If you're looking for something besides Filipino food, this is a place to check out. Our driver…read moretook us here as we were looking for a snack. For our drinks we stuck with shakes, dragonfruit and avocado. Oh so good and refreshing. Driver ordered the Rancheros burger and I got the Festival Nachos and Stuffed Peppers. The nachos were a little different in that there was a light sweet sauce that they sprinkled over but I really enjoyed the chips and toppings. The peppers weren't too bad either as was the burger. All in all a pretty good little hide away place to get decent food. Loved the music they played and it appeared the 20+ loved this place too.

It is hole in a wall, the picture is what you exactly the look and amount you get unlike the fast…read morefoods that nowadays that are popping everywhere, if you crave for a local, Korean, Japanese and American taste in one on rice, this is the place to be!!! It's legit my fellow Ilocanos!

The food is good but service takes too long. You are not told of how long you should wait for your…read moreorder. The prices are okay though.

My family and I are visiting the Philippines (PI) during the Christmas and New Year's holidays…read more One of the cities aka barangays we wanted to visit was Batac, Ilocos Norte to visit family. I was told that Batac is known for their empanadas, so it definitely was on my Must Eat list during our visit here in the Philippines. We were brought to Glory's Empanadas because this spot is known for their empanadas. After eating our very first Batac empanada from Glory's, I now understand why I was told I had to eat an empanada in Batac. Glory's delivered because my wife ate two of their huge empanadas. Delish!!! Blessed to write my 500th Yelp review and the first to review Glory's Empanada just before 2025. To reach Batac is not an easy task especially if you're coming from the southern part of the Philippines. From Manila or Tarlac, it's approximately a 7-10 hour drive. The easiest way to get to Batac would be to take a local flight to Laoag. The reason why the drive takes so long coming from the South is because you drive on 2-lane roads through barangays aka towns and it can get crowded in the major towns with the vehicles and motorbikes clogging up where the businesses and population centers are. Glory's is one of several stalls that specializes in empanadas and these stalls can be found under one roof within the Batac Riverside Empanadaan. This empanada foodie oasis is located in the center of Batac, across from the main Catholic Church, a few steps from the Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center and Ferdinand Marcos statue, and very close to the Batac welcome sign. As soon as you walk up to the Empanadaan, you instantly smell the frying of the empanadas. We bought our empanadas to go, so I'm not sure how the seating works if you want to dine there. There are tables and chairs, but I believe they are sectioned off for each of the different empanada stalls. My family and I sat waiting for the empanadas in one section and were told that the seating area was for their stall. Make sure to ask Glory's employees where to sit. Watching the hard working employees at Glory's stall making the empanadas and frying them was a sight to behold. It was like a mechanical assembly line without the machinery. There was one gentlemen making all the empanadas, who was efficient and hustled. The empanadas are fried in oil, so if you're not a fan of a good amount of oil, these empanadas might not be for you. Don't be put off by the large, orange colored, and hearty empanadas. I watched intently as these empanadas were being made, so I saw that a substantial amount of ingredients were placed into these savory pockets of yumminess. An orange dough has scoops of bean sprouts, meat, an egg, it's wrapped and molded using a simple device to form it, and then it is placed in a pan to be fried. It's taken out from the fryer and placed onto some racks to lessen the amount of oil on the empanadas. When we brought them home and took my first bite, I immediately could tell why family told me I had to eat a Batac empanada. It had just the right crunch, all of the ingredients blended really well with each other, it was hearty, and I thought that was one of the best empanadas I've ever eaten. You are given packets of vinegar, which need to be sprinkled onto the empanadas. My only issue is that I couldn't eat more than one because we've been eating so much here in the PI and I was stuffed. My petite wife ate two, which is an accomplishment considering how little she eats. For anyone visiting the Philippines and if you're within close proximity to Batac or are willing to make the long drive, I highly recommend you stop by and eat a famous empanada from Glory's Empanada. On their sign, it states that Glory's is the original and Number 1 in taste. I totally agree with the taste claim and hopefully you do too.

