Discover the beauty and richness of Pangasinan’s 4th District

BIKER’S DEN, SAN FABIAN In order to promote tourism, empower the kids, and promote sports in the area, a bikers’ den was built in Barangay Inmalog, San Fabian led by Pangasinan 4th District Representative Christopher de Venecia on October 2019.

The bikers’ den features facilities such as a shower area, as well as bike rails where bikers can park their bikes while taking a break. It was built strategically to maximize views of Lingayen Gulf, mountains covered in trees, and palay farms that can be viewed along the road.

This biker’s den is managed by Nicolas Gonzales of Pangasinan 4th District Cycling Club Inc. (P4CCI).

CALAMANSIAN ED LEKEP BUTAO Calamansian Farm started in the mid-1980s as a six-hectare calamansi plantation owned by different locals in Brgy. Lekep Butao in the Municipality of San Fabian. For almost four decades in the business, Calamansian Ed Lekep Butao was merely a farm until De Venecia discovered the plantation in 2021. With his guidance, the farm is now transformed into an agri-tourism venture, bringing in more income that balances the farm’s off-season.

Price range every rainy season is from PD4 Php400-Php500 per sack while calamansi ranges from Php3,000-Php3,500 per sack during the summer season.

According to Barangay Lekep Butao Chairperson Ferdie Estayo, they only market the calamansi around nearby towns like Mangaldan, Dagupan, and Agoo. Although sometimes they have excess supplies, they bring calamansi to Urdaneta City.

For tourists who want to experience calamansi-picking, it has a Php80 entrance fee and a Php20 discount for children below seven years old and for senior citizens. They also offer a full package including entrance fee, handcrafted basket, and calamansi crinkles for only Php350 excluding the calamansi because the price varies depending on seasonality.

Aside from calamansi picking, Calamansian Ed Lekep Butao also offers products like calamansi concentrate with honey that would last up to a month, calamansi juice, and calamansi crinkles. For online bookings, you may send a message via Facebook page at Calamansian Ed Lekep Butao.

CALAMANSI CRINKLES This product was initiated by De Venecia last November 2021 through the so-called “crinkle ladies.” According to Dolores Lanata, De Venecia started the calamansi crinkles because of the oversupply of calamansi every August-October. Lanata also shared that they market the new product within the municipality and occasionally export. The calamansi crinkles, Lanata proudly says, are 100 percent natural. She adds that if this product becomes successful, they are planning to add a new product which is a calamansi powdered juice.

CALAMANSI JUICE & CONCENTRATE Calamansi juice and concentrate are from Up Lokal—a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) in the Municipality of Mangaldan owned by Ms. Gwynette and Huebert Ferrer. Calamansi juice and concentrate were also included in Calamansian Ed Lekep Butao because this is where they get their supplies to produce calamansi concentrate and calamansi juice.

TUPIG Some of the most well-known tupig producers and vendors can be found in the municipality of San Fabian, and one of them is Marivic Abrio, owner of the ‘Tupigan ni Marivic’ stand along the Pangasinan-La Union highway in Barangay Tocok. Abrio’s tupigan has been operating since 2015 and she says that she acquired the cooking skill from her sister-in-law. They produce 300 to 400 pieces of tupig every day. Through the joint effort of their family, their tupig gained popularity and has been exported throughout the country, as well as the United States. They used to wrap the tupigs in newspapers, however, in order to incorporate a more attractive product packaging that is of an export standard, De Venecia, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) assisted Abrio and other tupig producers in upgrading their product packaging into boxes. ‘Tupigan ni Marivic’ also provides the opportunity for visitors and other interested guests to learn how to produce tupig and potentially create their own as a feasible tourism activity.

JULIANNA’S KITCHEN Photos by Jaaziel Rei Laxa Sumatra and Gail Mejia Matthew Gutierrez, the owner of Julianna’s Kitchen, came from a family of restaurateurs and entrepreneurs. Originally, their family’s main restaurant was Gigi’s Restaurant but when his grandparents passed away, the restaurant eventually closed. Gutierrez created Julianna’s to honor his grandparents, naming it after his grandmother, Juanitta. Julianna’s Kitchen started as a small kiosk food hub in 2016, undergoing several location changes, before finally finding its place in Royal Rays in Pantal, Dagupan City. While it was a challenge, Gutierrez says it was also a motivation to be different. He says, “We wanted to introduce something new. Because you know, the market is already saturated, everyone is offering this and that. Actually, our signature dish, you can actually see it in some other restaurant that offers the same dish. They have their own version of kare-kare, their own version of lengua, chicken barbecue, etc.”

