The Ilocos Royal Bibingka is one delicacy that Ilocos is proud of and every visitors’ must try. It has a decent packaging, a good shelf-life, and very affordable price (Php 105.00 a dozen) which make it very ideal for “pasalubong.” However, it is only in Ilocos Sur (Bantay and Vigan) where you get your Royal Bibingka. This is not your usual ”puffy” bibingka, like the one at Ferino’s. Instead, the Ilocos Royal Bibingka is a “sticky rice-cake,” closer to fresh “tikoy” in texture.
In Ilocos Sur, the latest maker of bibingka is Marsha’s Delicacies, located in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, the immediate neighboring town of Vigan City.
Marsha’s Delicacies is located along the highway which makes it very accessible to motorists with very generous parking space that makes it (more) convenient. A counter with other delicacies on sale makes buying orderly. The dining area which is just beside the counter is neat and restrooms at the other end of the dining is clean.
Before Marsha’s started to be the talk of the town as the place to buy better tasting (that’s what most people I talked to say about it!) bibingka’s, there was, first, the original, Tongson’s Royal Bibingka, located along Crisologo Street in Vigan City. If you are traveling along the highway, you still have to make your way inside Vigan which is about three-kilometers to buy at Tongson’s (along Crisologo Ave.).
Then came The Sister’s Royal Bibingka (I was informed that this is a “break-away group” from Tongson’s) located in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. The taste and texture have improved and because it is (now) located along the highway, it became covenient to make stop-overs.
Even while Marsha’s is on it’s way to establishing better goodwill, Tongson’s and The Sister’s still continue to provide more choices where to get your Royal Bibingka’s. All three makers of Ilocos Royal Bibingka, by the way, are assisted by the Dep’t. of Trade and Industry, thus, you are assured of its quality.
Some personal tip:it’s better if the Royal Bibingka is chilled a bit because the texture gets fuller, compared to when it is fresh – it can get sticky which makes is harder to chew, that is if you want to swallow it right away! 
February 12, 2007 at 10:09 pm |
I miss that too! It is actually a very good way of saying “Hello,I’m home!” It has a very warm and sticky feeling!
February 13, 2007 at 3:49 am |
I love the EMPANADITAS…they only serve it after 3:00PM
May 17, 2007 at 11:13 pm |
this opionated ilocano glutton dares think that marsha’s bibingka is the worst ever iteration of the vigan royal bibingka. i believe that it doesn’t even deserve to be called such as its taste reminds me of the bibingkas they used to sell in bus terminals during the early eighties. totally un-vigan taste and texture. on the other hand, marsha’s deserves top points for its marketing savvy.
you may have missed mom’s bibingka and sikatuna bibingka on the national highway as both are considerably smaller than sisters and marsha’s. sikatuna’s take on the bibingka tastes more buttery than all the others. moms — it’s a long time since i last had one, i remember it most as being the one that brought back the banana leaf bottom to the royal bibingka back in the nineties.
in the end, i still have to say, i keep coming back to tongson’s!
June 16, 2007 at 11:12 pm |
ay di mag-tongson’s ka!
sabagay, to each his own taste… and you do have a weird kind of palate to say that marsha’s is the worst ever iteration of the royal bibingka! para mong sinabing TANGA ang nakararaming nagkagusto sa marsha compared sa iisang ikaw. Marsha’s wouldn’t be what it is now if it’s only her “savvy marketing’ that made her big.
and duh, who said sikatuna’s bibingka is BUTTERY? Sikatuna uses MARGARINE, not butter. I should know because i bought 3 empty margarine containers from Sikatuna at 300 pesos each!! In fairness, masarap ang Sikatuna.
obviously, PR man ka ng Tongson’s. But you are doing a lousy job!
Sige, pasarapan—
1. Marsha’s
2. Sikatuna
3. Tongson’s
4. The Sisters
5. Mom’s
6. Others
June 28, 2007 at 9:34 pm |
ta presyon mo apo baket…
it demeans me to reply to your post but:
1. i never passed judgement on the buyers of marsha’s bibingka. i just posted my opinion that it is the worst ever vigan royal bibingka i’ve tasted and i stand by it. by the way, google up “argumentum ad hominem.”
2. i stand corrected. sikatuna bibingka is “margarinier”…
3. the “apo baket” in tongson’s hardly looks like the type who will hire a pr man. being a businessman myself, i believe that satisfied clients become your best pr people.
my version of kaimasan
1. tongson’s
2. sikatuna
3. the sisters
4. mom’s
5. others
42. marsha’s
December 16, 2007 at 2:48 am |
Marsha’s tastes better than Tongson’s! It was my first time to try a different kind of bibingka, I always had the original one, not the sticky kind. When I went to Vigan, just this month for the first time, I tried both brands and Marsha’s tastes really better than Tongson’s, it’s yummier, more creamier…
May 12, 2008 at 7:51 pm |
hello, i regret not taking pics of the bibingka from my vigan trip, so… i hope you don’t mind if i use some of your pics. will place a link back to your site
THANKS!
