So, that Friday afternoon, our media group of 15 took the PAL flight to Laoag, which lasted only all of 40 minutes. Leis awaited us at the Laoag airport given by a group of ladies from the Museo Ilocos Norte headed by Mrs. Araceli Albano Drake.
In no time at all, we were all settled in our comfortable rooms at Fort Ilocandia. Having time to kill before our dinner at the Sunset Bar, I worked up an appetite by punishing myself with 10 laps at its Olympic-size swimming pool, in anticipation for all the "sins" I was about to commit the following two days to come.
But to my chagrin, dinner was a little disappointing, to say the least. Not that it wasn’t any good (a buffet of some continental and oriental dishes), but it had left me wanting for Ilocano food badly enough it became a matter of surviving the night or not (Withdrawal symptoms. Gotta have my cholesterol fix!) I just wasn’t ready to have anything else but. (Well, it’s Bonjin’s fault. She had pre-conditioned my gustatory glands). Fortunately for me, I found out my table mates Christine Dayrit (of Miladay Jewellers, also my colleague at Philippine Star Lifestyle) and CJ Juntereal (Manila Standard) were in the same straits. "Let’s go to the Garden Café. They serve good native food there," I whispered to them, having stayed in this hotel thrice in the past.
After "feigning" our dinner, we excused ourselves pretending we wanted to have a walk after a hefty meal. And true to form, my co-conspirators and l walked briskly to the Garden Café, which is some 500 meters away, past the swimming pools, well-manicured garden maze and water fountain (to say Fort Ilocandia is a sprawling resort is an understatement; it is indeed vast!). Again, this sprint earned us some calories to spare (oh, more justifications!).
We reached the Garden Café just in the nick of time. They were about to close and were taking in the last order. The restaurant manager asked if we were to have coffee, but instead we ordered our pakbet and bagnet. He was a bit puzzled since he had just attended to us earlier at the Sunset Bar. "Ang tatakaw ng mga ‘to," he must have thought.
The bagnet came a little undercooked, so we had to send it back to the kitchen to be refried. When it reappeared, you should have seen the three of us almost jumped with joy at the sight of the precious golden brown nuggets. They were very crunchy to the bite, yet soft and tender inside. Christine liked hers with a spoonful of sukang Iloko with plenty of chili with each bite, which she can’t seem to have enough of. CJ had hers alternately with the atchara and KBL. Nope, it’s not the political party still solidly strong in this region, but a bowl of chopped kamatis, bagoong and lasuna or red onion. In my case, I scooped a little of the pakbet gravy over the rice, some bits of the veggies, and topped each spoonful with the precious nuggets. It was pure delight. With our bellies pacified, we all headed back to our rooms and slept soundly.
The following morning, we found ourselves again at the Garden Café for breakfast. The buffet spread had the usual international selection of assorted breads and fruits in season, make-your-own congee, cereals, fried rice, an omelet station, fried bacon, ham and corned beef hash. I had some of the fruits, but had no appetite for the rest. I knew right away the reason why – they had none of Ilocos longganisa which I had been dreaming of right at the onset of the trip.
Thanks to my lucky stars, my partners in crime the previous evening felt the same way. (Don’t you ever wonder why kindred spirits tend to gravitate towards each other?). Telling the head waiter of our dilemma, he readily acquiesced to our request, bringing us a plate of the famed garlicky longganisa. The longganisas (a bit bland for my taste, but good with sukang Iloko, nevertheless), over-easy eggs and fried rice fueled us through the long day, as it turned out.
Right after breakfast, we motored up north to the Museo Ilocos Norte in Laoag City; then to the town of Bacarra, famous for its bell tower ruins and church complex; witnessed the salt-making in Pasuquin; climbed up the hill to Cape Bojeador lighthouse at Burgos town, with the all-brick structure being restored to its former glory by the Cabo Bojeador Foundation. Its site gives a spectacular view of the Bangui Bay extending out to the South China Sea! This would make a nice bed and breakfast hotel indeed.
After a cursory roundabout in Dumalneg, the eastern most part of Bangui town, we headed back south towards Laoag City. Along the way, we stopped at several public markets’ karinderias, in search of some native chow as it was past 2 p.m. already. But at that late hour, most of the lunch fare had been long gone. Frustrated and hungry, we held it out till we got back at Fort Ilocandia’s Garden Café. We ended up having lunch at 4 p.m. of sinigang na sugpo, bagnet (golden brown, to be sure) and pakbet. We were on our third meal since our arrival the previous night, and all of them had been taken at the hotel. Not that I’m complaining, but so far we haven’t had G.I. (genuine Ilocano) food.
