Of Pancit and Old time Panciterias -- A Special Edition Wok-king Tour with Ivan Man Dy

Last week-end, I brought the Amigos on a walking and eating tour of Chinatown in Binondo. 

So I could show them a real honest to goodness Binondo experience, I decided to ask 

Ivan Man Dy of Old  Manila Walks to create a special edition of his Wok-king tour for us.  I have taken Ivan's tour many times, with balikbayan guests, colleagues, friends but no matter how many times I have walked and "wokked" with Ivan, each time is always unique, interesting and a lot of fun. 

This special tour was a way of celebrating my birthday with good friends.   I was glad that the majority of them had never done Ivan's tour.  We kicked off the tour with a quick geography / 

history / culinary / cultural  lesson at the lobby of the Ramada Hotel.  

Because it was a birthday celebration, I had asked Ivan for a "pancit" themed wok-king tour with an emphasis on old time panciterias.  When I was young, I  remember coming to Chinatown with my father nearly every Saturday.  We would eat lomi, miki, mami -- you name the noodle, my father had a special little hole-in-the-wall panciteria that was his favourite.  

Nowadays most of those panciterias are gone but some hardy ones still remain standing.

Our first stop was an old favourite of mine -- Quik Snack is located along short and narrow Carvajal Street.

I go to Quik Snack for their machang but Ivan highly recommends their lumpia.  Tightly wrapped and filled to near bursting,  Quik Snack's version has lots of finely chopped peanuts, vegetables, tofu, pork bits and dried seaweed.  This kind of lumpia needs no sauce at all except maybe for a drop or two of hot sauce with each bite.

Since it was our first stop, Ivan said  we would just have some "appetisers".  

He ordered  Indonesian Tauhu which was a large block of fried tofu in a sweetish-salty soy sauce 

(it tasted a lot like kecap manis, the thick and sweet soy sauce most popular in Indonesia).  

The tofu was topped with fresh garlic,  more chopped peanuts, sprigs of fresh wansoy and hot chili sauce.  Because of the red  and green colours,  regulars call this dish "Christmas tofu".  

Our first pancit of the tour was Quik Snack's beef satay.  Soft egg noodles were sautéed with tender beef strips and kangkong in a spicy sauce.  Ivan said that the founder of Quik Snack had been married to an Indonesian, hence the Malay influences on the menu.

It must have been coincidence but most of us were wearing orange that day, which is also the colour of the uniforms of the friendly and efficient waitstaff at Quik Snack.  Thanks to Mang Ron (second from the left) for taking good care of us that afternoon!

Before proceeding to the next "pancit" destination, Ivan made a brief stop at one of the stores along Carvajal selling all sorts of raw ingredients, from sea cucumber  to fish balls to bamboo shoots soaked in brine.  Most of the restaurants in the area shop from the small stores in Carvajal Street, which sell only the best, top quality ingredients.  

We had barely walked off any of Quik Snack's calories when we arrived at the next food stop, Sincerity Restaurant along Nueva Street, just around the corner from Carvajal, again another 

familiar "friend".  

I was really glad that Ivan had included Sincerity on this tour since the restaurant and I were born on the same year  --1956.  Sincerity is still very much popular even with a new and younger generation of diners.  So who says you can't be attractive at 60?

Orange must really be the colour of the day, this time we perfectly matched Sincerity's table tops.

This is Sincerity's chamisua or misua guisado.  Misua is served during birthdays so it

is called birthday pancit.  As noodle dishes go, the chamisua is lighter and drier than most pancit dishes.  It's topped with whole roasted peanuts that give each forkful a crunchy texture and salty bite.

Regulars (like my father and me) would go all the way to Nueva Street for a taste of Sincerity's 
oyster omelettes.  I am happy to say that they taste exactly as I remember them  -- chewy and gooey with the  briny taste of fresh oysters.  Ivan says the appetising gooey-ness comes from the sweet potato flour that is used as binder for this delicious dish.

Sincerity is also famous for its special fried chicken which is nothing like you have ever tasted.  You can order one half or a whole chicken and it comes chopped up in smaller pieces, floured with a "secret" mix of herbs and spices.  You'll have to wait a bit because each batch is made fresh and deep fried as each order comes in.  So, it's always the last dish to arrive at the table.