June 13, 2008 at 11:39 pm |
hahaha… tongson’s pala huh!
sabagay, parehong bibingka ng ilocos ang tongson’s and marsha’s. no prob really. to each his own taste pa rin talaga. they are a part of the province’s history with the bibingka’s evolution from the banana leaf lining wrapped in white paper to the now sophisticated RED box na ginaya sa Marsha’s…
sorry kennonballer… unfair naman talaga ang comment mo. what did Marsha do to you anyway? bakit parang galit na galit ka sa sarap ng marsha’s? Mom’s is better than Marsha’s? hahehihohu…
July 18, 2008 at 2:29 pm |
hehehehehe……………………i went to marsha’s delicacies place nung field trip namin….very fabolous,awesome,very cool ambiance….at take note very accomodating cla,,mababait cla sa mga customers….. restroom nila very clean….class cya….at free pa….kaya sa ibang customer pls. libre ang cr kaya take good care na lang,be happy kc ganun ang service nila sa tin…..
ur right baka, inggitera lang yan mga yan…….in ader words insecure lang cla. magcomment cya kung magaling ang panlasa nya…cguro ung panlasa very ordinary…hindi class ang panlasa nya,,,pangcheap ang ang kanyang panlasa….hehehehehehe……..kya kung cno ka man,,mamatay ka na lang sa achievement ng marsha’s….Hindi natin kilala ang marsha’s parepareho kaya sana dont comment na makakaofend sa kanila…..kaya kung cno man cla…..quiet na lang kayo… kung gusto nyo talaga pantayan ang produkto ng iba SARAPAN NYO NA LANG ANG MGA PAGKAIN NYO,BAKA SAKALING SA INYO NAMAN KAMI PUMUNTA AT BUMILI,,, KC sa iba natikman namin maanta ang mga bibingka nila,,,magaspang ang texture parang cheap ang ingredients…..yun lng SARAPAN NYO NA LANG TSAKA TSAKA TYO MAGCOMMENT,,,DI BA??????
ang sarap kya ng bibingka ng marsha’s,,hahanaphanapin mo noh……hindi lang un lahat ng produts nila masasarap noh…….all i can say MARSHA’S THE BEST……. YAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOO……….HINDI AKO KAMPI SA MARSHA’S kya lang nainis ako sa comment ng iba jan….hindi nya alam ang masarap na pagkain…..sosyal na ewan…..AKO hindi ako sosyal pero sa pagkain my taste ako no……
last reaksyon ko WALA NAMAN CGURONG GINAGAWA SA INYO ANG MARSHA’S DELICACIES NOH……Kya manahimik na lang noh…..we met MS.MARSHA’S mabait cya……. di tulad ng ibang nabilan namin ng bibingka naku ang susungit ng mga tindera halos lahat cla…..un ang kulang nyo kya walang bumibili sa inyo bukod sa hindi masarap ang tinda nyo…… un lng……babooohhhhhh……..
kung worst para syo ang marsha’s bibingka…we dont need ur opinion…ur not kawalan naman cguro sa marsha’s besides kaw lang nagsabi nyan,,na hindi ok ang marsha’s,,, i think marsha’s is the latest player in bibingka,,but look now they are #1 in bibingka
July 21, 2008 at 2:33 am |
KORAK………KA JAN DAY……… GALING KAMING VIGAN,NATIKMAN KO ANG BIBINGKA NG TONGSON’S,THEN KUMAIN KAMI NG EMPANADA,SAKTO UNG KATABI NAMING TABLE MY DALANG NA RED BOX,,NATANONG KO KUNG ANONG LAMAN,ANG SABI SA AKIN MARSHA’S BIBINGKA DAW, PINAKAMSARAP DAW NA BIBINGKA UN SA VIGAN,KAYA TINANONG KUNG SAAN NABIBILI, TINURO AKO SA TABI NG GREENWICH…NAPAKASARAP NGA TALAGA,WALA AKO SAY…………… MASARAP TALAGA……………………
July 22, 2008 at 12:18 pm |
Before the birth of Marsha’s and 3 Sister (whichever came first), my friends and I trip up north Santa Praxedes, Cagayan Valley to buy home made bibingka.. Believe me when i say, it’s far tastier than the commercial products made by the 2 Bibingka giants in Ilocos Sur..
July 27, 2008 at 11:42 pm |
ngeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT EVER…….HEHEHEHEHE……….
July 30, 2008 at 2:15 pm |
Kikay, authentic bibigka ket Cagayan Valley ti naggapuan na sakbay a nagproliferate dita Ilocos Sur.. Saan lang ngamin a commercialized ta most of the vendors idiay Sta Praxedes ket houses located just beside the National Highway..ordinaryo lang a babbalay (kubo pay ti kaaduan) dagidiay paglakuan..isunga padasem ti mapan tapno maramanam ken mapagcompare mo!
May 17, 2009 at 5:49 am |
ang original na vigan bibingka talaga eh tongson, ubing nakpay ket adda ditan ti tongsonen.sa totoo lang nung bata pa ako doon bumumibili ng “clara” (egg white)ung mga empanada makers sa plaza. kung maraming copycat nothing wrong with that they,can have their own version. people that buys them have their own preference.sa akin lang ‘di ko alam kasi i never tried the other version. i migrated to the US 23 yrs ago. last time i visited Phil. was 2005 pa.
September 2, 2009 at 11:20 am |
Try also their pudding masarap din. Lot’s of good food sa Ilocos like yung Sinanglaw sa Vigan, Empanada… Pinakbet pizza in Paoay. I was captivated with the old places too.
September 2, 2009 at 4:09 pm |
kung bibingka lang ang pag-uusapan….. amianance’s bibingka ang da best…. bat d nu subukan para alam pinagsasabi nyo…
September 23, 2009 at 11:27 pm |
ah the good old times royal bibinka i wish someday i can go back home and go to every each store not to compare but enjoy while it last