My family and I are visiting the Philippines (PI) during the Christmas and New Year's holidays…read more One of the cities aka barangays we wanted to visit was Batac, Ilocos Norte to visit family. I was told that Batac is known for their empanadas, so it definitely was on my Must Eat list during our visit here in the Philippines. We were brought to Glory's Empanadas because this spot is known for their empanadas. After eating our very first Batac empanada from Glory's, I now understand why I was told I had to eat an empanada in Batac. Glory's delivered because my wife ate two of their huge empanadas. Delish!!! Blessed to write my 500th Yelp review and the first to review Glory's Empanada just before 2025.
To reach Batac is not an easy task especially if you're coming from the southern part of the Philippines. From Manila or Tarlac, it's approximately a 7-10 hour drive. The easiest way to get to Batac would be to take a local flight to Laoag. The reason why the drive takes so long coming from the South is because you drive on 2-lane roads through barangays aka towns and it can get crowded in the major towns with the vehicles and motorbikes clogging up where the businesses and population centers are. Glory's is one of several stalls that specializes in empanadas and these stalls can be found under one roof within the Batac Riverside Empanadaan. This empanada foodie oasis is located in the center of Batac, across from the main Catholic Church, a few steps from the Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center and Ferdinand Marcos statue, and very close to the Batac welcome sign. As soon as you walk up to the Empanadaan, you instantly smell the frying of the empanadas. We bought our empanadas to go, so I'm not sure how the seating works if you want to dine there. There are tables and chairs, but I believe they are sectioned off for each of the different empanada stalls. My family and I sat waiting for the empanadas in one section and were told that the seating area was for their stall. Make sure to ask Glory's employees where to sit.
Watching the hard working employees at Glory's stall making the empanadas and frying them was a sight to behold. It was like a mechanical assembly line without the machinery. There was one gentlemen making all the empanadas, who was efficient and hustled. The empanadas are fried in oil, so if you're not a fan of a good amount of oil, these empanadas might not be for you. Don't be put off by the large, orange colored, and hearty empanadas. I watched intently as these empanadas were being made, so I saw that a substantial amount of ingredients were placed into these savory pockets of yumminess. An orange dough has scoops of bean sprouts, meat, an egg, it's wrapped and molded using a simple device to form it, and then it is placed in a pan to be fried. It's taken out from the fryer and placed onto some racks to lessen the amount of oil on the empanadas. When we brought them home and took my first bite, I immediately could tell why family told me I had to eat a Batac empanada. It had just the right crunch, all of the ingredients blended really well with each other, it was hearty, and I thought that was one of the best empanadas I've ever eaten. You are given packets of vinegar, which need to be sprinkled onto the empanadas. My only issue is that I couldn't eat more than one because we've been eating so much here in the PI and I was stuffed. My petite wife ate two, which is an accomplishment considering how little she eats.
For anyone visiting the Philippines and if you're within close proximity to Batac or are willing to make the long drive, I highly recommend you stop by and eat a famous empanada from Glory's Empanada. On their sign, it states that Glory's is the original and Number 1 in taste. I totally agree with the taste claim and hopefully you do too.
