Dagupan Breakfast

By @SiRVis

A travel journal that will give you a pleasant view of people, places, food, culture, history and events from a refreshing perspective

 

BREAKFAST is the first meal of the day. It is often eaten early in the morning just before going to school or work. It is said to be “the most important meal of the day” but to some Filipinos it is more than a meal. Breakfast is a tradition, nostalgia trip, cultural exploration and a family bonding moment.

The common and favorite breakfasts in the Philippines are: hot pandesal (salted bread) and coffee; “silog” consisting of a viand which is usually fried like tapa (thinly sliced dried beef meat), longganisa (Filipino version of chorizo), tocino (Spanish style bacon), bangus (milkfish), sinangag or fried rice and egg (cooked as estrallado or sunny side up, scrambled and boiled); tuyo or dried fish; paksiw (fish or meat cooked in vinegar); karne norte (corned beef); puto or rice cakes; tortang talong (eggplant omelet); tsokolate de batirol (hot chocolate made from cacao tablets); and of course leftover food.

In Dagupan, hot pandesal is almost synonymous to Sanitary Bakery’s pandesal. Sanitary bakery which opened on August 13, 1947 has been serving the best pandesal in Dagupan for 70 years now. It is still located in the same location on A.B. Fernandez Ave. and uses the same traditional pugon (brick ovens that use firewood) since 1952.

Outside the bakery and in the Malimgas market, a Pangasinan breakfast delicacy can be found: Binuburan. Binuburan is sweet fermented rice and is the first stage in the process of making tapuy, the Northern Luzon wine made from rice. The fermented rice is pressed on a banana leaf covered bigao (rice winnower).

For full breakfast meals, the place to go in Dagupan for decades has been Pedritos. A personal favorite is the bangsilog which consists of fried boneless Dagupan bangus, fried rice, fried egg and achara (grated unripe papaya pickle) which goes with free coffee which is dubbed by most breakfast goers as one of the best in the city. They also serve bibingka rice cake and puto bumbong (Filipino purple rice cake which is prepared by steaming ground purple rice mixture inside a bamboo tube) for breakfast. These are usually associated with the Christmas season but it is available all season long in Pedritos Tapuac. Aside from the sumptuous breakfast, Pedritos has been known as breakfast place for the politicos and old Dagupan folks making it a hub for cultural and historical stories and reunions.

Another favorite breakfast joint for me is Bae’s Eatery in Lasip Grande. They serve Dagupan longganisa, tortang talong, soup no. 5, soft bones, bulalo and other “karinderya” dishes as early as 4 or 5 am.

So who wants to join me in my next food adventure? Let’s eat and talk about food, tourism, culture and history!

For comments and suggestions, message The North Vista @thenorthvista on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

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