Lakwatserong Tsinelas: FOODS

What’s there to do in Dagupan City? This is a frequently asked question directed to any vagabond, where the usual reply is to eat bangus (milkfish).

But there is more than a feast of bangus while in Dagupan City. One thing is certain though and that is, a food trip is inevitable.

My recent stay at Dagupan City was pure relaxation without having to follow any scheduled itineraries – a cafe, pigar-pigar restaurant and a fishpond were the familiar rendezvous.

YELLOW TREE CAFE

I don’t drink coffee and seldom do I drink tea, only if the circumstances demand. My travel regimen does not include loitering in coffee shops. But why am I in a cafe? This is one of the exceptions.

a staircase leading to the cafe

The heat was unbearable for us to stroll around the city of Dagupan and nearby municipalities of the province of Pangasinan, and so, one refuge, is an air-conditioned tea house or coffee shop.

The Yellow Tree Café is a homegrown coffee shop of Dagupan. As more coffee shops begin to thrive in the city, of multinational corporations in the likes of Starbucks, the Yellow Tree Café remains to be patronized by the people of Dagupan and its visitors.

the interiors and the customers

In fact, the coffee shop was full of customers and students converting the same as a library as soon as we entered the shop. Though there is a veranda serving as smoking area and seats were available, we opted for a request to set-up a table inside, as it would defeat our initial purpose of being in a coffee shop (a breathe of air-condition).

veranda and the mural

At par with other known brands of coffee and frappuccino (frozen coffee), the peanut butter frappe of the Yellow Tree Café is a must try. And it was honestly the first time I’ve heard a peanut butter can blend with coffee.

More than the accommodating staff, cozy interiors, pastries and the coffee, what's there not to love Yellow Tree Cafe? It is indeed an ideal place to chill out while in Dagupan City.

GREAT TASTE PIGAR-PIGAR RESTAURANT

I have never heard of pigar-pigar. The name sounds like a vegetable for me and so I became uninterested. But the first time I tasted pigar-pigar at Ate Vi’s Bistro, served the Alaminos-style, it passed my taste buds with flying colors.

Nighttime came and so a drinking spree being in order, our friends who hail in Dagupan, Josh, Mary Ann and Mica, lead us to one of the best restaurants in Dagupan that specializes in pigar-pigar.

Pigar-pigar is Dagupan’s version of beef stir-fry. The deep-fried thinly sliced carabeef seasoned with salt and pepper can become a no-brainer favorite dish, as it complements well with beer and rice (either of course unless one insists).

Dagupan's pigar-pigar

kaleskes

The house specialty of Great Taste Pigar-Pigar Restaurant as the name of the restaurant suggests, indeed exceeded my expectations and being one of the best tasting pigar-pigar in town, I would surely be back for more servings once in Dagupan.

Location: Gomez Street, Dagupan City, 2400

Contact Numbers: (075)6586880

09177018037

Owner: Rommel R. Cerezo

Email: cerezorom@gmail.com

ATC IHAWAN

When boredom and exhaustion strikes, there’s only one activity to rejuvenate our weary souls – beer drinking. The self-confessed ‘clean-living’ individuals may protest but this is the kind of lifestyle most define as fun. The search for a place to drink in Dagupan City is not hard. Anywhere would be fine actually.

But with a fishpond and cottages on stilts, this is the best way to spend an immersion in Dagupan City (I so declare).

There are a lot of restaurants and bars on nearby fishponds of the city, but we opted for the more scenic and less commercialized façade – ATC Ihawan.

Before the sun sets over the horizon, ATC Ihawan has turned into one party place - feast on sea foods, beer drinking and a live performance of varied types of music and of all genres in the form of a karaoke.

adobong talaba

That was the finale of our Dagupan trip and I truly enjoyed it!

sunset at the fishpond

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The scorching heat of the sun directed towards the perspiring and nearly dehydrated me, was the scenario as I stood on one corner of the road. The landscape was comprised of a park, a number of stalls aligned, a municipal hall and a church. All came in unison to give a warm welcome.

This is Calasiao, Pangasinan’s landmark.

PUTO CALASIAO

“Don’t forget to buy Puto Calasiao.” This was a constant reminder from friends as my whereabouts were revealed through the various postings of photos on my social media accounts.

And so I heed to their request - a part for personal consumption and the other as a ‘mandatory’ gift for those who requested.

Puto Calasiao is a destination in itself. The ‘melt-in-the mouth’ rice cake, as their slogan suggests, is the selling point for this local delicacy. My taste buds may differ from the others but the one I purchased seemed as normal as with other provinces. Involuntarily comparing it to the one I bought at the Alaminos bus stop en route to Manila after our recent Patar trip, the puto Calasiao at the latter was even tastier and in adherence to their slogan.

