Batanes food choices are an amazing surprise for us! So far, Pampanga was our favorite food place. But after visiting Batanes, we have a difficult choice to make if where to eat in Batanes or where to eat in Angeles City.
Both cuisines are similar, obviously you can find more varieties of fish dishes in Batanes. We will write our favorite dishes in Batanes island. And of course our favorite place to eat Hiro’s Cafe with the amazing Mrs. Lydia cooking her best dishes for us!
Read here our favorite Filipino breakfast, Filipino desserts and Filipino street food
Read here Batanes itinerary and where to stay in Batanes
SIM CARD AT MANILA AIRPORT
I wouldn’t recommend you to buy a sim card at Manila airport. If you wish comfort you can buy eSim online and if you aren’t in a hurry just go around phone shops in the city and compare prices to buy the cheapest sim card in Manila. Read here Philippines sim card for tourist and best Philippines eSim
WHERE TO STAY IN THE PHILIPPINES
You can get accommodation starting from 800-1000 PHP (less than $20 USD) for a room in a guesthouse. Can you imagine if you are two of you traveling in the Philippines, it will be $10 USD each.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION WITH BOOKING AND AGODA!
BOOK YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE
You can read Heymondo Vs Safetwing cheapest travel Insurance. You can get for $135 USD your Heymondo Travel Insurance with Heymondo discount code valid for 90 days. Read our full Heymondo Travel Insurance Review
You can get Safetywing Travel Insurance for Digital Nomads valid for 28 days Safetywing for $50 USD per month with kids until 10 years old included
BATANES FOOD
WHERE TO EAT IN BATANES
There are a lot of local cuisines and delicacies that tourists should try, whether they are foreigners or not. The following foods are quite famous in Batanes, so you can ask around were to get certain food if you want to try them.
Most of the tours include meals such as lunch or breakfast, or both depending on the tour you will be availing. We did our tours with Amazing Batanes Tours and they included all the meals for us which was great. Most of the food we tried was from their restaurant, Hiro’s Cafe, and we tried almost everything in the menu! Everything was great!
Looking for accommodation in Batanes? You can try AirBnB in Batanes there are a few places around Basco.
You can reserve your accommodation in Batanes before your trip with Booking and Agoda!
Click here to get a discount in your tour around Batanes with Klook
1. LOBSTER OR PAYI
There are many fishermen in Batanes and I hope you will be lucky to visit Batanes during the lobster season to enjoy them. Price for the meal: 350 PHP.
2. MAHI-MAHI
Mahi-mahi or dried fish is a very typical Batanes food in all the Batanes island.
3. SUMAN
A typical dessert in Batanes called Suman. It is made from sticky rice, a sweet and delicious treat! Prices for the dessert: 50 PHP.
4. FLYING FISH OR DIBANG
It is one of our favorite dishes. It’s served in carinderias and restaurants. It was actually our first time trying it and we were wondering if we can bring some to Pampanga. That’s how much we loved it! Price for this breakfast: 175 PHP.
5. UVUD BALLS
One of the most popular Batanes food. Rachel and I loved Uvud balls so much! These are vegetarian and the sauce was so delicious! The price of this meal: 275 PHP.
6. UBE
Ube is Rachel’s favorite dessert. It is a popular dessert in Pampanga also and when Rachel tried it, she didn’t have any complaint! Price of the dessert: 50 PHP.
7. SEAWEED SOUP
Seaweed soup, or is sometimes called lumot soup, are the seaweeds caught by the fishermen that are turned into a soup. Price of the order: 75 PHP.
8. ESCARGOT
These seashells are so big and one of the typical dishes in Batanes. We saw them everywhere since it was a seasonal dish and we visit Batanes during its season. Price of the order: 200 PHP.
9. LUMPIA WITH FISH
Batanes is surrounded by water, so it is rich with seafood, especially flying fish. They made a version of lumpia with flying fish inside. It was so delicious and different since we got used to meat (usually pork) and vegetable lumpia. The price is 350 PHP.
You can reserve your accommodation in Batanes before your trip with Booking and Agoda!
MORE BATANES FOOD
10. SQUID
Like what we said, you can find seafood everywhere in Batanes. You can certainly find different squid dishes in every restaurants. You will love Batanes food!
11. CAMOTE CHIPS
Fried chips made from camote are served in the main dishes in Batanes food, too!
12. SINIGANG
A typical delicious soup in the Philippines. When it’s a rainy day, it is perfect to have it. Sinigang and pumpkin were our favorite ones. Soups prices were around 75 PHP in Batanes.
13. CALAMANSI JUICE
So delicious, and I guess it’s a secret recipe from Hiro’s Cafe! The price of this healthy and yummy juice is 75 PHP.
