My first time in Ilocos Norte and Sur was around 15 years ago. My friend and I spent five days there enjoying the azure waters, hiking to the falls, the sand, the museum and mausoleum, the exotic animals, the cobbled stones, the sinking bell tower and not sinking churches, the windmill, and of course, the food. Two of the most memorable food I ate were the bagnet (deep fried crispy pork belly) the beach resort we stayed at for two nights in Ilocos Norte and the Vigan longganisa I bought in the public market just before we boarded the bus going back to Manila.

My brother brought Ilocos back to Manila two days ago. It was a welcome surprise that sent me down memory lane.

The bagnet looks divine in all its cholesterol-inducing glory. The chichacorn crunchy corn are the flavors and brands that I have always chosen. Some of the items are new to me, especially the tinubong, a dessert made with rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, and coconut strips, all cooked in slim bamboo internodes.

Let me introduce the rest of my loot or pasalubong from Ilocos courtesy of my brother.

Floren’s Vigan Bagnet, the deep fried crispy pork belly from Ilocos, is to die for. It is crisp on the outside yet tender on the inside. The fat to the entire bagnet ratio is not offputting. It is good on its own or with some sauce, and either way it is a great rice partner.

Ilocos chichacorn or crunchy corn is heaven. Ilocos Food’s Ilocos Chichacorn Crunchy Corn Cheese flavor and Jat’s Vigan Chichacorn Crunchy Corn Barbecue and Cheese flavors are readily available in Manila, but eating something directly from Ilocos is a delight. My personal preference is the cheese flavor, which I favor over the original or the barbecue one. The original flavor is a okay but does not really titillate my senses and the barbecue flavor is a little scathing to my tongue, just a little.

Shabach Foods’ butter oats look creamy. The butter oats label claims to be good for the heart. Well, it is something I have to find out, but it is good for the taste buds. The butter oats are really buttery and flaky and full of oats that I can feel the oats in every bite. They are so thin that I can think I can eat 20 pieces in one minute. Hehe.

Up next is what I call kalamayhati, which I think has finely-milled glutinous rice and brown sugar. I have not eaten them yet, but they look yummy.

Sir Norman Baker’s Homemade Uraro (arrowroot cookies) has arrowroot flour, cassava flour, cornstarch, wheat flour, cane sugar, margarine, buttermilk, eggs, and butter. It is more known as a pasalubong from Laguna but this melt-in-your-mouth cookie has the right sweetness that keeps the eater yearning for more.

Dinz Food Products’ Sweet and Spicy Dilis (anchovies) is a little out there for my taste. The chili powder that coats the dilis is not too spicy and the sweetness more than overpowers it. Or sweet and spicy coating is just not for me.

Dinz Food Products’ tinubong reminds of me something we prepare in Iloilo. They have the same ingredients and they have the same flavor, but they were prepared differently. While tinubong is cooked inside a bamboo node, ours is wrapped in banana leaf and boiled. But I like tinubong as much as the one we have in Iloilo. It is not sweet like other glutinous rice-based desserts but it manages to stand out.

Exchange Rate: US $1.00 = P50.08