A week ago, I told myself I had to hit the gym at least everyday since the family had planned a three day road trip to the northern province of Pangasinan to visit my dad's sister, my aunt Leila, who is based in Dagupan. Every visit up north, no fail, will always mean being a victim to an increased waist line of about an inch and a half and most likely a two pound weight gain. The main culprit - the glorious food these northern provinces usually offer...and as expected...hard to resist. I usually condition myself before a Dagupan visit to take control and to have the will power to try to resist the temptation of biting into these delectable dishes this city has to offer...to no avail. So, I told myself to just hit the gym prior to the visit and try to lose the pounds you know very well will be gained back- an easy solution right ?
We left Tuesday, November 6, my imagination already going wild with pictures of dishes from food establishments in Dagupan that I am familiar with, and at the same time, anticipating new food discoveries since Dagupan is the culinary capital of the province of Pangasinan. I wanted the seven hour trip to just end ! Well, that three day road trip, as expected did not disappoint.
CHARCUTERIE - PROBINSYA STYLE
MAMALOLS- this local restaurant is popular because of it's lutong bahay fare, but it's their Ham that always make me look forward to a trip to Dagupan. Soft, tender and succulent, Mamalol's ham doesn't come out dry plus your tastebuds will go on overdrive with the pineapple sauce that it usually comes with. My aunt Leila ( who I refer to as "ninang" even if she is not my ninang) usually serves this during breakfast along with hot pan de sal. The traditional Christmas day lunch isn't complete with this ham either.
ALAMINOS LONGANIZA - about thirty minutes from Dagupan is the small town of Alaminos. The locals are famous for their longaniza which is usually sold in stalls outside the town plaza and at the local market. The alaminos longaniza is usually sold dry, hanging by the strings. It's also characterized by being on the salty side as opposed to the sweet type that is sold mostly by another culinary strong force- Pampanga. I had the opportunity to bring home this longaniza once before and with that, found a new way of cooking it which resulted in an explosion of flavors-poaching it in water then letting the water dry-out until the longaniza eventually gets cooked in it's own fat. What came out was the longaniza being similar in texture and crispness to that of chicharon, tender because of it being poached and at the same time, maintaining it's longaniza flavor.
ALWAYS FRESH AND TASTY LECHON MANOK -
Forget Andok's or Baliwag. Dagupan has it's own JERRYLIZ, a small kiosk selling the best tasting lechon manok. It's always tasty and fresh chicken is the reason behind the long queue of people that is often seen at Jerryliz everyday.
CRAVING FOR CHINESE FOOD EVEN IN DAGUPAN
Chinese cuisine has a strong presence in Dagupan. Before, one can get their Chinese food fix at the STAR OCEAN restaurant at the STAR PLAZA HOTEL along A.B. Fernandez avenue, Dagupan's main thoroughfare. But recently, a new Chinese restaurant called FORTUNE found along the new Metro Plaza commercial complex has been giving the numerous Chinese restaurants found at the city some serious competition. We ate at FORTUNE on our first night and the only thing I can say is that the restaurant serves it BIG !. What is normally a large size in Metro Manila is a medium at FORTUNE. We had our tummys full of Beef with Brocolli, Lemon Chicken, Steamed Lapu Lapu and Garlic and Peppery Squid all served in huge portions. We had two orders of Yang Chow Fried Rice which was described in the menu as "small" but was a "medium" in my point of view. Their Pancit Canton with Mixed Meat was served in a huge platter good for 15 ( we were eight by the way) plus the best part- free dessert of Almond Jelly.
MANAOAG - A PLACE OF WORSHIP, PANATA AND...GOTO?
About thirty minutes from Dagupan is the town of Manaoag - famous for it's shroud that is believed to be miraculous. This shroud is housed in a tower adjacent to the main church which also serves as a museum and where locals and tourists alike can light candles of prayer and jot down their petitions. A lot of people do have a strong connection to this place and have kept their faith strong by holding an annual pilgrimage every holy week especially on Holy Thursday where local folk from surrounding towns walk barefoot to Manaoag to attend the 3 a.m. Good Friday mass. I have attended one of these pilgrimages before ( and no I did not walk barefoot) and during this pilgrimage, the church would set up makeshift stalls and provide really affordable piping hot bowls of Lugaw and Goto (10 bucks a bowl) to its thousands of pilgrimage goers.
DESSERTS, SWEETS AND RICE CAKES
Two famous local bakeshops have made Dagupan their home for so many years. The best part about it is that these two bakeshops never branched out outside the city. A visit to PEDRITO'S BAKESHOP is always a part of my itenerary everyt time I visit Dagupan. It's their local version of Red Ribbon where locals can get their pianonos, muffins, banana cake, carrot cake and mini rolls. Aside from the pastry take-outs, you can choose to dine-in and partake in local cuisine through their in-house restaurant. JHEC's is another bakeshop worth mentioning. Situated in the neighboring town of Calasiao, I do believe that the owner of JHEC'S belongs to the same family who owns PEDRITO'S but decided to go on his own-thus JHEC'S was born. While not as famous as PEDRITO'S, one can still enjoy the shop's home-baked products. A good example is their brownies which in my opinion is far better than the ones being sold at PEDRITO'S.
I did mention the neighboring town of Calasiao. Often laid-back, Calasiao holds a hidden secret - their famous KUTSINTA and PUTO which is sold in makeshift stalls fronting the Church and Town Plaza. Each of these stalls is characterized by the name of the person who owns the stall - you have "Linda's", "Emma's", "Baby's", "Jhenny's" etc.. along with a tall mound of Kutsinta and Puto. Sold in either half or one kilo in brown paper bags lined with banana leaves, these kakanin treats have been a popular pasalubong item for so many years. It is so popular, that the Calasiao puto and kutsinta have found it's way in Metro Manila. If you are in the White Plains area in Quezon City, you will see makeshift stands selling the puto and kutsinta- at a much higher cost definitely.
BRITTLED BY THE PEANUT
A short 20 minute drive from Dagupan is the town of Mangaldan. I hate going to Mangaldan since I'm often tempted to buy a jar of the town's famous ROMANA PEANUT BRITTLE. It has a main retail outlet just across the church where shelves containing jars of freshly made buttery peanut brittle entices it's customers to buy one. Some say that it is much better than the peanut brittle being sold at the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio. Truth be told, it is much better because of it's whole peanuts embedded in it's dark amber brown color caramel. Romana peanut brittle is often sold in Metro Manila Supermarkets like Shopwise or at Market Market. But if you are in the Pangasinan province already especially Mangaldan, it is best to buy one at the town since it's way more affordable.
NOTHING CAN BEAT THE FRESHNESS OF CARABAO'S MILK
Let's leave Dagupan for now and focus on the province of Tarlac. Tarlac is usually the rest stop among Metro Manilans who are headed north since it meets halfway. Tarlac is now much easier to access through the newly opened Subic-Clark-Tarlac ( SCTEX) freeway which bypasses the lahar and populous towns of Pampanga. Aside from Ninoy Aquino, Tarlac is famous for it's Carabao's milk treats. LITA'S DELICACIES has been selling local delicacies in the province such as yema, polvoron, barquiron and turrones for as long as I can remember. But it's their pure carabao's milk pastillas that gets me excited. Rumor has it that when Lita's started, their pastillas was sold in plastic jars where one can savor it's milky goodness by just spooning them. Makes me wish I lived in Tarlac at that time.
I won't be writing much about Pampanga in this post ( I'll save that for another post) but since we are talking about carabao's milk, I might as well mention the TIBOK TIBOK sold at SUSIE'S CUISINE. Tibok Tibok is a milk pudding type of dessert that is solidified by cornstarch and not by gelatine ( like in a panna cotta). No trip to Pampanga is complete without visiting Susie's and biting into this smooth, silky, milky dessert. My Lola Coring used to make good Tibok Tibok at her makeshift kitchen behind their house in Minalin, a small town in Pampanga. And everytime we visit Minalin ( which happens to be my dad's birthplace), I would request to visit my Lola Coring since it is always expected that she would prepare her Tibok Tibok. We would take home a bilao of her Tibok Tibok still warm and fresh out from the vat. Lola Coring has since retired and is now based in the States...but she did share her recipe for her Tibok Tibok and I have been perfecting it ever since.
