Close your eyes and imagine the beaches of La Union, the scenic streets of Vigan and the mountains of Sagada—it’s beautiful, right? Catering to every traveler’s taste, Northern Luzon offers diverse sceneries and landscapes that never gets tiring to explore. And speaking of taste, another factor that draws us to the regions from this side of the country is its rich cuisine. From cakes and pies to chicken and pork dishes, one must never forget to grab a bite of local food when they visit these spots.

Unfortunately, it’s been over 200 days of us sitting at home while locked down and just imagining how nice it would’ve been to take a roadtrip to these destinations. While some towns and cities in the north like Baguio, La Union and Ilocos have partially reopened their doors to tourists already, not everyone can (and have plans to) travel at the moment. After all, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. 

Fortunately, several establishments from iconic out-of-town destinations in the north have been making great efforts to bring their dishes to the metro. Here are some of them.

Batanes

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This one isn’t an iconic pastry or dish per se, but you can turn it into one. During quarantine, the Basco Hotel Fundacion Pacita helps bring organic sweet potatoes from Batanes farms to customers’ tables in Metro Manila in order to show why many tourists call it the land of sweet potatoes after their visits.

Ilocos

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Aside from the picturesque windmills and sand dunes, one of the reasons why we go to Ilocos is the local cuisine. Nothing says “satisfying” more than a bite of crispy bagnet or the unique bright orange Ilocos empanada. Thankfully, Fariñas Ilocos Empanada is around to make these signature Ilocano bites available in the metro via GrabFood and LalaFood.

La Union

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Is it LU missing hours for you right now? Brewing a cup of coffee from El Union might help. The popular La Union café currently delivers its signature coffee beans in 250 grams or 1 kilogram pouches nationwide.

[READ: No LU trips needed: El Union ships their coffee beans nationwide now]

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Beach trips to La Union aren’t complete without getting your hands on fried chicken from Sabong. But as the pandemic continues, the local fried chicken shack turns the tide by making its specialty dish a substitute for all those surfing sessions that you miss instead. Currently, they only deliver in Metro Manila every Friday, Saturday and Sunday—and you must place your order of their Elyu original with homemade ketchup, honey bagoong with kare-kare sauce, Korean soy with gochu mayo and/or makan special chicken at least a day before.

Sagada

If you’ve ever been to Sagada, you’d know how the café and restaurant Lemon Pie House attracts almost everyone on their way back from the town’s top caves and tourist attractions. Of course, their signature dish is none other than the light and tasty lemon pie in its name. 

The pastry comes from a family recipe of the restaurant’s owner, so it might be difficult to find a lemon pie someplace else that tastes exactly the same. Thankfully, Malabon-based business The Fruit Ninja brings it to the metro regularly along with other treats from Sagada and Baguio.

Baguio

The City of Pines might be kilometers away, but its famed restaurant and cake shop Vizco’s has made its way here into Metro Manila—or at least, its crowd-favorite strawberry shortcake has. Available through food business Love, Strawberry, this pastry topped with chunks of farm-fresh strawberries from La Trinidad will let you experience Baguio vicariously again by tickling your tastebuds. 

[READ: Vizco’s strawberry shortcake all the way from Baguio might just be the next lockdown food trend]

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But wait, there’s more: the city’s iconic Victoria’s Creampuff is also available through Old Baguio Cafe in V. Luna, Quezon City. The cafe makes sure you don’t miss out on any of the highland’s delightful creampuffs by offering its wide selection of flavors such as ube, cookies and cream, chocolate and mango.

Yes, you don’t need a membership to grab a bite of the iconic raisin bread from the exclusive five-star vacation spot Baguio Country Club. You can just have this famous loaf from the country’s summer capital delivered to your home through BCC Delivers Manila, which also offers a pickup option for those in Makati.

Header photos from Old Baguio Cafe and The Fruit Ninja

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