It’s not where I want to eat, it’s what I want to eat. We were headed to Manila, and I knew right then what my buddy was craving for when I asked her for lunch, a plate filled with noodles from north of the Philippines, pancit batil patong.

I know just the place where we could get one without going all the way to Tuguegarao City.

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CAGAYAN’S BEST’S OPEN-AIRED SET UP, WE DECIDED TO EAT OUTSIDE

Having previously tried most of the panciterias selling pancit batil patong in Metro Manila, I knew that going to Cagayan’s Best Pancit Batil Patong would be a challenge. Most of these eateries are located on out of the way places, along unknown and narrow streets. This one, near the Bustillos area in Sampaloc, proved to be the same.

SIMPLE BUT CLEAN SET UP

With my eyes glued to Google Maps on my cell phone, we finally arrived at the place—sweaty, grumpy and hungry. There weren’t much people eating when we visited, only a couple of students having the usual silogs for lunch. The place is open-aired with a few electric fans situated here and there. We decided to sit outside.

After a quick scan of their menu, we spotted what we were looking for. Merly Taguinod, the store’s proprietor explained the differences between their Regular, Special, and Super Special noodles. The first one has a bit of carabeef, the second one has enough carabeef but only a bit of liver, and the last one has an overload of both carabeef and liver.

Why settle for anything less, we asked for two plates of their Super Special Pancit Batil Patong.

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THEY HAVE CHICHA-RABAO!

AND MILK CANDIES FROM TUGUEGARAO!

While waiting for our noodles, we saw that Cagayan’s Best also sells a few treats from Tuguegarao City. We immediately grabbed a few packs of Chicha-Rabao (Php60.00), a local chicharon produced up north made from carabeef, and Alcala Sweets. This place is starting to feel more legit by the minute.

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I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE A TASTE!

Soon, two platefuls of this northern delight were steaming across our table. With it came a bowl of egg drop noodle soup (batil) and some chopped onions with calamansi. It was noticeable that there was no carajay or crunchy pork toppings, and the poached egg (patong), was buried beneath everything.

SUPER SPECIAL PANCIT BATIL PATONG AT CAGAYAN’S BEST

Merly told us that while most panciterias in Tuguegarao, like the famous Jomar’s Pancit Batil Patung, sprinkles chicharon toppings, their version do not since their miki, which they have shipped every other day from Tuguegarao, is specially made. She then went on to say that they actually have been doing this since 1977, as they also have an eatery back in Tuguegarao City called Cherry’s Panciteria.

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DEFINITELY HUGE SERVINGS

We need not have worried about the lack of carajay on our pancit. It was pure Tuguegarao goodness on my first forkful; one can immediately notice that livery taste that distinguishes this noodle for me. The miki itself was very flavorful and the carabeef was cooked right, meaning, it has no funky maango flavor. The batil soup was also one of the best I’ve ever tried in Manila, very creamy.

CAGAYAN’S BEST LONGGASILOG

We were so enamored with Cagayan’s Best Pancit Batil Patong in Bustillos that we set off two days after our first time there to have a taste of their noodles once again. Plus, we also wanted to try their carabeef longanisa and tapa.

CARABEEFSILOG, SLIGHTLY SWEET AND VERY TENDER

And again, we were not disappointed. Everything, tasted exactly the same as was before. Even the tapa and longanisa was the same as the tapsilog in Tuguegarao we had before.

The panciteria’s name, Cagayan’s Best Pancit Batil Patong, do not lie. This is my new favorite pancit batil patong place in Metro Manila.

Cagayan’s Best Pancit Batil Patong
Address: SDRC Bldg., 1318 G. Tuazon St., Sampaloc, Manila (in front of Jehova’s Witness church)
Contact Number: (0975) 405-3736
Opening Hours: Daily from 7:30am to 9:00pm
Facebook | Menu: Click Here
GPS Coordinates Map: 14.602758, 120.994910