Pancit Batil Patong – Vigan City

I was getting tired of bagnet, empanada, longganisa, poqui-poqui and other food fares in Vigan (and I mean that in a very tired-but-delightful way) that I need some of my “comfort” food. As you know, I’m in constant search for my favorite pancit dish in the world – the pancit batil patong. And guess what? They have it in Vigan!

Being chummy with the lovely staff of Hotel Luna (shout out to House Detective Medrano) has its rewards. I was jokingly asking him if there’s a pancit batil patong place near the area and he gave his affirmative yes to me.

The said panciteria is located at the foot of Bantay Church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur; just a few tumblings away from Vigan City.

Flowerscents Garden Café is the restaurant we’re looking for. You won’t miss it for it is literally situated at the foot of the church. The group settled on one of the wooden tables of the café and checked out the menu. Pancit bihon, Canton guisado, Lomi, Pancit Cabagan, Pancit batil patong and so much more.

The pancit dishes have four different serving sizes; Solo (good for 1 person), Salo (good for 2 to 3 persons), Family (good for 4 to 6 persons) and Bilao (best for the whole gang).

The group decided on getting Salo sizes for Pancit Cabagan (115 pesos) and Pancit batil patong (125 pesos). And so we waited for the yummy pancit to arrive as we enjoy the nice garden ambience of the restaurant.

And in no time, the food arrived. Shutters were clicked and jaws were dropped on the enormity of the pancit dishes.

The group first tried the famous pancit from the province of Isabela, the Pancit Cabagan. If you’ve tried the original one then you’d imagine the noodle dish drenched in its saucy goodness. The Flowerscents’ version was close enough to the legit one except for the missing hard-boiled quail eggs, instead, they topped the noodle dish with poached eggs.

The crunchy lechon kawali bits were superb. This pancit was yummy that you can compare it to the legit one.

Pancit Cabagan

And then the main star of that dining experience; the famous Pancit batil patong from the province of Cagayan was next in line.

The huge serving can feed like five hungry souls, but me and my buddy can finish the whole thing hands down. The toppings of crushed chicharon, spring onions and two poached eggs were such a delight and when we dug into the deep we were satiated with its legit noodles. The yummy carabeef was not that overpowering. It was the perfect blend of everything that’s good and yummy. And of course, the soup complemented the whole dish.