Random Philippines

From my end-of-2014 short trip to the Philippines.  From Manila.

The Second Lunch in Vigan: Filipino Empanada

After I enjoyed my “milkfish” lunch, I decided to go back to my hotel and work (i.e. update blog, facebook, sort photos, etc.) on my computer until it was time for me to go catch a bus to the airport.  My lovely hotel being very simple with no frills did not have any beverage or food service on site except for breakfast so I decided to stop by the liquor store, probably the only one in town, I passed by a few times to take something with me back to the hotel.

Ended up with a bottle of Filipino beer I hadn’t tried and was happily walking home when I came across an outdoor eatery featuring the local street food: empanada.

It was something local I had wanted to try but again, most empanadas are sold at stalls and not restaurants so no hope of grabbing any beer with it that I had scrapped the idea of eating one at all during my stay in Vigan.  However, when I came across this shop, though I was full with milkfish I had a bottle of beer with me.  The empanadas being made in front of you were too tempting to pass up so I asked, could I open my bottle and have my beer here if I were to try one of your empanadas?  The lady smiled and welcomed me in.

 

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Lunching in Vigan

In the Filipino World Heritage city of Vigan, there are local specialty dishes.  The local sausage, longganisa, I had already had for breakfast.  The other popular local dish, bagnet, I was given a little sample taste at the market.  So I wanted something else, in particular a fish dish since the Philippines is surrounded by the sea.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I experienced a couple of glitches in getting to the right restaurant, a restaurant that served beer at lunch time.

Yes, what I was looking for!

I had no idea which fish dish was the most popular so chose the one that sounded interesting. This is supposedly a “milkfish”.

And I am only learning now that “milkfish” is the national fish of the Philippines according to Wikipedia.

Garlic rice. The waiter kept offering me the garlic rice. Not bad. In fact good with the milkfish.

The milkfish.

 

To Market! in Vigan

I thought that Manila would be too big of a city to seek a local people’s market so I didn’t even bother to look for one in the capital but waited until getting to the World Heritage city of Vigan for my opportunity.  The “Vigan Public Market” was full of life and I loved it.

I also stopped by a regular supermarket just because I love going to those as well.  Check out the chips isle…!

Good Morning, Vigan

While I only arrived close to midnight at my hotel in Vigan the night before, my time in the World Heritage city was limited and there was no reason to not get up to a beautiful day to enjoy my breakfast and take a short walk in the neighborhood.

My simple breakfast with local sausages that are smaller than other Filipino sausages. They are typically eaten with a fried egg at breakfast.

The breakfast room was beautiful at Casa Rica.

The front desk

The entrance

Full house