Our Vigan experience wouldn’t be complete without a taste of their Ilocano dishes. My husband, Oliver and I took a trip with a group of bloggers headed by Powercom to Metro Vigan Inn and Cafe where we were invited to try their lodging and food.
As explained by our guide, Gary during our food tour, Ilocanos favor salty food and that is apparent in their delicacies. Apart from our fabulous stay at Metro Vigan Inn (read more about that here) we were also delighted to be among the first to dine at their newly opened Metro Vigan Cafe.
After arriving at the inn, we bloggers were treated to a snack of Bagnet Burgers. You heard correctly, burgers with bagnet. Simply put, it was delicious.
We were welcomed by Villie, the inn’s manager and staff of the inn. He gave a little background abut the inn and the cafe.
The sumptuous menu of the Metro Vigan Cafe are courtesy of Chef Raymond who has come up with his own take of Ilocandia cuisine.
We knew we were in for a couple of days that would have us tasting the various dishes on their menu and food tasting during the tour. It was to be more than we expected!
Metro Vigan Cafe has traditional and modern Ilocano dishes. They offer Asian Ilocandian cuisine at affordable prices and generous servings.
Feast your eyes on the dishes we were able to try.
Appetizers
Spring Roll Longganisa (Php128)
This was one of my favorites because I love spring rolls but the longganisa makes it even better. I wasn’t too keen on the sauce that came with it. For me the longganisa on its own was already delicious.
Poki Poki (P128)
I know it’s a funny sounding name but it’s actually a unique Ilocano dish. It’s very appealing and once served you have to mix it so that you can mix the scrambled egg and eggplant.
Sisig Crispy Bagnet (Php148)
The usual sisig has bits of a pig’s ears, face and liver. I’m not a a big fan of sisig but I did like this because it had my favorite bagnet. It’s also topped with mayo. Yum!
Soups
Sinanglao (Php188)
Similar to Nilaga in taste. It wasn’t one of the dishes that impressed me. The pork however was tender as it was in all their dishes.
Bulalo (Php288)
The beef was cooked to perfection and very rich in flavor. This was one of Oliver’s favorites. It’s also plentiful in vegetables.
Entree
Kare Kare Bagnet (Php258)
I love Kare Kare and this is alright but the sauce could have been less clumpy. It does make up for it though with the delicious bagnet. As you can tell bagnet is their secret ingredient.
Kalderetang Pato (Php228)
I love Kaldereta especially Oliver’s Kaldereta. For those of you that don’t know, pato is duck. Oliver found the dish a bit fishy in taste though.
Crispy Bagnet (P258)
This was my other favorite. I loooved this and practically finished it. I’m so thankful that I had my gallbladder removed so I can enjoy this.
Pinaputok na Tilapia (P158)
The tilapia was covered in tomates and steamed together and wrapped in banana leaves to seal in the juices.
Crispy Pata (P458)
I think anything fried is a plus for me. I also liked this but it’s not as good as the bagnet!
Metro Vigan Chicken (Whole Php388/ Half Php188)
Oliver and I liked the fried chicken. It was already good without the sauce.
Hito at Talong (P198)
I’m the kind of person that likes my food to look pretty and this… wasn’t. (Sorry!) However, I was there to try Ilocandia and I made sure to try everything. Oliver liked this dish. I found it alright but not one I would choose to eat again. (Hito is eel.)
Steamed Malaga (Php300)
This is a classic Ilocano fish that’s steamed with tomatoes, onion and ginger.
Vegetables
Pinakbet na Bagnet (Php198)
This was another of Oliver’s favorites and I have to say also one of my top choices. The bagnet and the squash and vegetables…was delicious!
Chopsuey (Php 168)
There was a bit of a twist to the Ilocano version of Chopsuey. The sauce is very starchy giving it that milky look and the vegetables were cooked just right.
Rice and Noodles
Metro Vigan Pancit Canton (Small Php98 / Medium Php168 / Large Php208 / Extra Large Php298)
This was also alright for me but it wasn’t particularly anything special.
Metro Vigan Fried Rice (Small Php98 / Medium Php168 / Large Php208)
I couldn’t help but keep getting more servings of this fried rice. I like fried rice in general and the chorizo was just yummy.
Dessert
The dessert offerings are simple and in keeping with the traditional dishes.
We were served watermelon of a different variety and buko pandan.
If you want to try something unique try the Ilocano Tinubong. An interesting mixture of glutinous flour, sugar, coconut milk, strips of coconut, cheese and margarine that’s inserted into a tube which is then cooked in ovens or over charcoal.
Watermelon
Buko Pandan (Php48)
Tinubong
Oliver recommends the Bulalo & Pinakbet Bagnet while I favor the Spring Roll Longganisa & Crispy Bagnet.
You’ll be sure to find a dish you like and enjoy the different Ilocano dishes that Metro Vigan cafe has to offer.
My fellow bloggers and the bounty of food!
Getting to Metro Vigan Inn:
Air – Domestic flights leave Manila daily for Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, which is an hour and a half away by land to Vigan. The city can be reached from Laoag City via local bus companies.
By Land – The 408 km stretch from Manila to Vigan City is a comfortable eight-hour ride along the scenic Manila-Ilocos Highway. Many air-conditioned buses ply the Manila-Vigan route regularly.
Getting Around – The best way to explore Vigan is on foot; the town center is small and compact, yet full of excitement.
Address: Telephone:Mobile: Email:
For more details abut Metro Vigan Inn visit their website and Facebook page.
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Whoa! Bagnet overload! Craving now! I will include this place next time I visit Ilocos soon. Thanks! =)
http://thisislovelee.blogspot.com/
Wow, bounty of food talaga! Namiss ko naman bigla ang Vigan Longganiza!
whoah! the food is overflowing.. hehe. I laugh of it too when I heard poki-poki.. but I tasted it before in Grilla restaurant and it was delicious! I love how Ilocano flavor their dishes.