I just know we drove a bit far from the city. And it felt like going up. Madilim eh!
Teka, how did this happen anyway? Here's my 'dramatic' story...
On arrival at the airport, I suddenly remembered a very close friend of eons ago who hailed (past tense) from this place. We were dorm mates (at Narra Residence Hall) during college, and we have never seen each other for something like 29 years! I knew he went to the states, came back but to somewhere Tarlac and built a family there.
I was trying to show off and sent a message to this Ybanag friend saying "FYI, am in TUG now" (his then hometown). The reply was immediate and it read something like this "txt ur circumstances to XXXXYYYZZZZ, I am busy now, 7PM tonite, say no and I will kill you"!
Oh eh, di 7PM kung 7PM. I didn't wanna get killed yet hehe! The Ybanag picked me up at exactly 1900H. No questions what or where I wanted for dinner. He just took off, and we got busy talking about our lives since college. And we arrived here haha!
This proud Ybanag by the way is a better roamer than I am. College pa lang kami, he was already traveling the whole earth. Alone! Parang hinintay lang ng parents nya yun proverbial "18 years old", then he was everywhere at every chance he was free out of UP.
And that is the thing with travelers being hosts, right? They won't ask what you want to eat or see. You'll just be taken to a place you will surely like or be amazed about. Period!
So here we were, and the food came...
A cross between Pansit Batil Patung and Pansit Cabagan. As if I know any of those 'no?!
Anyway, this looked to me (a bit) like the O'Dong of Cebu. But darker, uses a thinner locally produced "miki" noodles (parang sa pansit canton), thicker sauce (just probably lighter than the consistency of lomi), topped with meats, veggies and quail eggs.
While waiting for the utensils, I commented that this serving was too much for just the two of us. My host laughed out loud as if ridiculing me and said "that bowl is just for you, that is one serving. The other one should be coming in a while. They cannot carry two bowls in one go, mabigat kasi"!
I still protested, suggested we order just 1 instead of 2. But this friend philosophically reminded me with "you are a visitor Mr. Tourist, so eat what Ybanags eat"! Talo ako!
As if on queue ang "eat what the Ybanags eat", ayan dumating si "the other bowl"...
So how did it "register" on my taste buds? Masarap! Kakaibang pansit!
It tastes a little near to the "pansit adobo" or "adobong pansit" of Eastern Samar. Yeah, it is more like the O'Dong na adobo ang sabaw at sahog. Although this one has many more ingredients such as veggies and other things I don't know the names of, hehehe!
By the way, aside from the three quail eggs, it tasted like the soup (sauce?) itself also had egg in it. And those are two kinds of meat dishes on the side, themselves enough to be "ulam" for one person. I like the pork thing, parang lechon kawali with a crunch. But that other one that comes in its own sauce, di ko kilala!
What are the calamansi and chopped onions for? You guessed it, for additional taste to your liking! And by the way my friends from the Visayas and Mindanao, in the Cagayan Valley (even Ilocos), those onions or shallots (in English), or sibuyas or bombay (sa mga bisdak) are actually called "lasona". Da! Nabuang na!
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