Update: Pangasinan's Heling and Violeta Special Tupig

Update: I met the gracious lady who provides us with Villasis-based Heling and Violeta Special Tupig. You can contact the latter through cell phone no. 0919-7596166

Tupig is described as a delicacy from Pangasinan made of glutinous rice and grated coconuts and cooked over  live coals. The municipality of Villasis is known as tupig central, and it is passing through this town on my way to and from Manila that I got acquainted with this snack. Sold by ambulant vendors (although there is now a section in town featuring stalls selling tupig), the tupig I knew were quite slight but tasty, especially when eaten warm. I love the smoky flavor and the interplay of coconut meat and the essence of the banana wrapper.

One day in the office someone brought a box of special tupig, the contents of which were heftier than usual, but just as tasty. The printed box did not provide any leads on who made it. Any idea where I can score a box of this special treat? 

Camarines Sur's Avenue Plaza Hotel for Excelente and Mango Royale Ice Cream Cake

My favorite hotel in Naga City is Avenue Plaza Hotel, not only because of its great hospitality and excellent design, but also because they serve wonderful meals. Their desserts are to die for, and it's quite difficult picking the best from the lot. My colleagues and I agree, though, that these desserts are a must-try: 

everyone's favorite: the aptly named excelente. reminds me of black forest--vanilla ice cream
coated in choco syrup, surrounded by milk and white choco dips and strawberry drizzle

the mango royale ice cream cake. just the right sweetness. and quite addictive, too.
my office-mate, who wasn't into sweets, wasn't able to resist another serving

The Avenue Plaza Hotel

Magsaysay Ave., Naga City 

(+63) 54 473 999

Happy Returns: Ukkokei Ramen Ron's Bestselling Tan Tan Men

You will recall that I wrote triumphantly of finally locating Ukkokei Ramen Ron's Mabini branch in an earlier post. I was happy with the Shio Tan Tan Men, and I vowed to return for more, hopefully with the holy grail: the best-selling Tan Tan Men. They only cook this starting at 6 pm, and only in limited quantities, so consider yourself warned.

After that fortunate afternoon, I returned a couple of times. The first one was during a lunch blow-out for my colleagues. A few days later, I went during dinner, and finally got to sample the highly regarded Tan Tan Men.

Miso butter corn ramen. Flavorful, complex, well-balanced, and the pork was to die for

The Tan Tan Men, Ukokkei's bestselling ramen. Creamy, nutty, complex, yet
everything comes well together. A little heat would make this even more wonderful

I was glad I ordered this--perfectly fried crispy chicken and rich Japanese mayo.
There's a side of crisp green in light soy dressing for roughage

Crispy banana fritters. This is one of two dessert offerings in the resto,
and this one's a winner. Gentrified turon with langka. Best eaten piping hot

Truth to tell, I prefer the Shio Tan Tan Men to the Tan Tan Men. Until I'm convinced otherwise, the first ramen I tasted in Ukokkei is tops for me.

Ukokkei Ramen Ron
2126 A Mabini St., Malate, Manila
(+63) 02 516-5511

Davao del Sur's Belito's Vineyard for Paella Negra and Crispy Spareribs

Last February I had to make a quick trip to Davao. Except for my hotel, I did not have much planned ahead. I only zeroed in on where to eat lunch after flipping through the pages of my plane's inflight magazine, where the black paella of Belito's Vineyard came highly recommended. Aside from pork, I love squid. You might recall a post I made earlier on paella negra here. 

Belito's Vineyard is tucked away in a residential compound, and perhaps because it was a Sunday (thank God it was open) it was unusually quiet. Only a couple was there when I arrived. I ordered the black pella and the crispy pork ribs.

The black paella, Belito's signature dish. It can handily serve 3-5 persons. Rich and dark, full
of squid meat. Onions and lime cut through the rich flavor. My favorite is the tutong,
rice sticking to the bottom of the pot made crisp.

Lightly battered pork ribs. I love the vinegary, spicy sauce which hint of fish paste.
This dish was also good, I can't help but eat with my hands.

They were short on home-made durian ice cream, so I made do with strawberry ice cream.
Rich and creamy--a perfect cap for a sumptuous lunch. 

Belito's Vineyard
Palm Drive, Bajada, Davao City
(+63) 82 227 6726
Opens daily, 11 am to 10:30 pm

Poqui-poqui Face-Off: Saramsam and Preciosa

During my visit to Laoag City, I had the fortune of eating at two premier restaurants, Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant and Bar and La Preciosa. Saramasam means an informal gathering, or pica-pica, and is quite the iconoclast, serving traditional regional dishes in different ways, such as the dinuguan (blood stew) pizza. La Preciosa Restaurant is more traditional, and is the favorite restaurant in the city per the website Tripadvisor.

Poqui-poqui may be named unfortunately (it's a Tagalog vulgar term for vagina), but it sure tastes heavenly. It's basically eggplants, eggs, onions, and tomatoes. The first time I tried it it was vaguely familiar, until I remembered how my father  was so fond of a version that uses no eggplant at all. It dawned of me I've been eating a variant since childhood.

Saramsam's version uses smoky eggplant, and this reminded me of the home-style goodness of meals cooked in wood of my childhood. 

La Preciosa's is saucier, and the onions used were so fresh they were sweetish. Of the two versions I'm partial to the latter. Forgive the unfortunate picture composition, but La Preciosa's is the tastier dish.

Ilocos Norte's Saramsam Restaurant for Bagnet

Bagnet with KBL (kamatis, bagoong, lasona). Bagnet is a staple in Ilocano cuisine, so be sure to sample it when traveling north of the country. These are pork chunks that are boiled, air-dried, and deep-fried. 

Bagnet appears to me as hefty chicharon, and I prefer it, along with my lechon, with fermented fish sauce, tomatoes, and native onions, as pictured above. Lasona is a potent onion variant. It is a favorite of my grandfather, and when he was alive he'd usually have it as relish, or the main dish.

Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant and Bar

Laoag City

(+63) 77 771 5825

Ilocos Norte's La Preciosa for Crispy Dinuguan (Blood Stew) and Kilawin na Tanigue (Mackerel Ceviche)

No trip to Laoag is complete without going to La Preciosa Restaurant. A quick look at Tripadvisor yields the  factoid that it is ranked #1 among 22 restaurants in the city. If you're after a sampling of Iloko cuisine, such as higado, poqui-poqui, pakbet, and bagnet, go no further. I came for the crispy dinuguan. I left charmed by the kinilaw na tanigue as well. 

A quick note: dinuguan is a stew of meat and/or offal cooked in pork blood, garlic, green chilis, and vinegar.

the fried pork makes this dinuguan extraordinary. i love the crunch and the thick sauce

mackerel ceviche. the use of vinegar was just right, allowing the
creamy goodness of the fish to shine though

La Preciosa Restaurant
JP Rizal Laoag City
(+63) 77 773 1162