It's so well seasoned that you don't need any catsup or gravy at all.

I couldn't drink enough of the refreshing kundol or winter melon iced tea that Sincerity serves by the pitcher. Later on, Ivan would bring us to the store where the makings of this drink can be bought,  in the form of a  solid block of pressed fruit and sugar.  

After eating 6 different dishes,  Ivan promised that we would walk a little farther to burn a few more calories -- so far the score was Pancit and Panciterias -2  Calories Burned - 0

We walked through busy Ongpin street, through the Welcome to Chinatown arch.

From Ongpin, we turned right into Salazar street, where mini groceries and Chinese delis abound.  First stop was Shin Tai Shang Foods where the winter melon drink is sold.  This place also sells cooked food,  Chinese sausages, sweets and delicacies and Hello Kitty shoes.  Yes, you read that right.   You can buy all sorts of Hello Kitty items here.

Next door is Jipin, another Chinese deli with a counter top full of cooked meats from all parts of 

the pig -- simmered ears and snout,  stewed intestines, tongue,  kidneys, stomach  -- all succulent and extremely sinful.  Offal lovers will call this heaven but gout sufferers should stay far, far away!

Ivan opened a pack of these pork floss rolls -- very thin, crisp and enticing.  It's like snacking on potato chips -- you can't eat just one.

From Salazar, we walked to Benavidez where our target was Masuki Noodle House.  There are a few branches around Manila but the one in Binondo is the original and has been around since the 1930s.

With old style black and white tiles and formica tables,  the non air-conditioned Masuki is a throwback to another time.  I briefly closed my eyes and inhaled deeply -- it even smells the same!

Ivan said that some people are turned off by the unique aroma but it reminds me of Saturday afternoons long gone, when my father and I would drop by and enjoy a bowl of Masuki's mami.

This is  Masuki's famous mami , the granddaddy or should I say the grandmami of them all.  

The noodles are made right above the restaurant using old time kneading methods so you can 

be sure each bowl contains only fresh and hand made wheat noodles.  

There are thin slices of pork and chicken and for garnish don't forget to sprinkle lots of the finely minced green onions.  Masuki also provides diners with a small saucer of their own sweetish soy sauce  but I prefer to enjoy my mami with the broth as plain and as clear as it is.

We don't have sio pao with our mami but we do get Masuki's larger than normal sio mai which is 

just as good.

Here's Ivan with some of the Amigos  --  satisfied smiles show that every one is having a great time.

Beer does not go well with hot mami so we say cheers with long uncut strands of Masuki's fresh noodles.  Here's to long life and long friendships!

Masuki is not yet the last bite on this Pancit and Panciterias Tour.   We go back towards Ongpin Street -- no traffic this time, the roads are suddenly quiet on this late Saturday afternoon.

One of my favourite food discoveries after my first tour with Ivan was a small hole in the wall shop

that sold the most delicious "sio pao C" or chien pao (fried sio pao)  The "sio pao C" was sold in

a  no-name place along Salazar Street where I have been back to many times since,  just to buy

these special buns.

For this tour,  Ivan brought us to a slightly bigger and branded store called Shanghai Fried Siopao that he says makes a better version.

Fried sio pao isn't exactly fried all the way through.  It's still a steamed bun but at some point in

its cooking process, it is subjected to flash frying which give the bun a toasty crusty

brown bottom.   The filling is pork with a blend of  chives, spring onions and maybe even a bit of ginger that elevates its taste over the ordinary sio pao.

Ivan then took us to the oldest chocolatier in Binondo.  La Resurreccion makes tableas,

old fashioned chocolate disks that are used for making the local hot chocolate.  These discs are melted in  water or milk and beaten / blended  with an old fashioned batirol  (wooden whisk).

There are two types of chocolate tableas sold at La Resureccion, sweetened or un-  and a tube of about 10 discs costs only P85 each.  You can only buy tableas in La Resureccion, sadly you'll have to wait till you get home to enjoy them.

