And as mentioned, yes this is a surprise visit. Saturday morning I arrived--I stopped by her room, in disbelief, she looked as though she's seen a ghost. After 5 seconds of deciphering if it was really me, she then bursted into laughter. She must have been relieved to confirm that it wasn't a ghost she was seeing, instead it was me. :)
Dingras is a small town in the province of Ilocos Norte. If my navigation skills serve me right, it is almost about in the southern part, so from its capital city Laoag, you would have to drive for about 30-40 minutes more.
This town is where my mom's side of family, the Taylans, lived ever since. My mom and her siblings grew up here. And as the only grand kids for the longest time, me and my sisters used to spend our summer vacations and Christmases here.
One of the many things (aside from being a cheapskate--one that we got from our grandpa) that our grandparents, especially my Lola has imparted to us is the love for eating Ilocano dishes. All those Bagnet, inabraw, crispy dinardaraan, dinakdakan, bukto, and other exotic dishes we definitely have grown to love. I myself have learned to cook some...
Ilocano cuisine is basically a very veggie and meaty type of cuisine. One famous vegetable dish is Inabraw, otherwise known in Tagalog as Dinengdeng. The mixes of leafy vegetables are simmered in a garlic bagoong (another type of fish sauce) broth. This is one of the first Ilocano dishes I have learned to cook as it is very easy.
Another famous delicacy is the sinfully delicious Bagnet. This piece of pork belly cooked and crispyfied for hours has become the signature dish of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. The Ilocanos either serve it with tomato and onion enchilada or mix it in almost any vegetable dish as its salty and meaty flavors can intensify almost any dish.
More than the marinade, it is the whole paintstaking procedure that makes this delicacy so sinfully tasty [reason that I never attempted cooking this].
Yesterday, Sunday, I took my Lola and auntie out for lunch and we tried this simple, quaint diner located at the Ilocos Museum, Laoag--Johnny Moon Cafe.
Their menu listed a lot of Ilocano dishes, gourmet style. And almost all had Bagnet in it. :) So we sampled a few--Bagnet enchilada and Bagnet Sandwich.
Amongst the 3, it was the Bagnet Sandwich that stood out. By the way, the Ilocano Burrito is not a Bagnet dish. For the meat, they used the Ilocano Longganisa--frankly speaking this burrito needs a lot of improvement.
Over all, Johnny Moon Cafe is ok. Budget for their meals would start at P160-400. Not too shabby.
So this is my 3rd day and my last day for this spur-of-the-moment vacay. A lot has changed around here, the house, the streets, the fixtures... Probably because, we've grown up. We no longer play around here like we used to. The house has been renovated and seemed a little smaller [because I've gotten bigger].
My lolo Tante (grandpa) is already gone. No more stacks of 12 ounces of coke [my grannies were heavy coke drinkers]. No more afternoon mirienda at the plaza. And a whole buncha things.
One thing has never changed though--the vibe. Our house and its surroundings still exude that laidback and you-know-you-are-in-Ilocos vibe... Kinda hard to explain unless you are Ilokano or Hawaiian [haha]... Or me.
With that I close this entry with a photo of two of the most influential people in my life. The semi-odd Ilokano couple [what can I say, momentary chaos had always worked for them] but the most loving grannies in the world... And the reason that I am an Ilokano by blood and by heart---
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento