The Lucky Cook: Filipino recipes of a househusband

Travel: VIGAN

The last stop in our Ilocos trip was City of Vigan , the capital of Ilocos Sur. It is a World Heritage Site in that it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines, and is well known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture.

Baluarte

We first visited Baluarte, a mini-zoo that was owned by Gov. Chavit Singson. You can visit this place for free. You can check my post for Baluarte here.

St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral

After going to the mini zoo we visited St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral. The seat of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. Burial place of the great Ilocano poet Leona Florentino. It also houses the replica of the Miraculous Santo Cristo Milagroso (the original being in Sinait, Ilocos Sur).

Burgos Park

Beside the cathedral was Plaza Burgos Dedicated to the memory of Father Jose Burgos which is located beside the Vigan Cathedral. Most of ilocano's gather here during weekends. You can also check the Empanadaan beside the park.

famous Vigan empanada

In visiting Vigan you must eat thier famous empanada which vegetable filling is made up of green papaya that is grated, toge or mung bean sprouts, monggo or mung bean and shredded carrots. Its meat filing consist of whole egg and skinless Vigan longganisa. The double special Vigan empanada has two servings of the meat filling. For the health buff, Vigan empanada sans the longganisa is also available. There are two dips that you can choose from, sweet vinegar and spicy vinegar.

different varieties of Vigan empanada

The Vigan empanada is much in keeping with the Vigan people’s love for vegetables in their cuisine. It is similar to a thin taco that is fried to a crisp, with vegetable and meat filling. Rice flour is used for making the crust or the shell. The galapong or rice flour dough is made a day before it is used. Atchuete or orange food color, salt and oil are mixed into the rice though.

freshly made Vigan empanada's

At around forty pesos each, it’s quite cheap to have as many as you need to fill your hunger after touring the city.

We also visited Crisologo Museum, the mansion of the Crisologos is open for public viewing throughout the week. Entrance is free for the museum and view the antiques, memorabilia and other prized possessions of the Crisologos.

ehemmm...

antic kalesa which they use during fiesta

pictures of crisologo's

Last stop for Vigan tour was Calle Crisologo, you can buy many Ilocano delicacies here and the major attraction of Vigan is its mestizo district which is filled with Spanish-style houses.

exploring calle crisologo

For visitors who want to experience being transported back to this period in Philippine Spanish colonial time, a walk or a calesa ride.

kalesa at dawn

Just got Lucky!

Our first destination in Vigan City was Baluarte, a mini-zoo located in Salindeg where visitors can see a variety of animals (including tigers and ostriches). It is also a popular venue for special events such as seminars and conferences. This is owned by Gov. Singson which you can visit for free. Entrance is totally free and you can roam this beautiful zoo without spending a centavo.

don't forget to take photo's with the governor and his tigers

This zoo was made for the people of Ilocos Sur which was owned by Governor Chavit Singson. You can stroll around by riding in donkeys, feed animals like camels and take some pictures with other animals.

There are many cute and child-friendly animals here. Some of these are ostrich, tigers, camels, different kinds of birds, butterfly garden and donkey.

my wife feeding the camel

lovely tigers

birds :)

You will also be amaze by this huge man-made Brachiosaurus. This structure will welcome you once you enter the place.

Brachiosaurus and my wife covering due to high noon sunlight.

Baluarte Zoo

Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

7 AM to 6 PM - 7 days a week

Entrance to Baluarte is FREE, Rides are FREE.

Just got Lucky!

My recipe for today is simple, sumptuous, savory and sulit (affordable). Pork binagoongan is simply pork cooked in shrimp paste. This is a native Filipino dish that most of my kababayan loves to eat. Tender pork cuts that was cured by the salty shrimp paste and hot chili fingers. You must prepare a plenty amount of rice when this is your ulam for the day. Shrimp paste are widely used in Filipino cuisine, it is most often used as flavor enhancer for vegetables, meats and seafoods. It's mostly known as a dip for unripe mango's and the best partner for kare-kare (peanut stew). You can prepare and cook this dish for 15 minutes.

Ingredients

1 kilo pork (cut into bite size)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (minced)

3 pcs tomato (julliened)

1 cup shrimp paste

2 tbsp vinegar

5 pcs chili fingers (chopped)

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

oil

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat oil then saute garlic and onions until golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked.
3. Put the pork and stir properly then add water. Simmer until the pork is tender. Add water as necessary.
4. Pour the shrimp paste and vinegar then cook for a minute.
5. Add the chili fingers.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Just got Lucky!

Last week my wife and I dine in at Tajimaya Charcoal Grill. It is located in SM Mall of Asia in Pasay. This Japanese restaurant offers yakiniku style of dining. "Yakiniku" is a Japanese word that means "grilled meat". This Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat, seafood and vegetables over charcoal. The customers will order different types of raw meat and veggies which are brought to the table with built in grill. Most of their ingredients were from Japan.

The grill was not like other yakiniku style restaurant here in Manila because they use charcoal which gives you more smoky flavor. Most yakiniku styke restaurant here use electric grill.

