A taste of art and good food in Vigan

MILLIE: Karla and I spent a lovely weekend in Vigan, a well-preserved 16th-century Hispanic town and the only World Heritage City in the Philippines cited by UNESCO. We came for the grand opening of Hotel Luna on Gen. A. Luna St., which is owned by the family of Rep. Eric Singson, who is originally from Candon.

Hotel Luna is the first and only museum hotel in the country that pays tribute to the great Filipino painter Juan Luna, who was an Ilocano. In a city that speaks of heritage, culture and arts, the Singson family endeavored to promote tourism through culture and arts by honoring great Filipino National Artists, masters, painters and sculptors.

 The original Doña Carmen Florentino house on which Hotel Luna was built is a two-story structure built in 1882 and now restored — following strict preservation guidelines — and converted into a first-class hotel property with 10 suite accommodations. The main structure connects to a four-story building that houses 44 spacious, elegant guestrooms meticulously designed by architect Edward Yu.

Upon arrival at the lobby, the beautiful painting “Lavandera” by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo dazed us. We were welcomed and led to the Chula Saloon bar named and inspired after the Chula painting series of Juan Luna. The second-floor museum showcases Juan Luna’s “La Molinera” along with other interesting works of art by Vicente Manansala, Rene Robles, Jose Joya, Federico Alcuaz, Romulo Galicano and Cesar Legaspi.

The Comedor Restaurant with original brick walls from the 1800s offers contemporary Ilocano cuisine with a delectable Spanish influence created by chef Robby Goco, himself a culinary artist, who welcomed us upon arrival at the hotel. Fresh from a stint in Spain, he gave us a sneak preview of his culinary offerings for Hotel Luna.

KARLA: Mom and I flew in via Laoag and had to take an almost two-hour ride to Vigan. When we arrived, there was a welcome dinner prepared for us. It started off with a watermelon welcome drink and ukoy for pica-pica. We were served typical Ilocano food — kalderetang kambing, pinapaitan and pipian served with steamed white rice and fresh fruits for dessert. Mind you, this was at 11 p.m. We settled in our spacious air-conditioned rooms around midnight and tried to get enough rest in time for the next day.

Mom and I got up for breakfast at 7 a.m. The spread included fresh vegetables and salads, cereals, longganisang Vigan, fried dilis, crispy fried espada, beef tapa, garlic rice, an egg station, an assortment of fresh breakfast breads, croissants and malunggay pan de sal served with butter and a selection of jams and marmalades, fresh fruits and juices. Right after the filling breakfast, we were taken on a tour to different sites around Vigan.

After the tour of Vigan, we were given time to rest and get ready for the grand opening of Hotel Luna. We were served delightful tapas at the Chula bar. The one I enjoyed most was a bruschetta of ipon in olive oil and capers. Ipon may seem like what is familiar to most, dulong. Some say that they are totally different species, as ipon is said to have smoother meat, while others refer to them as the same fish. They say that there is a clamor for ipon because of its rarity and mystery since there are still a lot of things undiscovered about this fish. I have heard a story of how their eggs are laid downstream and caught in crosscurrents so the water in that area is different and murky, or how they only show up 10 days after the full moon. But then again these are stories I have yet to verify when I meet the people who fish for them.

We were also served sea urchin with mint, parsley and lemon vinaigrette served in a cocotte. The sea urchin is cultured and comes from the neighboring towns of Santiago, Sta. Maria and San Esteban. Also available for tapas were the grilled gambas with cherry tomato and olives, jamon Serrano topped with quail egg, marinated grilled chicken with date in mini croissants, bite-sized beef steak with chiles dedos and pan-seared tanigue filled with tomato and roasted vegetables.

The dinner spread was fabulous with the cold cuts and salad bar station that feature salmon and tuna sashimi, jamon Serrano, lomo-lomo, potage with garbanzos y espinacas, and a dinendeng station. I, of course, went directly to the hot dishes, mainly the lechon-like roast pork belly stuffed with herbs, including a local cactus-like herb called karimbuwaya and roast beef. Also served that evening were montados de lomo, langlostino y pescado valencianos, pollo en pepitoria, which had almonds, and estofado de carne con verdaduras.

The pieces de resistance are chef Robby’s masterpieces: paellas served in giant paelleras. Chef Robby, whom I had the pleasure of traveling with to Singapore for a conference in October 2012, was kind enough to let me into the kitchen and watch him cook his paellas. What a kitchen exclusive. I watched chef Robby labor and sweat as he cooked paella Negra with clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, first cooked in black stock with saffron. Next was paella Mixta with seafood and meat. The last one that came out was the steak and black truffle paella. I was actually on my way back up to the room when chef Robby called out my name from inside the buffet area. He then called me in and revealed his freshly cooked paella by removing the aluminum foil used to further steam it. And even though I was so full from the dinner, I couldn’t help getting a good serving.

The menu for the hotel has yet to be finalized, as it is an evolving thing for now. But chef Robby has already stated for sure that there will be Sunday brunches featuring local and continental favorites to cater to both the travelers who want local favorites and locals who need a break from pinakbet, bagnet and longganisa.

MILLIE: The next morning we finally had a chance to chat with our hosts, Rep. Eric Singson, wife Grace and their lovely daughter Kristine, who were all busy entertaining the previous night. We learned that in the ’60s they had their wedding reception at The Plaza, the restaurant complex my parents built. We congratulated them on their efforts to promote tourism as well as to honor great artists of timeless masterpieces. The Philippine art collections showcased were by National Artists Napoleon Velasco Abueva, BenCab, and Abdulmari Imao, Fred Baldemor, Araceli Dans, Daniel de la Cruz, Romulo Galicano, Ramon Orlina, Rene Robles and Orly Ypon.

We wish we could have stayed longer as there is still so much to discover in and around Vigan, but we will definitely be back.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.