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Revisitng Paoay Church and Herencia Cafe

Posted on December 17, 2009

Paoay Church is always on the list of places to go to when traveling to Ilocandia. It is a must-see because of its status as one of the 4 Baroque Churches in the Philippines established as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The church is grand, as always. The lawn in front is well-maintained. The only problem is that, we arrived almost lunchtime in Paoay. the sunlight is just so harsh. And taking a decent photo seems an impossible thing to do.

Despite the strong lighting, I still took photos of the facade, got inside the church briefly, then proceeded to the restaurant fronting the church: Herencia Cafe.

Herencia Cafe is probably one of the restaurants that shouldn’t be missed while on an Ilocandia Tour. Among the cafe’s bestsellers are the Crispy Dinuguan and the Pinakbet Pizza.

A lot of good things have already been written about Herencia Cafe. This is my first time to try their foods, since during my last visit, we just have enough time to shoot then commute back to Laoag just in time for my flight back to Manila.

For appetizers, we got honey-dipped dilis coated with sesame seeds. Panalo! I swear I am not a big fan of spicy foods, but the dilis got me hooked. The sweetness of the honey blends well with the fish’s spiciness. Perfect as pulutan!

For our lunch, we ordered individually. I got a serve of crispy dinuguan and rice. Then our table ordered the restaurant’s signature food: pinakbet pizza.

At first, I thought the idea of topping your pizza with a veggie dish is like, uhmmmm.. never mind. But I guess I was wrong. Pinakbet pizza is interesting. It’s a fresh way of serving the traditional Ilokano dish. I love how they reinvented Pinakbet. I myself is not a big fan of this dish. But must admit, I love the pakbet pizza!

going back to my lunch, I ordered crispy Dinuguan. Dinuguan is probably one of the dishes I would never complain if served to me everyday for 2 weeks. Hindi ako magsasawa!

Paoay Church

What make the dinuguan in Herencia Cafe in Paoay extra special is that, it is not made of pork offal. It is entirely made of bagnet! Oh, heavens, the Cholesterol alarms are ringing! I guess it won’t hurt if we get to enjoy this kind of stuff once in a while. babawiin na lng sa long walks, and aerobics

Audrey ordered honey pork. Her food is interesting too. delicious. But between her honey pork and my crispy dinuguan, I’d still pick my food. Masarap talaga!

I hope I can go back to Paoay in 2010 and experience a unique Ilokano treat in Herencia Cafe again.