Manganen Bagnet House: Bagnet Kare-Kare, Bagnet Express, and more!

Manganen Bagnet House

"Manganen!" -- it has been years since I last heard from my Ilocana grandmom this term for "Let's eat!". I was just reminded when we visited Manganen Bagnet House as one of our stops during Zomato's Hunger Games Day 2: Marikina.


casa	small room

Manganen Bagnet House is more of an Ilocano-inspired restaurant rather than Ilocano-origin. Nevertheless, they were able to incorporate Ilocos-famous bagnet in different Filipino classic dishes such as kare-kare, sinigang, etc. One of the things I love most in this restaurant is its interior. It has a small capacity but it is very classy and homey. It resembles the houses during the Spanish era. So Filipiniana.

Best Sellers

Dinakdakan (218Php)

Dinakdakan

Dinakdakan is the sisig of the north. I'm not sure if the difference is just on the name but the essence is the same. It makes use of pork ears, face, etc so there will be minimal waste on pork. I loved the smoky aroma as well as its creamy and not-so-spicy sauce. Just expect some hard or chewy bits due to the pork parts used.


Dinakdakan	Bagnet Express

Bagnet Express (278Php)

Bagnet Express

Bagnet Express is a combination of bagnet and bicol express. The owner said it makes use of fresh coconut milk. I didn't find it spicy but more of salty on its own. Better to eat it with rice to balance the taste. Even when combined with sauce, the bagnet retained its crispy skin and tender pork meat.

Bagnet Kare-Kare (298Php)

Bagnet Kare-Kare

The sauce for this Bagnet Kare-Kare is made from scratch -- ground toasted nuts. You can even feel it on the texture. Even though kare-kare is usually paired with bagoong, I didn't feel the need for it as the sauce has the right amount of saltiness. Aside from the sauce, the bagnet made it even more special.

Bagnet Kare-Kare

We were also given Pork Sinigang soup and it was delicious! Creamy soup and has the right amount of sourness -- not overpowering, even without combining it with rice.

Dining at Manganen Bagnet House tickled the Ilocana side of me. Not only with the food, but the place itself brings you to the northern side of the country minus the hours of traveling. This place provides a complete experience.

Manganen Bagnet House
116 Lilac Street, SSS Village, Concepcion Dos, Marikina City