Although they have competitors which are very common, Gutierrez proudly shares that what stands out in Julianna’s Kitchen is the distinct taste and service that they offer to their customers.

Gutierrez mentions that they now have something new to offer from the kitchen, which are non-Filipino Asian dishes. He shares that prior to the pandemic, he went on an Indo-China trip which helped him conceptualize his current offerings, such as Nasi Lemak Ayam, Curry Laksa, Chicken Satay, Pad Kra Pao Gai, Pad Kra Pao Moo, Thai Bagoong Rice, Thai Fried Chicken, Green Curry, Tom Yum, Viet Spring Roll, Sticky Rice, and Dynamite Roll.

“Many think [our restaurant is] kind of typical Filipino, right? But it’s mixed where you have Asian, you have the traditional Filipino, you have like American, Italian. It’s very comforting food.” Because of the success of Julianna’s kitchen and as a coffee enthusiast, he started a pop-up coffee shop. He introduced specialty coffee and v60 air press in 2016. Until it became popular, he then continued his coffee shop in Julianna’s kitchen and he says, “I wanted to introduce the coffee first here [in Julianna’s] then if it turns out okay, I want to expand.”

For those who wish to start their own business, Gutierrez says, “When you do a business, you have to be passionate about it. You have to be interested in it because if you don’t have the interest and the passion in doing that, you won’t succeed.

SANTI’S BISTRO Susan Tandoc, the owner of Santi’s Bistro in Bonuan, Dagupan, says that starting the bistro was a huge risk that they had to take to make sure that their staff in Maxima training center would still have jobs.

‘Santi’s,’ derived from Tandoc’s father’s name Santiago, started as a food stall selling street food and barbeque. Three months after they started, they decided to expand their business.

“We tried to add more products. But before we only had a tent, so from the tent, I told my husband to construct [the bistro] since our business went well somehow,” Tandoc shares.

Santi’s Bistro became popular, earning praise for their best-selling dishes such as their Philly beef cheesesteak pizza, Santi’s special pizza (bangus flavor), chicken barbecue, and nasi goreng.

HARDIN NG PARAISO “Twenty-one years and counting in the business,” says Ara Inductivo, operations manager of ‘Hardin ng Paraiso.’ The restaurant, owned by Carmelita and Wilkie Mendoza, started in 2001. Before it was known as ‘Paraiso sa Barrio Grill and Restaurant’ but the operation stopped in 2005 because of major construction of a farm-to-market road along the street of Barangay Lelemaan, Municipality of Manaoag.

Although the establishment was discontinued because of the construction, according to Inductivo it became an exclusive food provider of San Roque Power Corporation from 2006-2013. In those years of being an exclusive food provider, they noted the increased traffic now that the access road was passable.

Inductivo reveals, “When they constructed [the road], we noticed in 2008 that it’s getting more traffic so the Mendoza family decided to rebuild though we changed the corporate identity, then we named it Hardin sa Paraiso in January 2010.” And it’s still a huge hit. “We do not accept reservations during weekends because walk-ins alone are already too much to accommodate,” Inductivo shares. What customers love the most about the Hardin ng Paraiso are their fusion cuisines because their head chef is a Bicolano. Among their best sellers are crispy ulo, crispy pata, and sisig. Aside from these, they also offer healthier options like crispy tuna tail, ampalaya con carne, chopsuey, poke-poke, laing and of course, the original pakbet Ilocano.

SALT REFINERY For the salt refinery industry, business was good during the pandemic. Basilio Javier, one of the owners of the salt refinery, shares: “During the pandemic, the profit was huge since the output was doubled as well as the deliveries because they weren’t able to go out of their province. Our situation was the opposite of how most industries fared. We delivered 40 sacks of salt every day.” One sack of salt sells for Php550 to Php600. Now that everything’s getting back to normal, they are also back delivering salt in the towns of La Union and to nearby markets in Pangasinan. Their salt refinery started in 1990 and 32 years later, Basilio hopes that they would also go into agri-tourism much like other farms.

