The land-locked province of Nueva Vizcaya is agriculturally rich and nature still thriving in this part of Luzon. The land abundant with natural resources is also reflected in their native cuisines. From my recent visit, I wasn't surprised to see a few bugs on their table but these are cooked and ready to eat. Not something I would see every day. If one wants to try these dishes, we visited All Day Exotic, a resto-bar offering exotic cuisines in their menu every day.
All Day Exotic has a very Filipino interior, making use of capiz windows and funky furniture like tables with sewing machine stands with treadles. Other fancy items are some vintage objects like an old typewriter or large gas lamps. They have open-air dining areas and an airconditioned room as well. In the mood to belt out some tunes? They also have a KTV room if the guest wants to sing a song or more.
First served was the fried Palaka (frogs), not something unfamiliar to me since I've already tried fried and curry frogs before. This one has crispy skin lightly salty and the meat tasty.
Then there's the Abal-abal or commonly known as salagubang (June beetle). Now this is the first time I've tasted this delicacy and it has to pass through my mental barrier first. The dry and toasted abal-abal is crunchy and mildly juicy with a squishy texture. The wings have been removed before cooking but it still has these gooey innards that are slightly sweet and sour. It's quite good actually.
Another interesting dish is the Tateg, it is also a salagubang in their larvae stage (white grub). It may look grubby like a caterpillar but this one was pleasantly tasty, so similar to a chicharon (crispy pork rinds)
Finally, we got to taste the tiny freshwater fish called Udingan prepared in two ways. The Pangat version was light and had that distinct sourness. The fried was well cooked, and lightly crispy. Both variant has that clean fish taste, I do prefer the pangat version on this one.
All Day Exotic Resto Bar
68 Lumabang St. Poblacion North,
Solano, Nueva Vizcaya
Contact: 09238342065, 09362473298
Branch: Top Hill, Brgy. Bangot,
Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya
Contact: 09364779777
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