Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
beautiful colonial mansion offering tastefully decorated
rooms with beautiful hardwood floors and high ceilings.
The delightful maestro suite (P7150) features a solid
ironwood ki
ng bed
and a lovely antique dresser. Wi-fi
throughout.
P3135
Vigan Plaza
Plaza Burgos
T
077 722 8553,
W
vigan
plazahotel.com.
In an excellent location on Plaza Burgos,
and just a stone's throw away from the cathedral, this
colonial hotel featuring beautiful tiled floors has rooms on
three floors. The first- and second-floor options are in a
better overall condition than those on the ground floor,
most of w
hich giv
e onto a wall and are quite dark. Wi-fi in
the lobby.
P2800
★
Villa Angela Heritage House
26 Quirino Blvd
T
077 722 2914,
W
villangela.com.
The most colonial of
all the colonial hotels, this is a beautiful old museum of a
place and the top choice if you want to wallow in history.
You can ask to be given the room Tom Cruise slept in: he
stayed here for a few weeks when
Born on the Fo
urth of J
uly
was being filmed on the sand dunes near Laoag.
P2000
EATING, DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
Vigan doesn't offer much in terms of restaurants, although make sure to try some local specialities, including the town's
famous crispy
empanada
. Nightlife is generally very low-key, with limited options - things quieten down substantially
at 9pm, with the startling exception of
Legacy Super Club
(see below) in the town centre.
3
restaurant is located within a pretty plant nursery selling
ferns, palms, bonsai and bamboo - a nice spot for a
wander. It's a great place to try traditional Ilocano dishes,
including
poqui poqui
, mashed grilled eggplant sautéed
with onions and tomatoes with egg (P100). For dessert try
the colourful halo-halo (P75), beautifully presented in a
coconut husk bowl. A tricycle to get here will cost P40
(15min).
Daily 6am-8pm.
Uno Grille
1 Bonifacio St
T
077 637 8299,
W
grandpas
-inn.com.
Customers at this courtyard restaurant with an
open kitchen are presented with three menus: the first
includes grilled foods (P175), the second Asian and Ilocano
specialities (P180), and the third has an extensive selection
of noodle and pasta dishes (P80). Adventurous types can
go for the frog stew (only available in rainy season), or, if
you happen to be in town between March and June, the
mountain ants.
Daily 6-10pm.
CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS
Abuelita's
39 Governor A. Reyes St
T
077 722 2368.
This popular restaurant is dotted with old curios including
radios, rusty number plates and an old sewing machine;
the speciality is regional Ilocano cuisine. Food is displayed
in pots at both lunch and dinner - just take your pick and
pay accordingly. A meal will set you back about P100.
Mon-Sat 7.30am-8pm.
Café Leona
Crisologo St
T
077 722 2212.
Travellers are
drawn to the outdoor tables that spill out on the street
in the evening, although you can also dine in the tavern-
style interior. The menu lists Ilocano and Japanese fusion
dishes such as
longanisa maki
(P160), as well as pizza
(P250) and Vigan specialities - try
daing na bangus
,
marinated milkfish (P150).
Daily 10am-10pm.
Irene's Empanadahan
13 Salcedo St
T
0922 819
9939.
This fourth-generation empanada place has been
going strong since the 1930s - locals say it's the best place
in town to savour the Vigan speciality, which here comes in
five different flavours: pork, beef, chicken, tuna and crab
(P35-45).
Daily 8am-8pm.
Leila's Café
General Luna St
T
077 722 8110.
This
laidback café with framed pictures and customers' notes
pinned to a white mock-brick wall offers sweet and savoury
crêpes (P65), sandwiches (P80), pasta dishes (P140) and
cupcakes (P45).
Daily 10am-10pm.
Lilong & Lilang
Brgy Bulala, 2.5km west of Vigan
T
077 722 1450,
W
hiddengardenvigan.com.
This leafy
BAR AND CLUB
Embassit Lyric Bar
Alcantara St
T
077 722 2988.
Lively, studenty bar, just under 1km from the centre, with
a dark interior featuring octagonal mirrors and glitzy
chandeliers. Live bands play weekly: acoustic on Mon, rock
bands on Thursday; other nights the DJ plays R&B.
Daily
9am-2am.
Legacy Super Club
Crisologo St at Mabini St
T
077
722 7396.
Owned by an influential local family, this
rather incongruous nightclub has somehow been given
VIGAN'S CRISPY EMPANADA
Don't leave Vigan without trying the local
empanada
- a crispy deep-fried tortilla of rice-flour
dough containing cabbage and green papaya. Some empanadas - sometimes known as
“special” - also contain an egg and longganisa (garlic sausage). Either way, eaten with
sugar-cane vinegar and chopped shallots they are delicious. The stalls on the western side of
Plaza Burgos, known collectively as
empanadaan
, sell empanadas along with
okoy
(egg,
prawn, tomato and onion frittata) - again, best eaten dipped in vinegar.