It was past 5 in the afternoon and we had been eating and walking ... okay, maybe more of the 

eating than the walking -- for the past three hours.  The score card read Pancit and Panciterias - 3, 

Calories Burned - ??.   Our last stop was Sa Lido still on Ongpin St.  

The sign clearly states that this is the original restaurant and not some spin off.

Sa Lido is another vintage panciteria that still serves the old comida china standards -- camaron rebosado, pancit canton, hototay ...  which Ivan said are completely local inventions, adapted 

to suit the Filipino palate.  We were too stuffed by this time so Ivan ordered just a plate of asado 

or roast pork,  a dish that Sa Lido is well known for.  

I love asado  -- after eating in Chinatown, my father and I would usually buy asado for take out -- 

the accompanying pickled radish was the perfect complement to this dish.

The last noodle dish of the day was also the best.  Sa Lido's chami is  made with thick fat miki noodles -- it's oily and saucy but is  also redolent of all the goodness of the wok that must have sautéed countless orders of this noodle dish.    In Singapore they call it "shiok" -- the "spirit" or "breath"  of a good, well seasoned  wok that imparts the inimitable deliciousness to a dish.  

Sa Lido's Chami was a memorable and lip smacking way to end the Pancit and Panciterias 

Tour with Ivan.

Final score at the end of the tour -- Pancit and Panciterias - 4,   Calories Burned - 4. 

I guess we can call that a draw.

Porkintheroad sends much love and thanks to Ivan Man Dy and Old Manila Walks for indulging

my nostalgic request and allowing me to share with my friends the pancit and panciterias  of my childhood.   With all the noodles we ate,  I guess I can safely say that we all have long and happy

lives  to look forward to.

Nangankan? Umayka ditoy, mangan ka pay! -- The Amigos go on an Ilokano "diet".

The title is in Ilokano and translates to "Kumain ka na?" (Have you eaten?) "Halika dito, kumain ka muna". (Come over and have a bite.) 

The Amigos did not need more than one invitation to eat.  We certainly tried to sample as much of the local fare as we could,  on this North Luzon Camino.  

Our base in Laoag was the B&B Balay da Blas which is also where the very popular and well regarded restaurant Saramsam is based. Both are owned by Sammy Blas who is a passionate advocate of all things Ilokano -- particularly culture and cuisine. 

Saramsam is my favourite restaurant in Ilocos Norte, I truly admire Sammy Blas' inventive yet authentic take on traditional Ilokano dishes.

What was on the dinner table?  For starters, creamy poqui poqui, which we also enjoyed as a pizza  although no photos were taken before the pizza was completely devoured. 

This very Ilokano dish of grilled eggplant mixed with soft scrambled egg, shallots (or lasona as they are locally called), garlic and tomatoes sounds obscenely funny and always gets me a shocked 

reply  -- "Huh?  WHAT are we eating???!" 

But one spoonful of this very scrumptious dish convinces first timers that poqui poqui is indeed a must  try Ilokano staple.

We could never tire of pakbet, particularly the G.I. (genuine Ilokano) version.  The real pakbet does not use shrimp bagoong nor does it have kalabasa.  Instead, fish bagoong is used and all sorts of local vegetables find their way into the palayok -- like alucon, patani, okra, the small native ampalaya and talong and my favourite, the deadly-looking-but-absolutely-no-heat siling duwag.  

Since this was dinner time, I avoided ordering bagnet so that we would not have nightmares brought on by too much fat and cholesterol.

However, I still ordered pork but in the form of insarabasab, which in Ilokano means "cooked over fire".  Insarabasab is grilled parts of the pig's head like  nguso, pisngi and tenga along with the more "acceptable" pigue and kasim.   

What makes insarabasab so deliciously different from plain grilled pork?  I think it's the blend of textures from the various parts of the pig plus the garnish / marinade that includes  calamansi, sukang iloko, ginger,  garlic and lasona (shallots).  

Here's a tip -- once you add creamy mayonnaise to insarabasab, it transforms itself into dinakdakan, another well known Ilokano dish.

Nagimas ti sidain!  Ang sarap ng ulam (the food was delicious).  But now it was time for dessert. 

