After traveling 8,000 miles to serve as Guest of Honor and Speaker at Union Christian College, San Fernando La Union Philippines, we were invited taste the culinary delights of Ilocandia at Natalna Grille and Restaurant.
The restaurant is along the main highway and as you enter the building, you are immediately in view of the sea while stepping above the breakwaters ... the floor is made of bamboo with tables and furnitures that are naturally locally sourced, too. Organic and naturalist underrated and breathing the humid yet fresh sea smell is a bonus ambiance that makes you feel like dining in the middle of the sea.
Our main course was seafood; grilled milkfish (Bangus), locally caught squid with tomatoes, onions and other aromatics. The fish was excellent which to me defined what I've missed for more than 20 years of studying and working away from home. The squid was oh my, chewy but smelled like fire and aromatics in one, garnished with tomatoes, onions and a stench of a little soy sauce.
What's interesting was their Borodebod with mushroom ( we call it dinengdeng, for Ilocanos), a locally sourced assortment of vegetables: squash, okra, patola, mushroom etc... with fish sauce as part of its soup base. If you haven't had such dish, go to Natalna and enjoy such delight, it's not only delicious but wil keep you loving for at least 10-15 years longer. I do prevention programs in Los Angeles and cannot stress this more than anything.
The Sisig was equally delicious, it had a crunchy component which is an edge away from others that we've tasted as I landed a few days back and on our way to this province.
We had other dishes but perhaps having you drop by this restaurant would be best instead of my long descriptive and equally boring narrative about my return to this part of the world.
Don't forget to come to this part of the world with an open mind, an empty stomach and a willingness to appreciate the beauty of other culinary dishes from what you've been used to.
Enjoy and let me know if you have any question/s? Dr. Conrad Ulpindo, Los Angeles, California 2025 Trip to the Philippines - U.S. Fulbright Programs read more