BANGUS - BRING IT ON !
No trip to Dagupan is complete without eating it's famous dish - bangus. Dagupan worships this milkfish. They have fish ponds of bangus at the city's outskirts; they serve bangus in all types of innovative dishes-tex mex, bicol express, grilled, fried, steamed, inasal flavored, indian spiced flavored etc...they even have a week long bangus festival complete with bangus eating contests and bangus cook-off competitions.
One such restaurant famous for it's bangus is DAGUPENA. They serve "dinosaur size" bangus whether it be grilled or fried. I would usually bring home three packs of this vacuum sealed bangus to Manila as well.
GOURMET BANGUS- IT'S READY AND WAITING - a hidden gem is FRESH CATCH. Situated at Barangay Tambac in Dagupan, FRESH CATCH is a small store that sells frozen vaacum packed bangus. It just opened this March and yet, it already has a huge customer base. The reason is that they sell special marinated bangus at very affordable prices. Ran and owned by my cousin, Marilene Bernal and her husband Butch, they currently sell bangus in different flavors. Aside from the Daing, they sell Blackened ( marinated in Indian and Asian spices), Filipino ( marinated in soy sauce and garlic), Hoisin, Peppered, Chili Garlic and Inasal . And get this - the best thing is the price - P 120 for single; P 130 for Grande and P 230 for double. My cousin invited us to sample their bangus at their house and....OMG !!...no words can describe it. If you're in Dagupan, head on over to FRESH CATCH, buy a pack of their different variants and fry up a piece of bangus !
....AND FINALLY, THAT HOUSE AT GALVAN STREET....
Amidst the fenetic frenzy and chaos of Galvan Street; where a wet and vegetable market spills onto the streets during the day and noisy videoke bars where customers belt-out "The Power of Love" annoyingly disrupts your supposedly good night's sleep until the wee hours of the morning; behind a large wall sits a two story house, that in my opinion, serves the best food in Dagupan. I am fortunate to call this house "my home away from home" for in this house resides the best cook in the city - my aunt Leila, sister of my dad. Staying in this house even for one night can break anyone's diet. You see, my aunt used to run a restaurant called "Summit". Summit, back in the day, was famous for serving it's tender pork bbq. Never did my aunt Leila divulge the secret recipe of her pork bbq, even to her staff and her children (my cousins). But now that Summit has been closed for quite some time, my aunt Leila continues to serve her pork bbq every time we are there and also during Christmas. But it's not only her bbq but her other dishes as well are the reasons that makes me look forward to a Dagupan visit - Lengua (tender cow tongue simmered in a buttery mushroom gravy), Korean Beef (beef ribs braised in a sweet Korean sauce), Prawn Gambas (huge, thick six inch prawns sauteed in butter with loads of garlic) , Chicken Sate (grilled chicken marinated in my aunt's secret bbq sauce), Chicken Asado, Kare Kare etc. Cooked and prepared by my aunt's ever loyal kusinera, Manang Muray, Manang has been working for my aunt since the early 80's. She is famous for not tasting the dishes she cooks (she claims the dishes are not her type) and yet, it always comes out perfect. She is also famous for whipping up her homemade atchara which we usually bring home to Manila and a much requested and easy dessert- Leila's Delight- made of gelatin, coconut meat and cream. In this trip alone, Manang once again surprised us with a new dish- Kilawin na Hipon. I am fortunate enough to know my aunt Leila's famous recipes including the famous Summit BBQ, but it is still nothing compared to my aunt's way of cooking it. As the saying goes "Often replicated but never duplicated".
So, there...definitely a trip up north never disappoints. Now comes the hard part - losing all these pounds I gained by pigging out mercilessly for three days. But how can I lose these pounds when I have about six packs of marinated bangus from FRESH CATCH still waiting to be cooked and devoured in my freezer ?
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