I knew exactly what I wanted the Amigos to try -- kalti.  

Sammy Blas lifts up to fine dining levels something that you would normally classify as street food -- minatamis na saging at kamote at bilo-bilo (sweetened bananas and yams and sticky rice balls).

At Saramsam, the waitstaff call this the Ilokano fondue.  A sauce of caramelised brown sugar with sticky rice balls bubbles merrily on top of a small candle.  

The fried banana and yam slices are meant to be dipped in the sweet sauce.  Yummy!  

It's deconstructed banana and camote cue!

Thank you Saramsam -- now how do you like our "pabebe" wave?

The next day, there were more local specialties for the Amigos to savour.  

While everyone had tried Ilokano empanadas back in Manila,  today we would be enjoying them right at the source.

Batac has always been known as having the best empanadas this side of Ilocos Norte.

Years ago, these were sold by vendors who set up small stalls across the church. 

Today the empanada makers are all housed in this multi-level building called the Batac Riverside Empanadaan, still across  Batac Church.  This Empanadaan is concrete proof that Batac is indeed the Empanada Capital of Ilocos.

Arranged like a food court,  different empanada makers have their own stalls.  

Should we buy from Glory's?  Glomy's?  Or perhaps Lanie's empanadas would be better?

 Our local tour guide Michelle solved the conundrum.  She led us all to Glomy's which she said
was her regular suki.  Aside from empanadas, Glomy's also makes lumpianada, a marriage of lumpia and empanada where the empanada fillings are encased in lumpia wrappers and deep fried.
But no newfangled fusion food for us -- everyone ordered the special empanada.

The special empanada costs P40 making it very affordable (and filling) merienda fare.  The 

regular empanada costs only P30 and would be good for school children on a modest allowance.  

For big spenders, there is the Double Double Empanada which costs P75 (still cheaper than a Big Mac) and consists of double portions of both longganisa and egg.

There is nothing quite like your first bite into a fresh empanada, hot off the frying pan. Sprinkle
each bite with sukang iloko liberally laced with siling labuyo and your mouth is in for an unforgettable Ilokano treat.

Man does not live by empanada alone.  Glomy's as well as the other stalls sell more merienda 

and pulutan fare. The next popular favourite would be these succulent Batac longganisas,  

deep fried and skewered on short bamboo sticks.  A stick costs only P15.   

It goes well with empanada and at night, I am sure it goes even better with ice cold beer.  

Bring out the San Mig light please!

Did the Amigos like their taste of Batac empanada?  Thumbs up!   Naimas!

Having finished a special empanada each, you would think we would be ready to stop eating.  

But lunchtime found us by the shores of Paoay Lake where we had reservations at the newest "in" place in town -- Vista del Lago, also owned by Sammy Blas.

The view from the terrace of Vista del Lago was breathtaking.  Paoay Lake is a protected national 

park and the local government seems to be doing a good job in keeping its blue waters pristine, 

clean and pollution free.  I wish we could sit and dine al fresco and enjoy the marvellous lake view but the Ilokano sun was just too much so I escaped back into the air-conditioned comfort of the main dining room.

A tall glass of freshly brewed tarragon tea with lots and lots of ice cubes restored and revived the Amigos who had been wilting under the unrelenting Ilokano heat.

 Since we just had a heavy merienda of empanadas and longganisa, we resolved to eat a
lighter lunch.  Thankfully, Vista del Lago's menu offers western and international choices in
addition to some choice Ilokano fare.
We decided to try their Ensalada of Saging and Kamatis -- ripe red tomatoes are paired with slices
of boiled saging na saba (bananas)  and topped with cubes of locally made soft cheese.
I had never had saging na saba in a salad before and this creative addition worked quite well.

We also ordered Sammy Blas' version of a seafood fritto misto -- shrimp and squid were lightly floured, quickly fried and topped with garlic and pepper bits.  A smooth honey mustard was the perfect dipping sauce.  I liked the fact that this dish was garnished with a few pieces of deep fried siling duwag.  Served like this, they reminded me so much of their Galician cousins, the pimentos de padron.
 I wish Vista del Lago would offer fresh roasted or fried siling duwag sprinkled with sea salt from Pasuquin -- then it would be another original dish, made with purely local ingredients.