MINOR BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF MANAOAG The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag serves as a beacon for the Catholic faith for devotees all over the world. The Augustinians first built the Manaoag Church under the name “Church of Santa Monica,” which was later given to the Dominicans in the nearby town of Mangaldan, Pangasinan. For many Filipinos, the church serves as an inspiration for hope and healing. But it also experienced many tragedies, such as the Philippine Revolution. The cathedral was burned down, destroying valuable documents, ornaments, and religious artifacts.

Reconstruction of the church started in 1882 and was completed in the early 1930s when the Dominicans returned through the invitation of Rev. Mariano Pacis. The Manaoag Church has been canonically connected to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome since June 2011. It is renowned for doing miracles and fulfilling people’s spiritual requests. Every year, thousands of people visit the Minor Basilica, particularly during Visita Iglesia in April.

FORTUNE DRAGON FRUIT FARM Fortune, as they say, favors the bold. In Fortune Dragon Fruit Farm, the treasure is in its name. The six-hectare farm, located in the Municipality of San Jacinto, is home not only to delicious dragon fruit but also mangoes, watermelons, and even vanilla beans. Junnel Padohinog, caretaker of the fortune dragon fruit farm, reveals that they harvest around 7,000 kilos of dragon fruit. Because of its huge land area, you can see not only dragon fruit plants, there are five ostriches around the area, and a fish pond which Padohinog says also serves as the farm’s water source.

Padohinog says that Moroccan red dragon fruits are way tastier and sweeter than the Pitaya (the white variant) and most of the time, the red ones are the main ingredients for wine. For only Php125 per kilo, you can taste freshly picked dragon fruit. If you want to know more and wish to visit, you may email nuezteddy@gmail.com or call them at 0918936536.

HIGHLANDS CAFÉ IN THE SKY Looking for a place to rest while enjoying an overlooking view and drinking coffee? Try visiting Highlands Café in the Sky in the Municipality of San Fabian. They offer a different variety of comfort food. Among their many offerings are rice meals for as low as Php55, meaty burgers, pasta, appetizers, iced coffee, milk tea, refreshers, and much more! Their best seller is a bundle that consists of chicken, clubhouse sandwich, beef nachos, siomai, and bread toast.

The owners, Harold Recede and Angeline Gali, have been good friends even before launching a business together. Highlands Café in the Sky started in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And according to the owners, the pandemic wasn’t a huge deterrent in opening the store since it is al fresco which makes it safe enough to dine with your partner, family, and friends.

FARMVILLE Farmville is located on nine hectares of land—seven hectares of which are for rice farming and two hectares are dedicated to the Farmville—in Barangay Lipit-Tomeeng, San Fabian and is owned by businessman Marcel Jon Mendoza and his wife Genelyn. The unassuming farm barely draws interest when you drive up the path, but nestled deep in the middle of the farm is a small ‘town’ which is reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings’ Shire. It features a restaurant (which sells Korean barbecue and the biggest milk tea in the province with their 2.7-liter cups), three “Hobbit” homes that people can rent for an overnight stay, and a ton of Instagrammable spots!

Farmville is another agri-tourism venture in the region, providing additional income for the farmers and also boosting its local community. Tourists particularly enjoy taking photos in the area, and it is often the site of photoshoots for couples, families, and more. They are also open to catering for small, intimate events.

TONDALIGAN BOARDWALK The construction of the boardwalk in Bonuan, Tondaligan started in April 2018, initiated by De Venecia in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Pangasinan 2nd District Engineering Office and Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez. De Venecia aims to rehabilitate the image of the boardwalk and make it into a gathering place for Dagupeños, also stimulating the economy as the site caters to entrepreneurs.

Four years later, the boardwalk is now in phase two as it was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But their initial efforts are already paying off. There are a lot of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the area and plenty of people are already enjoying the boardwalk—biking, jogging, going on picnics, and even swimming on the beach.

The congressman adds, “We also have recent additions of sand barriers which you’ll see. It’s beautiful and it’s amusing because the barriers were designed to evoke and look like waves.”