Right after the meal, most of us, especially the ladies in the group, took some beauty sleep before the Governor’s Ball at 8 p.m. that evening. After resting a bit, I did my daily 10 laps at the pool. Again, to gain some extra mileage over the rest.
Donning our barongs and gowns, we entered the grand ballroom of the hotel with Gov. Bongbong Marcos and sister Irene Araneta (Provincial Tourism Council chair) welcoming us. The ball, in its second year, is a fund-raising dinner of the Gameng (treasure) Foundation to help fund the Museo Ilocos Norte in its cultural activities.
As I greeted Irene, I made bulong (whispered) to her my frustration of not having had any of the real McCoy yet. Playing the perfect hostess, this rang a panic button on her part, calling several people’s attention asking where and what they can arrange for us the next day. This done, she gracefully entertained the rest of the guests, leading to the dinner (Spanish food) and dance with a live band playing.
The following morning, we were all up and about early as the group excitedly motored to Dawang’s Place in San Nicolas, only some 15 minutes away. Irene, smartly dressed as usual, together with Laoag City Mayor Michael Fariñas and beautiful wife Chevylle, who were hosting breakfast, were already there to meet us.
Dawang’s Place is a nondescript hole in the wall along the national highway just outside Laoag. It has been serving its house specialties for 30 years of crunchy dinuguan, papaitan, imbaliktad, and other Ilocano meat dishes (for a glossary of Ilocano cuisine, please refer to my column last Thursday, July 1, 2004). Its clientele knows no class distinction.
If one intends to eat there, make sure you’re there early enough as its crunchy dinuguan is gone by 9 a.m. Its most famous dish makes use of chunky bits of crispy bagnet, giving each spoonful an unexpected crunch to the normally mellifluous stew. It’s out of this world and deadly sinful, and this cholesterol-laden dish should give you that fix to last the day.
From there we proceeded to Batac public market with no less than Irene as our guide. Of course, being the genuine anac ti Batac, she highly recommended that we buy our pasalubong of bagnet and longganisa nowhere else but. One can just imagine all the loads of bitbit each one of us carried, including the native garlic.
Meanwhile, a splinter group proceeded to the Balay ti Amianan, mausoleum of the great Apo, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Near it is a tree-lined narrow street with a row of kiosks selling empanadas (turnovers), the definitive Ilocano snack. Here, one can sample what is arguably the best empanada in all of Ilocos region. Made with an orange-colored rice flour dough, filled with either grated green papaya or mung bean sprouts, sprinkled with longganisa bits, and finally a whole raw egg is added before it is turned over and then fried to a golden crisp. It is normally eaten, still piping hot from the fryer, doused with sukang Iloko.
Other heavenly offerings await the visitor such as the famous miki (chicken noodle soup), grilled longganisa on skewers, chicken and pork barbecues, and grilled dried squid.
By 11:30 a.m., we all regrouped at the Palazzo de Laoag Hotel for an Ilocano heritage lunch prepared by proprietor Manuel "Nonong" Ablan. As we got there, a wonderful buffet of traditional Ilocano dishes awaited us. There was a gamet (seaweed) soup with tukmem (tiny clams); saluyot with tukmem; a salad medley of tabtaba (moss-like seaweed), pukpuklo (string seaweed) and rabong (bamboo shoot); pinangat na tilapia; native chicken adobo; bagnet; pakbet; and an assortment of kakanin (native rice cakes).
Most memorable was the gamet with tukmem soup. It was a simple and clear broth, yet so rich and redolent of the sea. The bagnet and pakbet will blow your mind over. If the ones we had at the Fort were good, these were exceptionally good. Ahh, at last, our search for the real McCoy has ended.
It was but fitting that the best meal we had on this trip was the last served us. Otherwise, it would have been a difficult benchmark to beat. Irene had promised us a feast of ant eggs, fat catfish, and a picnic by the seaside on a future trip. Now, that’s more than enough reason to agsubli ti amianan!
When in Ilocos, eat what the Ilocanos eat. You can never go wrong.
Museo Ilocos Norte — Gen.Luna St., Laoag City Tel: (077) 770-4587
Dawang’s Place — National Highway, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte (just outside Laoag City)
Palazzo de Laoag Hotel — Barangay 27, P.Palermo St., Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Tel: (077) 773-1842; T/fax: (077) 771-5717
Fort Ilocandia, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Tel: (077) 772-1166;
Fax: (077) 773-1544