Something to crew on, A Pangasinense cuisine

Pigar-Pigar

Galvar Street in Dagupan City comes alive at night, with diners eating at plastic tables set on the road and barkers calling at passersby to choose their restaurant. Competition is stiff,after all; every restaurant on this long street sells their own versions of pigar-pigar.

                         Pinapaitan

Papaitan is one of the popular Ilokano dishes and the original recipe calls for goat internal organs. The reason why it is called “papaitan” is because the dish is bitter by using goat bile as one of the ingredient but just enough to make it tasty. Since goat internal organs are not always available in the market, you can substitute it with beef internal organs like this recipe I have here, the beef papaitan.

Tidbits of Delicacies

   Puto Calasiao - The Best Bite-Size            Delicacy From Pangasinan

One of the happiest moment for most of the baby boomers is taking a vacation to their native lands. Just like we, the 90’s babies, baby boomers are also into going back their childhood. Whenever they are in their birthplaces, most of the things they do is reminisce.

My mother, in celebration of the all souls’ day went home to Pangasinan. She spent five days there. When she got home, she took home different delicacies and exotic foods like bagoong (shrimp paste), binuro (fermented fish) and many more.

But, of my most awaited pasalubong from my mother was the Puto Calasiao.

Puto is a rice cake shaped like a muffin. This version from Pangasinan is bite-sized. Originally from the town of Calasiao, this rice cake is considered as one of the most prized delicacy of the region.

    Nilatikang Bibingka from Pangasinan

Pangasinan has been a home for delicious foods from main course to desserts. This is the home for the most delicious bangus, shrimp paste, tupig among others.

When they arrive, Tuesday in the evening, they are both carrying fruits and vegetables that they pick from my uncle’s yard, bagoong (shrimp paste), 6 peices of inihaw na bangus and a big box of nilatikang bibingka.

Nilatikang Bibingka is a kakanin (rice pastry) made from native rice that is first toasted, added with sugar, milk, coconut milk and cooked using charcoal with banana peel as the mold. The unique about this is that the rice is not in powdered form. So, it looks like “biko.” But locals claim that it’s bibingka.

The latik is a caramelized sauce made by boiling  coconut milk with sugar cane juice. Some put cassava flour to thicken this. My mom said that the secret is cooking the mixture in a low fire to prevent the latik from getting burnt.

My mom almost got this kakanin for free as she bought it from one of my relatives. My mom said the one who cooked this is a childhood buddy of her. She said that my aunt (mom’s cousin) only wants her to pay for the ingredients she used for cooking the nilatikang bibingka. But, my mom insisted to pay P500.00 for a large winnowing basket. It’s quite cheap if you will order this one here in Quezon City, probably about P800.00.

Other Delicacies Of Pangasinan:

Beach Destinations in Pangasinan

Exploring the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan Philippines

Alaminos City in the Pangasinan province is home to one of the Philippines‘ most beautiful destinations, the Hundred Islands National Park. Roughly five hours north of Manila, this cluster of over one hundred islands and islets is located in the Lingayen Gulf and is accessible by charter boat from the nearby wharfs in Alaminos. The Hundred Islands National Park is a popular spot to go swimming, snorkeling, and exploring the various caves and islands all around.

The Hundred Islands National Park (Pangasinan: Kapulo-puloan or Taytay-Bakes) is a national park in the Republic of the Philippines. The protected area is located in the city of Alaminos, in the province of Pangasinan in northern Philippines. The islands, totaling 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide, are scattered in Lingayen Gulf covering an area of 16.76 square kilometres (6.47 sq mi). Only three of them have been developed for tourism: Governor Island, Quezon Island, and Children's Island. The Lucap wharf in Alaminos, the entrance to the National Park, is about 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

                    

                          Tondo Beach

Tondol Beach is located at the northern tip of Anda, an island municipality that used to be accessible only by boat across the narrow Catubig Channel. In the early 1990’s a bridge across the channel was constructed to connect the island with mainland Pangasinan. After beach bumming in Patar, Bolinao, we drove to Anda, then loitered around the town proper for early dinner and to chat with the locals. The drive to Tondol Beach from town took around 30 minutes and was mostly on concreted roads until the final kilometer or so. We ended up staying at JCT Beach Resort which is closer to the eastern end of the beach.

What makes Tondol unique is its long, shallow nature. There is an island – Tanduyong – almost a kilometer away which can be reached on foot during low tide. There is a considerable amount of marine life besides the starfish and crabs on the shallow beach. Nina’s nephew observed a school of small fish swirling around him in shallow water on the way to Tanduyong Island. That same morning we were able to buy fresh fish (some of them were still alive) from Tondol’s fishermen and have them grilled for lunch by our kind and very accommodating hosts at the resort. The catch included a parrot fish that from our previous experience was not so tasty but we were pleasantly surprised that this one tasted pretty good. Nothing like fresh fish for a truly satisfying lunch.

               

                     Binmaley Beach

Binmaley is a first class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines.

Binmaley is located along the central coastland of Pangasinan facing the Lingayen Gulf, in between Lingayen and Dagupan City. On January 8–9, 1945, the amphibious forces of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur used the town's beach, designated as "yellow beach", alongside the beaches of Lingayen, Dagupan, and San Fabian, in their landing operations to liberate Luzon from Japanese occupation during World War II.

Festivals in Pangasinan

              Feistay Dayat Festival

Pista’y Dayat Festival (Sea Festival) is a thanksgiving festival celebrated annually during the first two weeks of April. It celebrates the bountiful harvest of abundant fishes. It is now the grandest festivity in the province of Pangasinan. It features a mass offering in the beautiful beach of Lingayen and a fluvial grand parade, including the nine well-known festivities such as Galicayo Festival of Manaoag, Pandan Festival of Mapandan, Longganisa Festival of Alaminos, Sugpo Festival of Binmaley, Mango and Bamboo Festival of San Carlos City, Puto Festival of Calasiao, Binongey Festival of Anda, Sawali Festival of Labrador, and Pista'y Dayat.

