Ilocos Food Binge — Bagnet, Empanada & Pinakbet

Ilocano cuisine is bold, salty, garlicky and deeply tied to the land, and this four-hour food crawl through Laoag introduces you to the dishes that define the north. Top of the list is bagnet, the legendary triple-cooked pork belly that is boiled, air-dried and deep-fried until the skin shatters into glassy crackling, best eaten dipped in spiced sukang Iloko (Ilocos vinegar). You will also dig into the famous Ilocos empanada, a bright-orange annatto rice-flour turnover stuffed with grated green papaya, longganisa and a whole egg, fried crisp and served hot off the griddle.

Rounding out the binge is pinakbet, the quintessential Ilocano vegetable medley of bitter gourd, eggplant, string beans and squash bound together with savory fermented fish bagoong, a dish that perfectly captures the region's no-waste, flavor-forward cooking. Along the way your guide explains the history and technique behind each specialty and may add in extras like garlicky Ilocano longganisa or sweet local snacks. It is a fast, satisfying immersion into one of the Philippines' most distinctive regional food cultures.