Vegan Outside Metro Manila
La Union
After 8 years of working overseas, I came back to Philippines, in my hometown on April 2021.
Trying classic Filipino dishes, made vegan
I am really not a fan of frozen vegan food, though I try them just so I can have a taste and feel of the texture, then I try to make my own.
Before I came home, I did my research on vegan options here in the Philippines, most especially in La Union.
I found a distributor of The Good Choices PH products so I signed up as reseller and bought goods for my family to try.
The Good Choices PH is one of the first few vegetarian (mostly vegan) companies in the Philippines.
My top picks from this company are tocino, adobo, and embutido. Their longganisa, liempo, and sisig are amazing too!
Eating out and delivery
I live in the capital of La Union, the City of San Fernando. It’s a typical Philippine city, rich in Filipino culture, with varieties of food to offer.
It is famous for dishes such as Pakbet Ilocano, Dinakdakan, Igado, Dinengdeng, and a lot others which are meat-based. It is also famous for its own versions of glutinous rice delicacies such as Sapin-sapin, Biko (Inkiwar or Dudumen, which are basically sticky rice cake), and Suman.
Known to the whole of Filipino community, Elyucanos (new term used to refer to Ilocanos in La Union or LU - Elyu) love to cook with bagoong. Bagoong is fermented fish or shrimp paste.
With Pakbet Ilocano and Dinengdeng, even if we cook them with just pure vegetables, there would still be animal product in them, making them not suitable for vegans.
The first time I came home as vegan in 2019, when I went to eat with former colleagues in a certain restaurant, I requested for the Pakbet to be cooked with salt only and the staff were accommodating.
Disclaimer: Others are not usually happy with this kind of request and they will argue that the taste wouldn’t be the same. In this case, you can always politely explain that you won’t mind and they will definitely understand.
Vegetarian Carinderia
As soon as I arrived in my hometown, after quarantine, I started searching for vegan options near me.
I found Buhay Gulay, which offers mostly vegan food at reasonable prices. And the best thing about them is they offer vegan desserts! Who doesn’t want dessert?
It is is located less than 5 minutes away from my home. They offer dine-in, takeaway, and delivery.
We use cookies to improve your experience and to help us understand how you use our site. Please refer to our cookie notice and privacy policy for more information regarding cookies and other third-party tracking that may be enabled.
