Vunong at Jessica’s Place — Restaurant in Basco

28 Sep 2024, around 1130. Three things you need to know: reservations are needed, the serving is hefty, and the food they serve is set for what is available (so ask first before you set reservations, in consideration to any allergies you may have). The 400 PHP price got me soup with 2 chunks of beef, fern salad, turmeric rice, 2 uved balls, a thick slice of fried fish (i got parrot fish i think, because of the flakiness), a slice of lunis, and then maruya for dessert--try getting that heavy a meal in a metropolitan restaurant! Because of TC Julian extending my stay in Batanes, I was able to easily reserve a seat, and I dined alone. However, should you decide to visit Batanes, I will recommend that this be your first lunch or dinner, especially if you are trying to lose wait, what with all the wlking you'll do in this beautiful island province. Another recommendation would be to chew slowly; because they don't use much seasoning, the flavors come in a slow burn rather than explode. If I have the ocassion to bring other people on my next visit to Batanes, I will definitely take them here. By the way, don't expect chicken dishes as they don't serve feed-raised meat, and it's not that common that they have native chicken available. As for payment, ask them first if they accept cards or e-wallets, because I did not notice any signs...

May 20, 2025- Five stars for the experience! If you need to try the traditional Ivatan food then this is the place to be. The dining area is breezy so eating there at noon is very comfortable. They do need a reservation, which we did through their facebook page. The food came with the turmeric rice, a very delicious beef soup and the pako (fiddlehead fern salad) - refreshing, and oh, the camote fritters for dessert which was a good snack. The dish we had were the beef luñis, pork luñis, uved (banan pith mixed with pork or fish), and the day old dried flying fish which was good as it wasn’t too salty. Overall a very nice experience which I recommend you try at least once! Food was good but I would not say the best, but definitely better uved than the ones we’ve tried during our tour lunches at Marlboro Hills and in Nayuva...

Traditional dishes are simple—pork, fish, and other meats, paired with turmeric rice and sweetened pancakes. Nothing extravagant, nothing out of the ordinary—unless you eat them where they truly belong.

As someone who loves to cook and eat, I know that no dish is more special than one experienced in its place of origin. While this may not have started with them, tradition is passed down—generation to generation, family to family. The Philippines is full of such culinary treasures.

If I had to rate it, it’s a 5/5. It wasn’t just food; it was...