LANDLOCKED Mangaldan may not have a beach to offer to summertime merrymakers, but a visit to this easily accessible town promises some delectable food and alternative nature resorts.

A neighbour of beach destinations Dagupan City and San Fabian and just a few kilometres from popular pilgrimage town Manaoag, a side trip to Mangaldan would be worth it for a taste of beng-beng, a beef dish that could be a sister to Dagupan’s carabao meat dish known as pigar-pigar.

A native of Mangaldan, Filomena Tersol, 65, says, “There is nothing so unique here during summer vacation, but whether it is summer or not, people visit this place for its luscious beng-beng.”

Beng-beng is offered at stalls at the public market, located at the center of town where visitors can also buy various native delicacies such as freshly-cooked tupig, native rice cake with coconut strips wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over charcoal, or patupat, another rice cake wrapped in woven young coconut or palm leaves and cooked in boiling water with sugarcane juice or sugar.

A student from Baguio City, Dianne Gammad, 19, visiting a friend in Mangaldan, said, “I have tasted patupat in other places, but the patupat here in Mangaldan has a different kind of sweetness.”

While at the town center, visitors can take a stroll at the plaza and enjoy some idle time at the picnic tables, gazebos, and the eco-tourism park showcasing the KC De Venecia Waterfalls Park, and Children’s Park.

For groups and families who prefer an enclosed resort setting, Bamboo Grove and Hidden Rock are two options that Mangaldan offers with facilities for day trips or overnight stays.

Mangaldan is definitely one stop worth taking when in Pangasinan.–Maria Leene A.Camo, UPB

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