The Lucky Cook: Filipino recipes of a househusband

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.

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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.