Batad has very limited food options. Since this is in the mountain, most of the ingredients for the food are chicken, canned good products and fresh vegetables. Most of the cooking are fried. They don’t have a concept of dessert so don’t expect any. It is recommended to bring your own food like fruits, bread and any other snacks.
The Hillside Inn cooks one of the best Tinola I have ever tasted. Perfect for the cold weather in the mountains.
You can find this pan-fried pizza in most of the inns. They would normally use canned tuna as toppings for the pizza.
One of the local favorites is Itag. It is like a big piece of pork fat either boiled or fried until it looks like chicharon. It is usually very salty.
In Tapiya falls, our guides were kind enough to bring rice and fried chicken for our lunch in the falls.
You should buy bottles of Tapuey in the Banaue market for the drinking session at night. Tapuey is a sweet rice wine some are roasted with the a dark color above. The taste grows on you.
The specialty in Batad is what they call Pinikpikan. It is made of a chicken beaten to death in the head. The meat of the chicken is darker than usual because of the blood and harder than what you might be used to.
On your way home from Banaue, the bus drivers usually stop in this buko pie place called G&B Buko Products. Most of the people buy 3 boxes or more. The buko pie has a cream like the ones used in cream puffs with a bread-like dough. There is only minimal buko used and the pie is almost flat. This is a very good pasalubong for your friends and family.