Ivatan Cuisine

Batanes sits far enough north and gets hit hard enough by typhoons that its food developed around what survives and what keeps. Root crops, garlic - the local variety is small and intense - and turmeric are staples, and turmeric rice, cooked yellow and served with almost everything, is the plate you see most. Uvud is made from the pith of the banana stalk, minced with fish or pork and formed into balls, a use of a plant part discarded elsewhere. Dibang, flying fish, is caught in season and dried; lataven is the Ivatan take on kinilaw; vunes is dried gabi stalks stewed with pork. The coconut crab, tatus, is the celebrated dish and the awkward one: it is a slow-growing, long-lived land crab under pressure across its range and listed as vulnerable, with local size limits and seasonal restrictions in place, so anyone ordering it should ask where it came from and consider whether to.

What you actually see

• The turmeric rice - yellow rice served with most meals.
• The uvud balls - minced banana pith with fish or pork.
• The dried dibang - flying fish caught and dried in season.
• The tatus - the coconut crab, and the questions around it.

When to go

March to June, when flights and boats are most reliable. Restaurants in Basco serve the full range; homestays cook the everyday versions.

Honest expectations

Prices are high because supplies are flown or shipped in, and restaurants can run out. The coconut crab is a vulnerable species with local restrictions - ask about sourcing, and it is reasonable to decide against it.

Nearby

Sabtang's stone villages, Racuh a Payaman and the Batan circuit are the rest of Batanes.