered with lemon and onion sauce.

I'm not a big fan of it, but Mark really liked it. :) So there.

This was one of Tuguegarao's nicest restaurants, and for that plus our drinks--our bill totalled P600plus. Not cheap, but the food was good.

I was doing a lot of Googling the night before we drove off, and found this blog, the name of which I wasn't able to write down. Boo. I'm sorry.But I was able to write down it's contents. He recommended Dock's Panciteria for breakfast, and for the best Pancit Batil Patung in the city. We drove to Pengue Highway for breakfast (since our hotel didn't include breakfast in our accomodation), to search for Dock's (pronounced as "doks"). Being the maarte that I am ( now i admit, regrettably!), I wasn't too keen to eat there when I saw the place. Mark didn't want to force me to eat there either, so we went to the next best place, as recommended by Anton of Our AwesomePlanet in his blog. We searched for Gretchen's, and found it in a cramped corner of Magallanes Street.

Pancit Batil Patung @ Gretchen's

This is Tuguegarao's specialty noodle dish. Almost every corner in Tuguegaro pays homage to this dish, as panciterias abound everywhere! The egg noodles are topped ("patong") with vegetables, eggs and meat. At Gretchen's, they have the Pancit Batil Patung and the Gretchen's Special. The latter is topped with beef, and the former is topped with carabeef. We ordered both. Each order is P60-P70, and they were very generous with their serving.

The pancit is accompanied by an egg soup- which was very creamy and salty.

Good, especially on a cold day, but too salty.

We had a long day after that, as we checked out the Callao caves, drove off to Aparri to check on Mark's work, after which we drove off to Port Irene in Santa Ana. We arrived in Tuguegarao in time for dinner, and headed straight off to Kusina Cagayana, and ordered the following:

Pinoy Salad

This was composed of steamed leafy greens such as talbos ng kamote, seaweed, spinach, pickled papaya (atchara), tomatoes and onions. It had a dressing of Bagoong.

Verdict: WE LIKE!

Pancit Malabon

They highly recommended Pancit Malabon on their menu.

Which was weird, but we still tried it. It was good. We also ordered

some Bulalo Soup, which I didn't really like. Just don't order it.

For our last meal in Tuguegarao, we ate at Michelle- the hotel's restaurant. We ordered some of their signature garlic longganisa, and garlic fan that I am--- was happy enough :P

Along the highway, we could see men planting rice. Charming.

Plus, while cruising through the winding Dalton Pass, we saw some vegetable vendors with these adorable greens--- fresh talbos ng kamote. These are so good steamed in the pan. They have a crisp and nutty flavor.And at P10 for the whole bunch, these are awesome!!

And now, for the piece de resistance, G&B's Buko Pie. This is one specialty Nueva Vizcaya should be very proud of. This is, for me, the BEST buko pie. Let me show you why...

At P135 for 3 boxes

Oooh, look at that. Not soggy.

Barely an inch thick, the filling is only two or three layers high

and glued together by sweet milk. Sweet!

Even my Mark likes this. And he's not a buko pie fan.

There's just so much to see and so much to eat in this region. I can't wait to discover more beautiful and yummy things, Philippines! Dios Mabbalos :)

Cheers!

Happy Holidays everyone! See you next year! God bless you all!

Sweet Season Ahead

It's December once again. The time for lots of eating in excess of all yummies unhealthy and scrumptious, loaded with sugars and carbohydrates. For somebody like me, I have no idea how to get the willpower to avoid all these wonderful things. It's going to be a big pain to avoid them since I HAVE to go on a diet. Bummer.

Oh well. I can imagine all the fruitcake, brownies, cakes, kakanins (steamed rice cakes), and cookies. Ah, cookies. I am quite particular about cookies. I like the thought of having those home baked kinds but they always come off too oily. That is why, I am rarely tempted to buy those homemade cookies made by people I know. Chewing those oily morsels just irritates me. But I hardly throw away my food, so I end up eating the whole thing anyways. Not even if they say, those were of the thin and crispy variety. Some sludge always sticks to my palate. That is why, when it comes to cookies, I always go for the commercial kind. I'm sure they're not less healthy. But they taste like they do, so I prefer them. Aside from my local brand, I utterly love Jacobs Oatmeal Cookies!

Jacob's Oatmeal Cookies

They're really crunchy, NOT oily, yummy, and full of oatmeal.You will have a lot of oatmeal in every bite! Love, love it!

And if someday, some home baker claims to make something like this,you can bet I will get myself some. But I guess not for a very long time.Until then, these will be oatmeal cookie royalty for me.

