Batac Riverside Empanadaan

Any trip to Ilocos will never be complete without having a bowl of hot miki and freshly cooked empanada. After a long day of visiting various tourist spots, we headed to Riverside Empanadaan in Batac. 

Nothing beats the original miki from Ilocos. The noodles are thick and al dente and has a distinct flavor. The soup also has a distinct flavor made from chicken stock and spices. It is sprinkled with bagnet bits and served with hard boiled egg. You can only notice the difference once you've tried the miki that is made in Ilocos, and those that were made here in Manila. A bowl of special miki only costs less than 30 pesos.

Also from this place, you can see how they cook the infamous empanada. They have wide varieties of flavors to choose from. 

We had the special empanada. It has a whole Batac longganisa and egg, aside from the usual fillings. The jumbo special has both a jumbo hotdog and Batac longganisa. For hearty eaters, they have the double double version which has two pieces of longganisa and eggs. As always, nothing beats the original. The empanadas that were made here have a distinct flavor. It also has more egg and meat fillings. The price ranges at around 40 to 80 pesos depending on the flavor.

This place isn't air conditioned and it tends to be crowded most of the times even at night. You also have to wait in a long line and pay as you order, and sometimes wait for a few minutes for your orders to be served, but we are here for the food that only this place can offer. Surely, all of those things will be forgotten once you had a taste of their scrumptious miki and empanada.

RATINGS:

Food: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 5/5


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Type: casual dining
Cuisine: Ilocano
Delivery:
Operating Hours: M - Su
Contact Number:
Branches: Batac, Ilocos Norte

Fariñas Ilocos Empanada part 2 ( VIsayas Ave

This is the second part of the Farinas Ilocos Empanada post. Aside from the usual Ilocano delicacies that they serve, they also sell other products made from Ilocos. 

It's a pay as you order restaurant. You can get some sodas in the fridge and pay it in the counter as you order. The place is not air conditioned but they have a few electric fans installed. 

Since they serve native Ilocano delicacies in this place, I think there's no one who can do the review for these dishes better than my girlfriend who is a certified Ilocana. Here's what she has to say about Farinas Ilocos Empanada.

Fariñas Ilocos Empanada offers the freshest and authentic taste of Ilocos, Since I haven’t been home for quite a long time, being here feels  like home away from home.  

We ordered one of their Bagnet Meals (Php99). It comes with salted duck's egg and tomatoes. Unfortunately, the Bagnet they served was 4 pitiful very thin slices which is a bit bland. The amount of serving doesn't seem to be worth its price. I expected that the deep fried pork would be served hot and crispy, but it's the other way around. 

We ordered a plain empanada (Php50) and Miki Supreme (Php115), a perfect compliment for the rainy weather.  In case you are not familiar with the Ilocos empanada., the empanada from the province of Ilocos is more like a bread or pastry that is filled with green papaya, togue or mung bean sprouts, skinless Vigan longganisa and whole egg.  You can opt for the plain version if you do not want the longganisa filling. The shell of the Ilocos empanada is made from rice flour of galapong mixed with atchuete for the orange color and a little bit of flavor and a little bit of salt and pepper. It is then kneaded as thin as possible.

I was quite disappointed with the empanada since it was too small, oily and the taste is far from the empanada which I grew up eating in Ilocos. The Miki Supreme which was cooked in chicken broth with eggs, bagnet bits, crushed chicharon and toasted garlic came out delicious but not as good as the one made from Batac, Ilocos Norte (my hometown). Each time I would go home to Ilocos for a visit, my day would not be complete without eating their infamous Miki so it was quite unsatisfactory that the Miki they served is not as good as the one made in Ilocos. However, I would give credits to their sukang iloko. It tastes great and is a great compliment with the Miki Supreme.

They don’t serve any dessert here but they do sell kamote chips and Garlic chicharon to snack on.

If you're in a tight budget or do not have the time to go to Ilocos to taste their native delicacies, Farinas Ilocos Empanada is the place to go. But if you want to have a taste of the authentic version of these dishes, a few days of stay in the beautiful province of Ilocos is the way to go. 

RATINGS: 

Food: 3/5

Cleanliness: 5/5 

Ambiance: 4/5 

Service: 4/5
Price: 3/5

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Type: casual dining

Cuisine: Ilocano

Delivery: 

Operating Hours: Sun to Mon 24 hours

Contact Number: 

Branches: Visayas Ave, QC, Kalayaan Ave, QC, West Ave, QC, West Fairview, QC, E. Rodriguez Sr, QC

Fariñas Original Ilocos Empanada Visayas Ave., Quezon City

Ilocos Empanada is one of the vast array of casual dining restaurants located along Visayas Ave, QC.

It is said to be owned by a well known individual from Ilocos. Me, who became a fan of native Ilocano cuisine after having the opportunity of travelling to great place of Ilocos because of my Ilocana girlfriend, wanted to give this place a try.

I wasn't able to tell the difference between the miki that I've tasted from Ilocos and the miki that I've tasted from Ilocos Empanada. It also has the distinct taste that a local from that province can make. It comes in big servings and is served hot. 

The empanada was also prepared like how they usually do it in Ilocos. This is where I noticed a slight difference in taste from the one that I've tasted in Ilocos, and the one that they are serving here. The one from the province is more flavorful and tastier than this one. Probably because the ingredients that they use in Ilocos are fresher, because it doesn't have to be transported by 8 to 10 hours by land or 1 to 2 hours by plane from Ilocos to Manila. But don't get me wrong on this one, it still taste good like the empanada that you can get from Ilocos. 

For people who are craving for the local cuisine in Ilocos, but doesn't have the time or budget to travel, you can check out Ilocos Empanada. It seems that not only the said owner is a native of Ilocos, but also the staff. With that, you can be sure that the food that they serve here are prepared just like how they do it in the province. It really is a taste of Ilocos in Manila.

RATINGS: 

Food: 4/5
Cleanliness: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5 non air conditioned, located beside the highway
Service: 4/5 
Price: 4/5 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Type: casual dining
Cuisine: Ilocano
Delivery: 
Operating Hours: Sun to Mon 24 hours
Contact Number: 
Branches: Visayas Ave, QC, Kalayaan Ave, QC, West Ave, QC, West Fairview, QC, E. Rodriguez Sr, QC