[SAN VICENTE, ILOCOS SUR PROVINCE, ILOCOS REGION, LUZON ISLAND, PHILIPPINES]
Vigan's food and dining scene has expanded greatly the past few years. In fact, even its neighboring towns are benefiting from the mass tourism in Vigan.
In the town of San Vicente, I discovered a restaurant there called FG Resto Bulalohan that offers authentic Ilocano dishes. Yeah, the restaurant name signifies that it's home for bulalo but trust me, this restaurant is more than the bulalo.
The Search for Ladek
Ladek is a local Ilocano food but it's not as popular as bagnet. If you're not from Ilocos, you probably might never heard about this food. In Vigan, this food is not a mainstream tourist food in restaurants. Honestly, the first time that I tasted this food was just last February 17. I am aware that there is a food in Ilocos Sur called ladek but I didn't know what it was like. As I said, it is not common in Vigan because it's not actually a Bigueño food. Ladek is a specialty of the town of Bantay.
![]( "[SAN VICENTE] ▶ FG RESTO BULALOHAN Photo taken by Edmar Guquib on 17-Feb-2017 in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines Camera: Canon 1200D")
![]( "[SAN VICENTE] ▶ FG RESTO BULALOHAN Photo taken by Edmar Guquib on 17-Feb-2017 in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines Camera: Canon 1200D")
![]( "[SAN VICENTE] ▶ FG RESTO BULALOHAN Photo taken by Edmar Guquib on 17-Feb-2017 in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines Camera: Canon 1200D")
I've always been curious about this food but I didn't know where to find this in Vigan. Some of my relatives advised me to go to Bantay instead but I had the same problem. I didn't know where to see it.
My search for ladek finally ended when I accidentally saw the menu of FG Resto Bulalohan which is located in the town of San Vicente, not in Bantay. However, it's location is actually near the San Vicente-Bantay boundary and it's walking distance away from Bantay poblacion. So for the very first time in my life, I ate ladek and learned what it was.
Ladek is actually like a sisig. Some of my friends who know this food also call it the 'Ilocano sisig.' Just the other day during my duty at the hospital, one of my co-nurses-on-duty brought her own dinner. To my surprise, it was a home-cooked ladek! My nurse workmate is a resident of Bantay by the way and she agreed when I said that ladek is a Bantay food, not a Vigan food.
According to my workmate, ladek is made of ngiwngiw and cartilages chopped into small pieces like sisig cooked using its own oil. So it's really a sinful food. Some add a little meat though.
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I've always been curious about this food but I didn't know where to find this in Vigan. Some of my relatives advised me to go to Bantay instead but I had the same problem. I didn't know where to see it.
My search for ladek finally ended when I accidentally saw the menu of FG Resto Bulalohan which is located in the town of San Vicente, not in Bantay. However, it's location is actually near the San Vicente-Bantay boundary and it's walking distance away from Bantay poblacion. So for the very first time in my life, I ate ladek and learned what it was.
Ladek is actually like a sisig. Some of my friends who know this food also call it the 'Ilocano sisig.' Just the other day during my duty at the hospital, one of my co-nurses-on-duty brought her own dinner. To my surprise, it was a home-cooked ladek! My nurse workmate is a resident of Bantay by the way and she agreed when I said that ladek is a Bantay food, not a Vigan food.
According to my workmate, ladek is made of ngiwngiw and cartilages chopped into small pieces like sisig cooked using its own oil. So it's really a sinful food. Some add a little meat though.
FG Resto and Bulalohan Offerings
Aside from that elusive ladek and their bulalo, I also found out that this restaurant also offers lots of Ilocano food like miki, poqui-poqui, bagnet, Vigan longganisa and more. In the event that you're tired of Ilocano food, they also have other options that are not-so-Ilocano. Just check their menu and speak your heart out.
One thing that I think is interesting here is their malunggay juice. The mere fact that it's made of malunggay is intriguing. I tried it and it tasted great. There was no distinct malunggay taste though but you're not eating dinengdeng-a-marunggi anyway so expect that the taste was suited for a restaurant beverage.
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Arts and Craft
If you're a fan of artworks and handicrafts, you will love this place. Abstract paintings, locally-inspired fixtures, bamboo walls and wall arts made the interior ambient, pleasing, relaxing and appetizing.
FG Resto Bulalohan is located along the National Road in Brgy Bayubay Sur, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur. Take note that the restaurant is located BEFORE the welcome arch of San Vicente. Opening time is 3 PM. Closing time is 12 midnight. | end |
Map Showing the Location of #SanVicente
► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC
[1] This post was filed under the category "Restaurants." There is a section below where you can see other related posts from this category.
[2] The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.
[3] All photos are mine.
[4] The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it an archive and I won't update my narratives because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.
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