 We had started out with such good intentions -- but I have to confess, the "light" lunch also
included orders of bagnet and igado -- the Ilokano stew of offal and pork meat.  Can you see the guilt
on our faces?  Despensarem!

Despite everyone protesting that we had been eating all day, dinnertime found the Amigos in front
of La Preciosa, an institution in  Laoag's dining scene.  It has been around much longer than Saramsam and offers Ilokano fare cooked the traditional way, as an Ilokano grandmother would have cooked it.

There were still some Ilokano dishes that were waiting to be discovered and La Preciosa was just
the place to try these.
We had lauya (the remains of which you can barely see in the photo above).
Lauya is a simple but very flavourful clear soup of meat bones boiled with garlic, ginger and some vegetables.  Light but a real palate pleaser.
I also made everyone try the Ilokano version of dinuguan called dinardaraan.
I guarantee that you and your arteries will love this dish!
Dinardaraan uses pork meat and pork bituka (intestines) that are fried crisp before being mixed with the pig's blood.  Think of it as dinuguan using lechon kawali and chicharon bituka -- doesn't that just make your blood pressure rise?
It's decadent, it's divine, it's dinardaraan!   Extra rice please!

 We also ordered La Preciosa's poqui poqui, which the Amigos preferred over Saramsam's  eggier version.  And because we started with our Ilokano food tour with pinakbet, our last dinner had to include the same dish, for full and final closure of our foray into the delectable, delicious world of Ilokano food.

 NB.  This is Mayk Mariano, professional photographer and my Amigo.  Because I got caught
up with too much eating and talking,  I forgot to take photos of most of the dishes that we ate.
Thank you Mayk for generously allowing me to use your very professional and appetising food
shots.  I am sure the reader can easily identify which ones are yours -- they're the ones taken with
an artistic and keen eye.  They have certainly improved the quality of my post.
Thanks too to Jay for some of his photos that I also used most specially, this last photo of
Mayk and me.

The Amigos' North Luzon Camino. Day 4 -- And we shopped, shopped and shopped all the way home

Our North Luzon Camino was about to end.  Like Tuguegarao,  Laoag City is nearly 500 kilometres from Manila so it would be another long day spent on the road.  Thank goodness we were riding in a  very comfortable and huge Coaster that afforded enough room to stand up and even walk around.

We fortified ourselves with one last breakfast in Saramsam, Balay da Blas' acclaimed restaurant.  True to the appeal of this special B&B,  dining at  Saramsam  made me feel like I lived in a traditional Ilokano house,  enjoying a home cooked breakfast of the local longganisa and dried dilis -- doused in plenty of sukang Iloko -- naimas!

Because it was our last day in Ilocos,  it was time to unleash all our pent up shopping desires!  

The day would be devoted to buying all the pasalubong that we could cram into our very spacious Toyota Coaster.  Our first shopping stop was the Laoag Public Market where we made a beeline for the longganisa and bagnet stalls on the second floor.

Bagnet is deep fried, enormous hunks of pork -- usually liempo but kasim or pigue are also used.  Bagnet is not just deep fried, it is twice fried to give it that irresistible crunch.  The pork is first boiled then fried lightly then fried again, to give the skin the crackling that makes it so good and yes, so bad for your health.

The Ilocanos usually call bagnet as chicharon --  I like to call it a "heart attack waiting to happen".

I brought the Amigos to my suki of over 15 years.  This is  Maan who owns C. Acorda Cooked Meat.  

I've blogged about Maan and her bagnet before (http://porkintheroad.blogspot.com/2011/07/bagnet-redux.html).    Her longganisa and bagnet are the best I have ever tried. She also supplies many local restaurants and resorts.   Maan  is probably to blame for the bagnet induced cholesterol and calories I have ingested through the years.

Abel cloth, made of 100% cotton and still woven using traditional looms, is available all over Ilocos.  It is transformed into blankets, bath towels, kitchen towels, bedspreads, scarves, blouses, bags, etc. There are good buys at the Laoag Market where the abel products are cheaper  than those sold in souvenir stores in the tourist areas.  Plus, you can haggle with the friendly tinderas. 