14. COCONUT JUICE
We really loved the one at Hiro’s Joy Restaurant in Basco. So delicious with the special recipe of Tita Lydia. Still dreaming about this coconut juice in Batanes for only 75 PHP.
15. BUKO PANDAN ICE CREAM
It became one of our favorite desserts aside from ube. Just 50 PHP for this dessert, and we were able to eat more than once!
16. LUÑIS
Luñis is a pork dish that’s quite similar to adobo. While adobo has sauce, Luñis is rather cooked dry. It is a traditional dish that is mixed with salt and is cooked with salt until the pork becomes golden brown. It can be stored for quite a long time in a jar. Price of the order: 250 PHP.
17. BEEF TAPA
Tapa is dried or cured beef, although other meat or even fish may be used. Filipinos prepare tapa by using thin slices of meat and curing these with salt and spices as a preservation method.
Tapa is often cooked fried or grilled. It is in fact my favorite breakfast in Batanes. I don’t know what’s the secret ingredient but I loved it! Price per order: 175 PHP.
MORE BATANES FOOD
18. TOCINO
Tocino is a classic local dish usually eaten for breakfast. It’s a pork dish process and mixed with flavorings like sugar, then soaked/marinated for a time. When cooked, it is sweet and delicious. It is Rachel’s favorite!
Wherever you go, if there is tocino, sisig and Ube, she will forget about the other dishes in the menu, ha! Price of the breakfast: 175 PHP.
19. VENES (BATANES LAING)
Mixed vegetables served with garlic and you can add pork if you wish. Price of the order 120 PHP.
20. ROOT CROPS
Rootcrops have been one of the major agricultural products of Batanes. It can be cooked in different ways. Some are steamed, some are fried and some are smoked!
21. SISIG IN BATANES
Our favorite in the Philippines as street food and as a dish in a restaurant too. It was delicious the particular taste of sisig at Hoiro’s Joy in Batanes. OMG sisig! We loved it! It’s our favorite meal in the Philippines. The price is 250 PHP.
22. TORTANG TALONG IN BATANES
Tortang talong is a dish made of eggplant mixed with egg and then fried. It’s a tasty dish that’s also a must try if you’re a tourist. Specially cooked for us by Mrs. Lydia in Hiro’s Cafe, we have to say that it’s much better than the eggplants that Ruben cooks at home ha!
23. LONGANIZA IN BATANES
Even the dish is popularly from Ilocos Norte, we could taste in Batanes and we liked so much. Price for the breakfast 175 PHP.
24. SUPAS
Supas is a dish that is a staple in Fiestas or Festivals in Batanes. It is a rice dish cooked in turmeric pulp (yellow ginger) that’s often mixed with garlic and pork. Price of the soups were 75 PHP.
25. HERBS IN BATANES
They usually use turmeric, garlic, yellow ginger. We loved it them and we could taste yellow, blue and brown rice.
26. KANAÑIS
It is an octopus dish that is fried and is a local favorite as a partner of cold beer. Price of the order 250 PHP.
27. IVATAN SALAD
Our preferred place for salads is Hiro’s Joy Cafe. It is located in Abad Street in Basco. They serve tasty local Ivatan food with the freshest ingredients. They are so popular that they were even featured in a show in one of the biggest TV networks in the Philippines.
Tita Lydia cooks as nobody in the Philippines and it became our favorite place to eat! She cooked our favorite dishes like sisig, tocino, beef tapa and torta talong and everything was so delicious!
HIRO JOY CAFE
Thanks to Hiro Joy Cafe for such a great experience in Batanes. I personally tried the best food in the Philippines from Mrs. Lydia and her staff. We enjoyed a lot talking to her about her experiences. She introduced us to the Ivatan culture especially gastronomy. We hope we can meet her soon in Angeles City or in Batanes again!
STREET FOOD IN BASCO
Around city center, there’s a few places where you can go for street food in Basco around the park, and it’s close to Landbank where you can find an ATM just in case you need it. Prices for burgers 70 PHP.
We love street food and we always have to try even we aren’t hungry anytime that we see it! We wish we had more time to try Batanes food and try more street food, coffee, and sweets. We still left a few dishes without trying but this is a perfect reason to go back to Batanes.
Hope you liked the food blog post and please share this with your friends for maybe they are going to Batanes soon.
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Happy travels!
About the Author: Ruben, co-founder of Gamintraveler.com since 2014, is a seasoned traveler from Spain who has explored over 100 countries since 2009. Known for his extensive travel adventures across South America, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa, Ruben combines his passion for adventurous yet sustainable living with his love for cycling, highlighted by his remarkable 5-month bicycle journey from Spain to Norway. He currently resides in Spain, where he continues to share his travel experiences alongside his partner, Rachel, and their son, Han.