According to Dagupan City's official website, Pista’y Dayat actually started in small fishing towns of Lingayen and Alaminos in the 1960s, gradually growing in size as these towns started to trade with each other. It was during the term of former Dagupan City Mayor Cipriano Manaois in 1968 when formal activities for Pista'y Dayat were first held. It was also during this period that the title Pista'y Dayat was officially coined.

Bangus Festival

Bangus Festival is the first thing that comes to the mind of every Filipino person upon hearing the place "Dagupan." Bangus Festival is a famous celebration which happens annually in the month of April. Bangus, or Milkfish, is the main product of Dagupan, and it citizens are proud to showcase it to others during the festival. It is a two-week celebration with different planned activities on each day. These activities include the bangus food trip, bangus rodeo and many other exciting activities. "Festivals of the North" is the highlight of the event, wherein the street dancing champions in the central and northern Luzon come to show an excellent performance which will amaze the audience.

                      Talong festival

Villasis Pangasinan celebrated “Talong Festival” on the month of January. It is a 9-day celebration featuring various activities related to “talong”.

Among the highlights were the inauguration of the Villasis Vegetable Trading Post or Bagsakan and the setting up of a one-kilometer-long Talong Grill to help the town establish its own identity. Almost 1.5Thousands of local and foreign tourists flocked to Villasis, Pangasinan to witness the first “Talong” (Eggplant) Festival in this agricultural town, the “Vegetable Basket” of the North and “Vegetable home of Pangasinan”.

Other exciting activities such as fashion show competition, street dancing exhibition are presented where they use talong as their props and decoration to their costumes. Visitors also enjoyed watching talong cookfest (101 ways of cooking talong).

Like other festivals celebrated in different towns of the province of Pangasinan, some TV personalities are invited to entertained townspeople and visitors and experienced a free concerts and street party.

               Mango - Bamboo Festival

                                                                                 

A festival promoting San Carlos City as major trading center of bamboo based products/furniture and best producer of “carabao” mangoes and other mango variety in the country.

San Carlos City is popular in bamboo industry, the city has its own bamboo market where produce from bamboo like nipa huts, baskets, lamp shades, furniture, cabinets, among others are on display and traded for three days, starting from Thursday to Saturday. Traders from other provinces come here to buy the produce and sell these to outside provinces.                                 

Heritage of Pangasinan

                        Our Lady of Manaoag 

(Spanish: 'Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag') formally known as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, associated with a statue in Manaoag, Pangasinan from the 16th century. She is the patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy. ^[1]

The church is one of the Philippines' most widely visited Roman Catholic Pilgrimage sites. Many people from across the Philippine archipelago come and visit the town of Manaoag, where the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is enshrined in a church dedicated to this name. The church is administered by the Dominican Order in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Tradition holds the town's name itself was born from The Virgin Mary’s call or "taoag" to the young man. The term manaoag was derived from Pangasinan Language word "mantaoag" which means "to Call".The statue of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag is a 17th-century Roman Catholic ivory image of The Blessed Virgin Mary with The Child Jesus enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought from Spain via Acapulco in the early 17th century to the Philippines by Padre Juan De San Jacinto.

A closer look at the image of Our Lady of Manaoag

Documents dating back to 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop an apparition of The Blessed Virgin Mary, holding a Rosary in her right hand with The Child Jesus on her left arm amidst a heavenly glow. Mary told the farmer where she wanted her church to be built. A chapel was built on the spot where Mary appeared to the man and the town quickly grew around it.

Worldwide, Our Lady of The Rosary is depicted by the same images of The Blessed Virgin Mary holding a rosary, with The Child Jesus on her left arm. These figures vary basically in the material used, the rendition by the respective artists, the regalia, and the style of the vestments according to the native culture. Thus Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag can be distinguished from the other statues by its distinctive sculpture and regalia, and most especially by her crown.

It should be understood that The Real Mary, The Mother of Jesus Christ, is the one being addressed as Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag. She is the one actually performing the miracles, granting the requests, or formidably interceding for those that implore her miracles or intercessions and not the inanimate icon with all its majestic royal and opulent grandeur. The veneration, devotion, and prayers should be directed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and not to the statue depicting her or in any of her various titles. It would not be just a fallacy but a sin of idolatry.

The Lighthouse of Bolinao The town is famous for its two lighthouses:1) The Cape Bolinao Lighthouse in Barangay Patar is the tallest in the country second to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Ilocos Norte. There is also the Port Bolinao Lighthouse in Guigui-wanen in Barangay Luciente I; both structures serve as crucial warning beacons to ships against storms and treacherous reefs. The Cape Bolinao Lighthouse at Patar rises majestically 351 feet above sea level atop Punta Piedra Point, a towering hill of solid rock which is the sharp point of Cape Bolinao itself. The lighthouse provides a panoramic view of a portion of the 1,269 hectare Cape Bolinao Dendro Thermal Ipil-Ipil Plantation on a land area where archaeological excavations have revealed relics from the 14th to the 15th centuries.

Filipino, British and American engineers constructed the lighthouse in 1905. According to the Bureau of Geodetic Surveys, the land elevation is 250 feet. Visibility is 20 miles at midsea towards the lighthouse in Poro Point. The winding stairway has 6 platforms with 20 steps or rungs for a total of 120 steps plus 14 more to the illumination room, or an over-all total of 134 steps.