Tuguegarao City is famous for its Pancit-Batil-Patung as the
city is swarming with panciterias of various sizes, it is served from the smallest food shack/turo-turo to the high-end tourist hotels and restaurants with dozens of variations. One such
popular panciteria is
Billy Jack’s Panciteria along the Tuguegarao-Santiago
Road in barangay Buntun, Tuguegarao City. It has lots of variations of the original
Tuguegarao Pancit Batil-Patung, the place has a unique ambiance which
transports you back to the 80’s and some great music too. An important tip is
to come early as it is teeming with pancit batil-patung lovers during the dinning
rush hours.
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| Billy Jack’s Panciteria along the Tuguegarao-Santiago Road in barangay Buntun, Tuguegarao City |
Filipinos easily understand that
pancit or pansit means noodles. The truth is, it is not of Filipino origin but
comes from the Hokkien (language family of Fujian, China) word “pian i sit”
which actually means “convenient food” or “conveniently cooked food” like today’s
fast food. It has become one of the standard food fare of Filipinos and
establishments that specialize in noodles are simply called panciterias. It also commonly served during special occasions
due its association by the early Chinese settlers as birthday dish as according
to folklore, noodles symbolize long life.
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| The unique ambiance of the panciteria brings you back to the 80's of Metro Manila discos and watering holes. |
The original Pancit Batil-Patung
(or patong) in Tuguegarao simply consisted of sautéed minced carabao meat (carabeef) and poached egg on top of the cooked miki noodles, accompanied with a cup
of soup made from carabeef stock complemented with another egg cracked and
stirred in the soup. Thus, the term Batil-Patung, batil because of the stirred egg
in the soup and patung because another egg, pouched, that is, is placed on top
of the cooked miki noodles (with the sautéed ground carabeef).
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| The place is also popular among foreign and local tourists for a taste of the Ybanag delicacy. |
Today, there are a lot of Pancit
Batil-Patung topping variations in Tuguegarao panciterias such as ground pork chicharon
(cracklings), sautéed chopped cabbage with carrots, sautéed sprouted mongo, sausage (Chinese Chorizo) toppings, sautéed liver, chopped lechon carajay, etc. Condiments
such as the traditional chopped onions, calamansi, soy sauce, vinegar with chili,
etc. are also served alongside every serving of Pancit Batil-Patung.
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| Left photo: The many variations of the Tuguegarao Pancit Batil-Patung. |
Other popular variations of the pancit-batil patung at Billy
Jack’s Panciteria comes by simply adding on some of the available toppings such
as: balut, the Tuguegarao longganisa, tapa, chorizo, sisig, etc. People from Metro
Manila and other places, specially returning college students after the
semestral break and summer break flock to the panciteria for some bouts of the famed pancit with their
own variations of choice. The place is also popular among foreign tourists who
want a tang of the Ibanag delicacy in
Tuguegarao City.
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| Your choice of one or more variations of the Tuguegarao Pancit Batil-Patung. |
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