We ordered this set which cost 580 pesos per head + 12% vat. It's and eat all you can yakiniku set, they will be the one who will serve the ingredients right at your table. You don't need to go back and forth for the things that you want to cook. They will quickly refill if you request but single serving was enough for both of us. It includes one serving of rice and bottomless ice tea. As a freebie you will receive a side dish or a salad. We opted for the salad, it consist of lettuce and Japanese vinaigrette. My wife love this one.

The ingredients are cooked by the diners on a grill built into the table throughout the duration of the meal, several pieces at a time.Usual ingredients are beef, pork, chicken, seafood and veggies.

beef

chicken

pork

cuttlefish

japanese hotdog

shrimp

The ingredients are then dipped in sauces, you can create your own sauce for this one. It is best eaten with a cup of Japanese rice, they also serve an abundant serving of romaine lettuce which you can dip and then wrap the meat.

They also change and refill the charcoal once there was no enough flame to cook the meat. Each of you will also have tongs for cooking. They uses charcoal but it's a smokeless grill. You will still smell the aroma of the food while cooking that will makes you savor more of this grilled goodness. My wife live in Japan for 2 years that is why she like and love this kind of dining ambiance.

Most of the time she's in charge of the cooking and yours truly in indulging. We will surely go back here since we enjoyed our dining experience.

Tajimaya Charcoal Grill

SM Mall of Asia

2nd Level, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines

Phone Number
(+63 2) 556-8929

Operating Hours
Monday to Sunday 10:30am to 11:00pm

You can never go wrong with Lechon! This is what most Filipino's say when eating lechon. Even foreigner's and tourist loves to eat this indulging piece of pork meat cooked slowly in charcoal. With its crispy skin your mouth will burst in every bite and with its tender meat you will never stop to eat. This recipe was very simple all you just need is to have lechon. Lechon Paksiw is lechon meat cooked in lechon sauce with a kick of vinegar and some spices. It is very easy to cook and you can prepare this within 10-15 minutes. You can try this one specially on birthdays and holidays.

Ingredients

1 kilo Lechon Cebu/ Lechon(diced)

2 medium onion (julliened)

5 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 cup lechon sauce/ mang tomas

2 tbsp vinegar

3 pcs dried bayleaf

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot put the lechon and lechon sauce and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and onions and stir. Wait until the garlic and onions to soften.
3. Pour the vinegar and add the bayleaf.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Just got Lucky!

US? No, we're here in Laoag. This American boulevard inspired restaurant is located in the beautiful city of Laoag. Macy's Diner offers a wide variety of food from traditional Filipino dishes and American favorites.

The bar was designed just like the usual food stores in the US. You will see road signage and the traditional tables and chairs. We ordered humungous clubhouse sandwich and longsilog but we forgot to take some pictures because we're already hungry that time. Here are some other details of the place.

The ceiling has names of famous landmarks in the US and some well-known artist and singers.

new york, times square, hollywood blvd.

my wife checking some Elvis Presley pictures

There also a tarpaulin of tourist attractions in Ilocos which is good to promote the rich culture of Ilokano's.

Macy's Diner

Gen. Segundo Avenue, Laoag City

077 770 3551

Laoag is our second stop for a 3D/2N Ilocos escapade. It was a 2 hour bus ride from Pagudpud to reach the city. At 10 AM we checked in at our hotel first which is La Ellana Hotel, it is located among the busy street of the city. You will find many cheap hotels along these street.

Before going to Paoay Church we opted to take lunch first at Saramsam Cafe. You can check our dining experience here

To reach Paoay Church you will need to ride a trike and tell the driver to drop you at Paoay Terminal. You'll see the jeep sign Laoag-Batac-Paoay. You will need to travel for 30-45 minutes.

my wife and I at Paoay Church

Paoay church is a well-known tourist destination in Laoag. Many local movies are shoot here because of the beautiful scenery. The church was old but well-maintained. There are many pasalubong stores in front of the church. We roam around the church and find ourselves hungry again, luckily there's Herencia Cafe.

Herencia Cafe

After a quick snack we rented a trike going to Malacañang Palace of the North. When we arrive at the place it already 4 PM and the guard told us that they are only open until 4:30 PM. Instead we tell the tricycle driver to bring us to Paoay Lake, we can visit this place once we go back here in Laoag.

Paoay Lake

We call it a day and there's more to come the next day.

Goodnight Laoag

In the morning we also visited Laoag City Hall, St. William’s Cathedral and Sinking Bell Tower. After roaming around the city we take a breakfast at Macy's Diner.

After taking our breakfast we rush to our hotel and prepare for a trip to Vigan. Here we come Vigan!

Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant is an authentic Ilocano restaurant that is located in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Most of their dishes are fusion of traditional Ilocano and Italian cuisine. The place was like an old traditional house with antic furniture. This restaurant is well-known for its dishes like dinuguan and pinakbet pizza, poqui-poqui and the famoust bagnet. Here's what we got.

dinuguan pizza and bagnet

Dinuguan pizza was a usual pizza topped with dinuguan (pork blood stew) and bagnet was also pork that was fried twice using lard. Bagnet came with KBL (kamatis. bagoong, lasona) as a dip My wife also ordered a serving of longanisa pasta.