Pancit of the North

Last June 4 , my family and I traveled from Pampanga to Cauayan, Isabela to attend my niece's 7th birthday party on June 6.  I took time off from work for more than a week and it was food tripping for me again as travel for me always equate food trips.

In this trip we sampled the two famous "pancit" of the North, Pancit Cabagan of Isabela and Pancit   Batil Patung of Cagayan.

I've been to Isabela for about 6 to 7 times and have always looked  forward to ordering the Pancit Cabagan.  This time is no exemption.  It is my first time though to sample the one in Hi-way kitchenette.

The famous Pancit Cabagan at P65.  Cabagan is a place in Isabela  where this pancit is famours for.   A very delicious dish. The signature pancit with chopped "lechon kawali-like" topping and vegetables and egg makes this distinct with all other pancit.  Just like Pancit Batil Patung, Pancit Cabagan is also served with chopped onions to add to the dish.

My Aunt Melda's family sampling the pancit.

We went to Sta. Ana's free port (post about that soon) too when we traveled to the North.  Sta. Ana is in Cagayan and Cagayan is famous for its Pancit Batil Patung. So while in Cagayan, specifically Tuguegarao, we had to make room for their Pancit.  My brother-in-law, Mon grew in Isabela and Cagayan and he knows places where to find the best food.  He brought us at Gretchen's, unfortunately it was already closed as it was already past 9 PM that time.

So we just checked on other opened restaurants serving such.  Eyyahyyo (wondering where the name came from...sound Japanese to me. LOL) is the one that caught our attention which is located along the hi-way.

We were first served this dish at  P50 only! I couldn't imagine how they profit from this as the pancit is loaded with toppings - chicken liver, meat, chicharon, vegetables and egg.  Note that fried egg is on top of this dish.

We were also served this that goes with the pancit.  Unlike Pancit Cabagan, the onions given to us are the red ones. I am not sure if this is really a difference but I prefer this over the white onions for both pancit. I love how the onion's distinct flavor complements it.

Finally, we get to eat our Pancit Batil Patung as "Batil" was already served.  It was called Batil Patung because of the egg.  The dish is served with a "binatil na itlog" which is the picture you see below and "patung" because the egg is put on top of the pancit.  Interesting, huh?

Now? How do we eat it?  You put the onions and calamansi together.  You could even add soy sauce and spices if you want to that mixture and then add it to the pancit.   The soup is eaten  with it.  We mistakenly thought we will pour it over the pancit though. Hahah!  Eating should be fast so food is still hot until the last bite.

It's a big serving and we all didn't finish it as we were still full from our late lunch.  Had not been the case, I know we would have enjoyed this pancit much.  Below is my cousin's John who's excited to eat all of it!

Aunt Melda who paid for all it.  It's a very cheap food. The one that were were served is even the special one.  People from Cagayan are very lucky to have this dish.

It's sad that I didn't enjoy mine even if there was enough chicken liver for me to eat as I was still full (next post will tell you why).  The next time I set foot in Tuguegarao, I'll make sure I have an empty stomach to enjoy this.  My parents below liked it but didn't finish the big servings.  By the way, we were surprised that the owner told us other would even get a second to third serving of this dish! I wonder how big their tummies are.  Hahah!