Luming's is another suki that I have been going back to each year.  Don't be put off by the blouses on display,  she has quite a wide range of abel products in the back room.

After the frenzied panic buying in Laoag (where we stocked up on a year's supply of bagnet, longganisa and blankets) we had barely warmed our seats in the coaster before I yelled  "Para" 

(stop!) so that our long suffering driver Derek could park by the roadside.  We were passing 

through  Pinili, Ilocos Norte,  where garlic and lasona (shallot) sellers line the highway.

Ilocano garlic is smaller but more pungent and flavourful.  The larger imported varieties may 

look impressive but are bland and tasteless.   Yes indeed, size does matter.  In this case, the smaller the garlic, the better the taste.

Aside from the garlic and shallots, we also bought sukang iloko, spiced with lots of sili and bawang.  I also bought fish bagoong, an essential ingredient for making authentic Ilokano pakbet.  Three small "bilog" bottles cost me only P50.  What a great buy!

After the roadside stop in Pinili, we made our way to the Church of San Nicolas Tolentinto in Sinait, a mere 23 kilometres down the Manila North Road.   If you are coming from Laoag, Sinait is the first town of Ilocos Sur.  

The facade of the church may look new but wander around the back and you'll find the old thick stone walls that have been part of the church since the 1600s.

Our main reason for stopping by Sinait Church was to pray before the  Sto. Cristo Milagroso 

who is on the main altar.  The Sto. Cristo along with another statue,  that of the Virgen 

Milagrosa  (now in Badoc Church) came all the way from Nagasaki, Japan in the late 1500s.  

It is said that during this time, Christians were being persecuted in Japan so the faithful put 

the two statues in a box and set them adrift,  perhaps praying that more hospitable people would 

find them.  The statues were found by fishermen on the shores of Sinait and Badoc and since then, have been venerated on the altars of both churches.

The distance from Sinait to Vigan is just 40 kilometres and we made it to this UNESCO World Heritage Centre just in time for lunch.  It was blazingly hot and the trees along Plaza Burgos  provided much needed shade.  Drivers patiently wait by their calesas for tourists who would like 

to see Vigan by horse drawn carriage.

Calle Crisologo is a pedestrian only avenue lined with centuries old bahay na bato that now house stores selling crafts, antiques, replicas and all sorts of souvenirs.   While there is much more to Vigan than this busy tourist spot, we did not have time to explore more of the city.   

I was not able to shop for anything but bagnet in Laoag.   I made up for it by heading straight to my abel suki in Vigan.   Manong Dante at Rowilda's sells abel in all forms --  handwoven from their own looms.  I am only too happy to do my share in helping sustain this traditional Ilokano cottage industry.  I was also happy that some of the Amigos decided that they too needed more abel in their lives and thus contributed to Rowilda's increase in daily sales.

Before piling into the Coaster for the still 400 kilometre drive home, we made sure to pass by the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Paul.  The Cathedral was ordered built by Juan de Salcedo, founder of Vigan.  It is situated right across the Plaza that bears his name.

 The cathedral is dedicated to St. Paul and if you look closely enough, you can see his statue in the alcove above the door, portraying him at his moment of conversion, on the road to Damascus.

Built in the traditional earthquake baroque style with a pleasing creamy beige  facade, you will miss seeing the side reinforcements which are not visible  if you are looking at the Cathedral dead front and centre. 

The interiors are beautiful with off white walls and arches painted gold lining the main nave.
There are beaten silver retablos on the main altar that blend with the gold paint.  The wood and
brass communion rail has been left intact and it enhances and shows off the altar in the best possible way.

 I caught the sun setting on the Ilocos horizon from my window as we sped home from Vigan.
 It seemed like the perfect image that would mark the end of our North Luzon Camino.
Naimbag nga rabii, Ilocos!  Agkitatan to.  Good night, Ilocos!  See you again!



 NB Many thanks to Jay for the use of some of his photos and to Mayk Mariano for photos # 4 and 7.