It seems that we are not alone in our quest to find the best Tuguegarao pancit in Metro Manila. From the post I did regarding our Jonash pancit batil patong experience, a reader commented about another place that serves this noodle somewhere in Manila’s Quirino Avenue. Without hesitation, we immediately trooped to the place to see if it’s any good.

The name of the place is Jibs Batil-Patung Pancit Tuguegarao. I searched Google Maps for its location and found it listed near Manila Zoo. Unfortunately, the listing is incorrect. Good thing I saved the panciteria’s number and asked for directions to their place. We were off by more than a kilometer, it turns out.

Located near the corner of Quirino Avenue and Angel Linao Avenue near the Paco Market, we finally found Jibs panciteria.

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Since the name of the panciteria evokes something you’d rather not talk about on the dinner table, we asked one of the crew manning the place what’s with the name. It’s an acronym of the owner’s two sons’ names she simply said.

Well, so much for that.

Like most carinderias selling pancit batil patong, a few of Jib’s crew hail from Tuguegarao City. We got to talking with their main cook, Cristina—who’s very friendly by the way—and she told us that she used to cook for Jomar’s Panciteria Tuguegarao, a well-known panciteria near Tuguegarao Cathedral.

Jibs version of pancit batil patong comes only in one size. Although there are two different offerings, Jibs Regular (₱65.00) and Eping Special (₱80.00), serving portion is the same. The only difference is that the latter has a topping of crispy lechon kawali or lechon carahay. No more question asked, we ordered the latter.
 
(Update, as of our last visit last February 2015, they now serve a ₱100.00 version of the pancit, same with their Special, only it has a larger serving)

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Their pancit comes with the usual side dish of egg soup (batil) and chopped white onions, which one usually mix with soy sauce and calamansi. There is however another element in Jibs’ version of this noodle that’s new to us—their special chili sauce. This is the first time I’ve seen this incorporated with pancit batil patong, and I’m curious to see how it meshes with the dish.

Serving time was average and the size, although quite huge, is just right for its price. Jibs noodles are brought in all the way from Tuguegaro City, so check on that. The carabeef is cooked perfectly, no maango smell. Bean sprouts, some cabbages and carrots are present. Crushed kropek are also there. And the eggs are perfectly poached. I can’t see anything wrong with Jibs pancit batil patong if I’m gonna base my review on looks alone.

On first taste, I immediately knew that Jibs has really got everything right. I experimented in adding chili to my pancit and it even tasted better. To put it simply, it was perfect.

How perfect? My pancit-mate was able to finish everything. And me? I ordered another plate of pancit batil patong. That perfect.

UPDATE 2015

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We recently revisited Jibs Batil Patung and found that they now have three new serving sizes; Ilokano (regular) ₱65.00, Itawes (special) ₱80.00 and Ybanag (super special) ₱100.00. As always, it’s better to order the super special when it comes to pancit batil patong since it usually has all the ingredients that makes this noodle dish great. Serving size is good for two people.

Jibs Batil-Patung Pancit Cagayan ►MENU
Address: 1868 Angel Linao St., Paco, Manila
Contact Number: (02) 8280-9316 | Facebook
Opening Hours: 9:00AM to 6:00PM Mondays to Saturdays
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.575028, 120.994611