Sagada Salt and Pepper inn & Restaurant

The etag ramen is worth trying if you haven’t had etag before. It’s simple, but the etag gives it more flavor. Their native hot chocolate was good too, especially if you like a hint of coffee in it. The place feels cozy in the cold weather, and I’ll come back to try more of the food.

The Mushroom Inutom sounded promising on the menu, but the chicken tasted a bit off to us, and we didn’t finish it because it seemed undercooked. We had a similar problem with the Dinakiw. The pork tasted a little off and seemed slightly undercooked, so we left some. It may just have been our taste, but we really didn’t enjoy either dish. The Pork Etag Sisig was the most acceptable of what we ordered. It wasn’t spicy, and you could taste a little smokiness from the etag. Nothing special, but decent enough. The Etag Ramen broth was creamy and flavorful, though the noodles weren’t the usual ramen kind, and I’m not sure if they were homemade. They were softer and less chewy than expected. For me, the place felt overhyped, and the meal was disappointing overall.

We shared one main dish so we’d have room to try other local restaurants, but it was so good that we wanted more. The meat was tender and juicy, with spot-on flavor, and it went really well with the fresh vegetables and delicious salad dressing. The menu gives short descriptions of the dishes and drinks’ flavors, which made choosing much easier. We tried the Native Hot Chocolate and loved its deep, distinctive taste. It was a refreshing change from the usual city hot cocoa. The food felt like high-quality comfort food.

The chopsuey was fresh, balanced, and actually good. The pinikpikan, though, was much too salty, and the meat was rubbery, so I regretted ordering it. The sisig was just okay, nothing memorable. I’m giving it two stars because the price didn’t match the quality of the meal.