Leila's Cafe & Irene's Vigan Empanada

One of our favorite serendipitous discoveries in Vigan is Leila’s Cafe, a charming little coffee shop right next to Los Majitos de Vigan, which I have written about here.

The cafe has a lovely decor, in black and white with accents of powder blue and yellow, and with cute touches, details, and furnishings. And they also have super comfy sofas where we actually put our tired feet up. I don’t know why but something about the way it’s decorated makes me think, Alice in Wonderland 🙂

Here’s a shot of their menu and with these prices and the quality of the food and drinks (as we were soon to discover) really make this place a GREAT FIND 😉

We ordered Some More S’mores crepe (P65) and I had Tiramisu Iced Coffee (P95)

We’ve also read about how the Vigan Empanada was one of Ilocos’ specialty food. And of course, since we were in Vigan anyway, we just had to try it! (And also because of ANT’s prodding). So we asked around and the locals inevitably led us to Irene’s Empanada, along beautiful Calle Salcedo.

When we got there, there were so many people eating in Irene’s Empanada even if the place lacked a nice ambiance. But the empanada were so fresh that ANT and B. had to place an order and come back to pick up our orders of special empanada (P45 per piece) after about 30 minutes and bring them for us to devour in Leila’s Cafe. 🙂

It was a good wait, though. This is not the usual empanada we get here in Manila. It’s filled with meat, eggs, and vegetables, and it was all encased in a thin shell, almost like a taco. Then it also came with a vinegar dip, which is a bonus for a vinegar addict like me 🙂 We’re so glad we tried Vigan’s empanada 🙂 You must too if you get to go there 🙂 Wishing us all more travels. And more serendipitous foodie finds! Cheers! 🙂

{For Sunset Goddess Manila’s TRAVEL GUIDE TO ILOCOS, click here}