Each time that I come back home to Tuguegarao City, I won't miss to look for the best tasting pansit batil patung (no, I haven't misspelled any word for it) - a local pride where the pansitan are as numerous as the traysikol (hehehe) plying Metro Tuguegarao.
For the uninitiated, this famous pansit batil patung is coined from the additional savory beaten (batil) egg soup and another sunny-side up egg as a finishing garnish on top (patung) of the mound of pansit. Sorry, but their spelling is patung, not the patong for the Tagalog speakers.The
Ybanags have this strong, 'hard' twang that patong became patung.
The pansit (noodle) is locally done. In fact, many pansitan have their own way of making the noodles. Depending on the pansitan, the noodles may differ in taste, texture, color, and flavor from one pansitan to the next.
Each pansitan carefully guards its secrets so that the others could not copy the distinct flavor and aroma.The cook is the ultimate defining factor on how savory the pansit is. First, there was this legendary Budyok who started experimenting how to make the ordinary pansit into a culinary novelty. Then there was Tuddao's which added more liver into the concoction. Then others followed suit experimenting on other ways of preparing the Tuguegarao culinary discovery. Now, wherever the best cook is, the best judges would be the traysikol drivers who are the regular customers of pansit batil patung.
But in general, the entire culinary masterpiece is garnished with ground meat (pork or beef), finely chopped liver, plenty of chopped onions, a dash of green onions, sili (if you wish), and savory toyo. The soy sauce is locally produced. The pansit batil patung tastes heavenly, so to speak.
Perhaps all genuine Tuguegarao residents love this culinary discovery.And I would come back again and again to Tuguegarao City to scout for the next pansitan to savor the aroma and taste of pansit batil patung. I tried Dok's. I went twice to Claire's. I went once to ECL near DepED. Perhaps next time, there will be another hit place for the tasty pansit batil patung.