Went here again 1st day of re-opening from a remodel, and I was impressed…read more [Interior] They've made the kitchen open to see the action going on in the background through a translucent partition. They've also added some bench seating along the back wall. This makes the inside feel more spacious. The changes enhanced the essence of past Saramsams. [Outdoor] They've layed a solid foundation by the stage area. I'm assuming it's for some dancing while live performers are there. [Dishes] Started with some focaccia bread. Olives were embedded atop a light crust drizzled with it's own oil. The center was spongey enough to be a marshmallow's cousin. Moved on to the pepperoni pizza (I didn't order it LOL). Can't go wrong with one of the creators of pakbet pizza. Suffice to say, any pizza you order here will satiate you. Kare kare eggplant had a smokey inihaw flavor which put this over the edge. The sauce was delightfully thick. Not too peanutty. Paksiw sabao was gloriously fatty because A LOT coagulated after it cooledwe down. The broth didnt have any tripey taste. It was complemented with some sili for kick and color. Dinakdakan is a must Ylocano order and didn't disappoint--in fact, surpassed expectations. The meat was perfectly crunchy, chewy, and tender where it needed to be. I appreciate it not being doused in sauce so as to not overpower the hearty meaty flavor. I saved the shrimp alfredo best for last 'cause this was the brightest of the star smorgasbord. The spagetti was perfectly slightly al dente. The shrimp was perfectly cooked. The sauce consistency was at the intersection of runny, creamy, and thick, and the parmesan flavor was peak umami. Service was friendly and courteous--even with my demanding mother. LOL Overall, everything was beautifully presented with fresh high-quality ingredients. It was an ideal high-end dining experience. Truly culinary gestalt.

Pinakbet pizza was a hit!…read more Called the resort a little before our flight to place a phone order and they were able to accommodate even before the resto opened! Brought the pizza with us and enjoyed it at the gate while waiting to board our flight. The side of bagoong to dip in was the cherry on top!

Heads up, this is my first time here in the Phillippines in a while. I am now conscious of these…read morethings/places. Any who here is my experience as a visiting Filipino-American. AMBIANCE: Parking: There is a plaza inside that can probably fit about 7 cars. People generally walk or get dropped off here. Seating: All seating is shaded and outdoors. The tables and seats are wooden. It can probably house about 60 people. There's another spot but for the most part, it was reserved. If you're lucky, you can snatch a spot with a fan. Feels: This isn't exactly in the heart of Laoag which is pretty good since there's not much traffic. The space itself is pretty neat. I like the bamboo decor and Filipino art. There's also a nice sign that shares a brief hxstory about the restaurant. They have a bathroom that basically gets the job done and there are sinks if you need to wash your hands. The music is mixed with top 40 and Filipino music. A great place for groups and families. FOOD: Grilled Chicken (Recommend) Nomz! For a healthy bite, I say go with this. The portion is fairly reasonable and the chicken was not excessively seasoned. The chicken was well cooked and pretty juicy. I enjoyed the crisp of the skin and the subtle sweet marination of the chicken. For more flavor or good kick, they provide calamansi, pepper, and soy sauce. Buko Halo Halo (Recommend) Deeee-licious, especially the juice! The presentation was and IG worthy. I enjoyed the flakes and chocolate wafer, there was still some undissolved sugar which provided a good crunch. I am personally not fond of the jelly and beans but the milk itself was sweet and not too thick. I only wish they served it after we were halfway done eating, the ice cream wouldn't have melted as fast. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Pretty good. The servers were all young but helpful. They told us it would take 20 minutes but our orders were served quicker. TL; DR OVERALL: 4.5 Stars. A nice gem in the semi-outside area of Laoag. The price is fair, food is delicious, the feels were enjoyable. I definitely see this place as one of my go tos if I'm in the area. In addition, I recommend this place to tourists as well that wanted a taste of the Phillippines. TIPS: * Excellent place for an all-round menu * For ones that didn't get their travelling shots, this is a good space to eat.

