The Hidden Garden is not just a restaurant. It's where tourists (and probably natives) go to dine and shop for clay pots and plants. As implied by the place's name, the Hidden Garden is hard to spot from the highway. Duh, hidden nga diba? You have to go through a maze of potted plants before you reach the main restaurant.
Because we were on quite a tight schedule, we didn't get to explore the restaurant as much as we wanted. We just went straight to the dining area to order lunch. All five or us were really hungry already. Plus, the Ilocos weather didn't help the situation. It was scorching hot outside!
We tried to order all the Ilocos specialties, but we only ended up with these:
Poqui-Poqui. It's a native meatless Ilocano dish. If I were to guess how it's cooked, I'd say they grilled the eggplant then sauteed it with onions, tomatoes and egg. It's not the best-looking vegetable dish in the world, but I think vegetarians will enjoy this one.
Bagnet. Ahh, the much talked about dish of the North. I was actually looking forward to tasting authentic Bagnet from Ilocos to see if it's any different from what restaurants in the Metro serve. Frankly, they don't differ much. They just have more generous servings in Vigan. And an order of Bagnet there comes with a plate filled with tomatoes and onions. You'll have to pour lots of Ilocos vinegar on this plate to enjoy your Bagnet better.
Ilocos Pinakbet. It's cute that they serve this dish in small palayoks. It's your typical pinakbet, but with more string beans mixed with small servings of Bagnet. Pair it with rice, and voila, you're good to go.
Vigan Longganisa. Aside from the Bagnet, Longganisa is also one of Vigan's specialties. Their Longganisa is different from what we have back home 'cause it's bigger and, I think, juicier. Though I believe the secret lies in the sawsawan - again, their famous Ilocos vinegar.
We also ordered one more dish which I failed to take a picture of. It's the Ilocos Dinengdeng (served in a small palayok just like the Pinakbet). The name sounds funny, right? Haha. From what I've read, it's made with boiled vegetables, seasoned with bagoong. The dish is completed by adding fried or grilled fish.
The Poqui-Poqui and Dinengdeng aside, these Ilocano dishes are not-so-new to me 'cause most of them are served in restaurants in Manila. Nonetheless, it was fun trying out their authentic dishes. I'd say Vigan is quite blessed in the culinary department. It's a must-visit for food lovers and adventurous eaters.
No comments:
Post a Comment