One of our main destinations during our 5-day North Luzon getaway last week was the beautiful and relaxing beaches of Pagudpud in Ilocos Sur. I’ve been wanting to go there for years now, especially after I saw photos of my brother Kien with his friends during their Pagudpud trip.

We stayed at the Saud Beach Resort hotel because there weren’t too many people staying there so we can enjoy the beach mostly all on our own. They’re one of the more expensive hotels in Pagudpud. Since we were only staying for a day, I thought screw my budget and let’s stay at the lovely Saud Beach Resort. We only paid Php 4,356 for a room good for 5, and I thought that’s already a good deal considering how lovely their resort is. No, they didn’t have peacock alley bedding or any expensive linens, but their resort seemed more relaxing than the other ones next to them.

Anyway, when we finally checked in, it was almost lunch time (they allowed us to check in earlier since there weren’t too many people staying at the resort). Kien said we should check out the other restaurants in the area. So, we immediately headed out to the other restos on the other side of Saud beach. It was a long walk so imagine how hungry we were when we finally arrived at the area where the restaurants in Saud beach were lined up.

Among all the menus we saw, my brother and I liked Emohruo Beach Restobar‘s of Evangeline Resort the best. And, the prices were also very affordable. All I can tell you now is the long walk was so worth it!

Emohruo is actually "Our Home" spelled backwards. Cool, eh? I love the whole vibe at their restobar. People dine al fresco and the rustic design of their area just complements the whole feel of dining near the beach.

Though the sun was really up and shining brightly, we didn’t feel uncomfortable because the wind was cool and fresh. Ahhhh… I so miss it! That’s why I so love this photo of me at Emohruo. It reminds me of how relaxing the resort was.

Emohruo Beach Restobar has a wide range of dishes on their menu, mostly Asian dishes with their own twists. They all sounded really good that I wanted to order one of everything!

Everyone with me – my mother, my bro, our aunt Zeny and Beth (my mom’s best friend) – were all supportive of our food blog so we all agreed to order different beverages. Cool, eh?

First up, my Banana Mocha Shake (Php 98.00), marked as one of the favorites on their menu. I love, love, love Mocha flavored anything, but I didn’t completely enjoy this one. I guess it’s because of the banana. But, it was still really good and Kien enjoyed it. I guess I was expecting the mocha flavor to be stronger than the banana.

Next is my aunt Zeny’s order, Emohruo’s Brain Freeze (Php 98.00). It’s a combination of bananas, ice cream and orange juice. I love the citrus flavors of the orange juice. It was a very cool drink.

A mangtataho vendor was roaming the resort and my mother decided to order a cup for Php 10.00. We had him place it on an empty water glass from Emohruo. It’s been over 2 years since I last had taho. Tasting this made me look forward to tasting Strawberry Taho in Baguio. Keep posted for my blog about it!

Going back to Emohruo, Tita Beth ordered their Mango Shake, one of their best sellers. I didn’t taste it anymore as I’ve already had tons of mango shakes in the past. I just asked her how it was and she said it was really good and refreshing. Fresh mangoes were used.

Ken ordered Emohruo Shake (Php 98.00) with Lemon Tea, vanilla ice cream and mint cream. Ohh, we both loved it! I don’t usually like mint, but the combination of lemon tea and vanilla ice cream made it so yummy for me.

Lastly, my mother was "assigned" Emohruo’s Strawberry Vanilla Milk Shake (Php 98.00). It was a li’l bland for us so we had to ask for sugar to sweeten this a bit. I’m guessing the strawberries they used weren’t flavorful. I’m just glad they didn’t use any kind of flavoring on this drink, but it was just too bland. They should’ve added a bit of honey or syrup/caramel to make this drink yummier. I love the presentation though.

Now, down to our main orders. Most items on their menu are already good for 2-4 persons. We browsed everything and, like what I said earlier, everything sounded delicious. Ken and I were the ones deciding on what to order and we picked 4 dishes from Emohruo’s menu which we were all dying to try.

We ordered seven (7) garlic rice. We were surprised by the big servings of rice so we almost didn’t finish all of them, but through teamwork, we did it!

Then, came the Kare-kare Seafood (Php 443.00). It was served on a huge pot / palayok. The sauce was just like our regular Kare-kare, but the protein were prawns, squid and fish fillet. It was served with shrimp anchovy sauce, Emohruo’s version of bagoong. Forgot to take a photo of the sauce.

My mother, who cooks a mean Beef Kare-kare, was so inspired by the dish that she immediately decided to cook her own version of Kare-kare Seafood for our New Year’s eve dinner (Media Noche). The sauce of Emohruo’s Kare-kare was just a teeny-weenie bland for our taste since we all got used to the really flavorful cooking of my mother. But, it was still good. We were all surprised with the servings, too. It was good enough for the 5 of us!

Next is Emohruo’s Pinakbet with Bagnet Toppings (Php 236.00), one of their best sellers. And, oh gosh, we all know why! I love the saltiness of the vegetables and the crunchy texture of the bagnet / deep-fried pork belly. Just looking at the photo now makes my mouth water. It’s sooo good! I want to try to make this at home since we still have bagnet that we bought from the Vigan market.

When we were at Pangasinan, we got a taste of Dinakdakan. But, it was more like sisig to us. So, when Ken and I saw it on Emohruo’s menu, we knew we wanted to try this Ilocano dish cooked by real Ilocanos.

Dinakdakan is actually grilled exotic parts of pigs, cooked with ginger, mayonnaise, onion, pepper and vinegar. Emohruo’s Dinakdakan (Php 198.00) is the BEST dish among all the 4 we ordered. My bro and I couldn’t stop eating it! And just look at the serving! It was really good, especially with the hint of ginger and a li’l heat provided by the pepper.

Next is their Mango Honey Chicken (Php 298.00) – grilled chicken pieces marinated with mango, honey and spices, topped with dried mangoes. This one’s my mother’s favorite! I super loved it, too, that I decided to make my own version for our Noche Buena. I wasn’t able to grill it though. But, the sauce and overall taste was almost like Emohruo’s, minus the smokiness because I didn’t grill it.

Our bill was at around Php 1,750 (I lost the receipt). We were all really satisfied, especially because the servings were big enough for the appetite of 5 of us.

I give Emohruo Beach Restobar of Evangeline Resort in Saud Beach, Pagudpud 5 smileys because of the quality and flavors of their food and the very friendly staff. Definitely, a must-try when you go to Pagudpud!

Stay tuned for the rest of our food trips in our 5-day North Luzon vacation!

For the Love of Pagudpud…

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