We had to stop for lunch on our way to pugudpod. If you're tired of the abundance of jolliebees,…read morechow Kong's, kfcs, mcdo, this is the authentic spot of ilocano bbq to chill and drink a jug of ice tea and you'll definitely will be satisfied.

Delicious and service was great! The pancit guisado is my favorite. Will come back again!read more

My dad has been coming here since he was in high school. This has been his spot. Came here after…read more20 years from being away and I'm 34 now. They make their own noodles in house and you can buy a crate full to bring it on home. Their noodles make the best Pancit I've ever had. The noodles are thick and bring you a mound of noodles with sprinkles of chunks of chicaron. It's a simple place but damn it's so good. Also, their fried chicken is delicious. You can taste the freshness of the chicken. It is definitely free range from outside the city of Laoag. They use a good flour coating outside of it and it comes out piping hot. I'll have to bring some noodles back home to the states and make this pancit for my friends. If you're ever in the area, you have to try this place. This is a memorable place I'll have to be back. Being in the Phillipines makes me do my ode trip for my hero, Anthony Bourdain.

Literally cockroaches by the food and after telling the staff they just squash the cockroach to…read moreclean it off right in front of your face. That doesn't clean it. Cockroaches are just running around the store. This place needs to get fumigated and I'm sure they are not doing anything about it. If I were the Cabalen franchise I would look into this specific branch and see the cleanliness of the place.

The buffet were only 2/3 of the trays with food. Staff told they would not fill again as only 2…read morehours till closing time.

I heard about this place and what caught me was "home of the pinakbet pizza." I decided to give…read morethis place a go. AMBIANCE: Parking | There's parking right next to the restaurant for about 5-8 cars. There are other parking spaces a block over as well. Seating | All inside seating for small groups ranging from 4-10 people. Seating and tabling are wooden and pretty cozy. Feels | The area itself is pretty charming and very tourist attraction-esque like. You have a lot of local shops, eateries, and the famous Paoay Church. The space itself has somewhat of this Italian feel.The structure is vintage, somewhat spacious, and the music are ballad covers of top 40s. Great place for people of all ages or a nice date night. FOOD: Pinakbet Pizza (Recommend) I'm not too sure about the pizza culture here but it's pretty good.The dough is pretty soft and not too cheesy. It's all vegetables first and if you want to add the final touch of fish sauce is served in a container. Longanisa Pizza (Recommend) Since I asked for a half and half, this was my other half. The longanisa didn't seem fried but more over packed. The sausage wasn't overwhelming but it would've been nice if there were more. CUSTOMER SERVICE: As a tourist they were pretty friendly. They were helpful and our food came in relatively quick. TL;DR OVERALL 4.5 Stars. The food was a nice experience, the surroundings were pretty pleasant, and the food was good but I felt like there could've been more, maybe I'm used to American pizza. For those looking for a little comfort with an Ilocos Norte twist, I recommend checking this place out. TIPS: * To avoid the rush, come here during non-conventional hours (lunch/dinner) * They sell some pretty good pasalubongs if you're looking for that stuff.

We were on a Illocos Norte/Laoag City tour & the tour driver brought us here by mistake. It was…read moreclose to one of the places on our tour. We really don't know the area, so we're game. No issues getting in or being seated. We decide on three dishes: Lumpiang Shanghai: the lumpia was kind of doughy. My wife thought it was undercooked. Fried Chicken: I love fried chicken, but these pieces were cut way too small to not overcook and become dry. Bulalo: Beef/beef bone soup with vegetables. Perfect!!! The broth was full of flavor. Veggies were cooked to perfection. I could order this again. Highly recommended. All in all, adequate for our trip. One more thing: although the atmosphere is pleasant and the service attentive, there is something that needs to be mentioned. On my side of the table the glass top had a huge tip on the corner. I could see where they tried to put caulk on it to help prevent someone from being cut, but there were still sharp areas. They probably should not use that table. Enjoy.