On a Clear Day

Right after the storm whipped the Metro, M and I together with his friend Raymund, drove up to the mountains to visit the lovely Taal Lake in where else, but- Tagaytay! It was Raymund's first time to go, and it was a pleasure to bring him there. And like the rest of the people who were also there, we knew we had scored a jackpot- "to be at the right place, at the right time."

The skies were clear, the birds were hovering above, and the lake was spectacular. Of course my trusty ol' point-and-shoot wasn't able to capture it's magnificence at that time. But my baby and I tried hard. Yes, we did :)

Wonderful.

We stayed at Carlo's Pizza for a snack and for the view. We weren't quite expecting the pizza to be good, but it was! At least, at that time, it was. So I would really recommend this place if you want to get a good view of the lake. And since we were up there already, I asked M to bring us to Sonya's Garden. Raymund- for the sights, and me-- for the yummy Cheese Hopia :)

CHEESE HOPIA

I loooove their Cheese Hopia. At P70 a pack (forgot to count how many, sorry!), it is a good deal. Although I am very sad to say, I tasted more cheddar this time than the previous Parmesan. :(

The surprise on this particular trip were the scones! We scored some scones at the same price for a pack.

SCONES

These were flaky, buttery, almond-y, with a hint of spice, and crusted with sugar.

HEART.HEART. LOVE. LOVE :)

From the center of the Philippines, with love.

It would have been our first time away from each other. Husband was scheduled for a road trip to Boac, Marinduque. He was going with an associate and would be away for a two days. That would have been the first time he'd leave me alone at home. But as destiny would have it, I was able to join him on this trip. It was the night before when we knew I could go, when I searched frantically on the net for Boac tourist spots.

I found one that really interested me- the Luzon Datum. I was so excited to realize that Marinduque holds the geodetic center of the Philippines. And this is verified by a marker placed on the very spot! So cool.

But sadly, when we were trying to find the way to the marker-- a local told us the spot was on a mountain, and we had to hike up there. We had barely enough time to do any hiking after their work was done and before the barge was about to leave. So we settled for one of the must-see's---The Boac Cathedral,

Might I say that this structure was splendidly preserved and maintained. The interiors are still shiny and clean. Wonderful, wonderful piece of heritage. But before we left, I had to make sure to get some of their delicacy- Arrowroot cookies!

They have different varieties of arrowroot cookies- they have the regular flavor which is heart-shaped, sugar-free varieties, and ones mixed with oatmeal, pinipig or cinnamon. But I still think the best ones are the heart-shaped ones. There's more butter and sugar in it. Yummy!

Arrowroot cookie (no, it's not a rock. hehe)

Aaaah, the province. Nothing's quite like it :)

Still Foodtripping

Yes, I have still been food tripping. But haven't been posting. Bad me. But I do miss this. Yes, I do. Every single day. And I will start again this month, on my birth month! It's November again, a month shy of my favorite December. Surely, no one should refuse me on my birth month, right?:P

I will try to post all the other stuff I've taken, cram it all in--- like I do when I'm in a hurry for breakfast. No chewing necessary. Kidding! Chew your food well.

See ya. :)

Burger in Japanese

I first read about Sango at Our Awesome Planet. It didn't interest me as much as when I saw the place itself, on our way home. It was near our building! That got me searching for Anton's post once again and realized we had to try it!

Sango is a Japanese themed fastfood restaurant with burgers as its specialty. It is tucked right at the ground floor of the Creek Side Mall in Legaspi Village, which is a stone's throw away from the famed Little Tokyo. I wasn't able to bring my camera, but good thing our mobile phones are rightfully equipped. I used Mark's phone in this post.

There were a lot to choose from the menu which was highly similar to a regular burger joint. except that there were Japanese subtitles in it, and Japanese variations. There were also a handful of salads and pastas on the menu, and colorful shakes and slushies. We ordered their bestsellers- The Sango Master Cheeseburger and the Yakiniku Rice Burger.

The furnitures are so simple, almost Zen like in theme. There were Japanese posters and magazines all around, including posters of their bestsellers which I really really liked. In one corner, was a bulletin board full of printouts of blogs featuring their restaurant. Cool! :) Everything was nice but the smell. The whole place smelled of pungent food, in an enclosed and tightly air-conditioned space. Not very good ventilation.

Now let's go back to the food:

I lost my receipt, so I'll be relying on good ol' Munch Punch for the rates.
This is the Sango Master Cheese Burger at P128.
Not bad. Actually good. The fries were also yummy.

This is the Yakiniku Rice Burger at P109. I admit, I thought this would be another expensive version of something I had eaten before in the country's top fastfood joint.
But I am happy to inform you that it was not. The rice patties were sticky and good, the lettuce fresh, and the soft, thin strips of beef in teriyaki sauce... good, good, good!

Burp. Reasonably priced, double burp :)