What to Eat in Batanes: Ivatan Specialties & Top Eateries

Must-Try Ivatan Dishes

Savory Mains

• Chicken Pastel – Creamy chicken stew topped with melted cheese.
• Dinengdeng – Vegetable soup enriched with salted fish or meat broth.
• Flying Fish & Skipjack Tuna – Prepared grilled, fried, or in coconut milk.

Rice-Based Delicacies (Kakanin)

• Suman Ivatan – Glutinous rice with brown sugar, wrapped in banana leaves.
• Ampaw – Puffed glutinous rice with coconut cream, cooked in bamboo tubes.
• Kutay Ivatan – Rice balls stuffed with molasses, coated in grated coconut.
• Fuyog Ivatan – Egg batter filled with grated papaya, peanuts, topped with coconut.

Desserts & Drinks

• Palamig – Cold drink with grated cassava/sweet potato, evaporated milk, and sugar.
• Buko Pandan – Young coconut & pandan in sweet coconut cream.

Where to Eat

• Pension Ivatan – Home-style meals, famous for Relleno and Fish in Coconut Milk.
• Café Du Tukon – Known for hearty Ivatan breakfast platters with a view.
• Fundacion Pacita – Heritage site with weaving cooperative; serves Pancit Batanes, Flying Fish Adobo, Lukban. Proceeds support women artisans.
• Casa Napoli – Popular for Uvud Balls, Pancit Batanes, and seafood dishes.

Note: Menus change seasonally. Ask for the day’s fresh catch and specials!