MUNICIPAL HALL AND THE PARK

The shade of the trees with benches aligned, surrounding the municipal hall comforted me. As local residents loiter and feast on street foods, we were busy locating for vantage points on how to capture their lives amidst the landmarks on photographs.

It was a weekend, a family day in the Philippines. The park has been occupied by a number of residents and visitors which purposes of stay are varied.

Standing witness to both religious and commercial activities, the church and the puto stalls to be specific, the town’s seat of government stood at the center. A typical rural setting it is.

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL PARISH CHURCH

A church that stands across a municipal hall and a park is the usual setting of a rural landscape. And Calasiao, Pangasinan is no exception.

statue of Sts. Peter and Paul

The caretaker was taking his lunch when we arrived at the church and so we weren’t able to check on its interiors and be amazed at its grandeur. Nevertheless, the façade of the church has an unspoken history, which even if viewed from a distance whisper of a rich cultural heritage that needs to be told.

The Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul commonly known as the Calasiao Church is a baroque heritage church. On account of age and history, this Spanish-colonial era church is declared a National Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The church is further declared a national shrine.

As the midday sun exposes, we have to leave the area, an area in the province of Pangasinan where the fusion of religion, commerce and politics comes hand in hand to give each visitor a warm welcome.

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Apart from the rice cake that is known all over the Philippines making its origin at Calasiao, Pangasinan – the Calasiao puto – there are dining establishments on this first class municipality of the province that stands out in providing a rich culinary experience to all visitors.

Mica served as our official tour guide while in Dagupan. With the proximity of Dagupan to Calasiao, either a short jeepney and tricycle ride I recall, we were lead to two of the famed restaurants of the province serving nothing but authentic dishes in the province of Pangasinan.

PANADERIA ANTONIO BAKERY AND RESTAURANT

Situated at one of the main thoroughfares of Calasiao - Judge Jose de Venecia Avenue - Panaderia Antonio Bakery and Restaurant is one restaurant every guest should not miss out. The restaurant is a pride of the province of Pangasinan.

the restaurant's facade

A relaxing ambience emanated as soon as we entered the restaurant. Not only for family and friend’s bonding, I suppose the restaurant can emit an atmosphere of love and “getting to know” stage of dating. We were surrounded by couples as I silently observe the type of guests the restaurant attracts.

Our dining table was served with some of the best dishes the restaurant offers. It was truly a gastronomic treat! Beef kare-kare, sizzling T-bone steak, pizza and of course, the boneless bangus, which Dagupan is known for, graced the affair in welcoming us, so as the complimentary chicken skin.

chicken skin

boneless bangus

pizza

Seldom do I eat kare-kare and it all depends on my whim and for no other reason. But the beef kare-kare of this restaurant is truly a must on your plate, distinctly prepared from what I had tasted on other restaurants and eateries as of writing. And I only had a few servings. Since it would be gluttony in the guise of food tasting should I place another order, as my main order was T-bone steak, I was already contented on a minute for minute spoon traveling to Christian’s plate who ordered the kare-kare.

kare-kare

sizzling T-bone steak

Too bad, I wasn’t able to try any of the pastries and bread offered at the bakeshop, but the late lunch served to us would already suffice so as to declare that we have experienced the best of Panaderia Antonio Bakery and Restaurant.

DAGUPENA RESTAURANT

Built and styled like an old traditional Filipino house, Dagupena Restaurant provides a homey vibe of a dining experience. From Hotel LeDuc, where we stayed for this trip, it took a tricycle ride to reach the said restaurant.

As soon as we alight from the tricycle, we immediately checked on the interiors and placed our order for our brunch (breakfast and lunch).

What’s for brunch?

The Binagoongang Crispy-Pata is definitely one of the must-try at Dagupena Restaurant, which makes the restaurant a tourist destination and a landmark in itself.

Binagoongang Crispy Pata

As the name of the restaurant implies, the restaurant takes pride on what Dagupan City is known for in terms of culinary masterpiece. Since it first introduced Pangasinense cuisine during 1928, the restaurant have continued to redefine its creations, with more dishes to choose from, paying tribute to cultures that have enriched the heritage of the region.

To satisfy our hunger before we make the mandatory tour of Calasiao and Dagupan, our table was filled by no other than the Binagoongang Crispy Pata and Bangus Al-ajillo complemented by tsokolate batirol and a soup I forgot the name.

Bangus Al-ajillo

Tsokolate Batirol

Dagupena Restaurant made me realize that a gastronomic experience in the said region does not limit to the different servings of bangus and pigar-pigar, as being innovative and adept with the changing times, their dishes continue to evolve evident by the introduction of the sinful, mouth-watering and tasty binagoongang crispy pata.

As the first meal of our second day in Dagupan, Dagupena Restaurant was the right choice for a first pit stop of discovering the region. A highly recommended place to dine while in Calasiao, Pangasinan.

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