Bangus Dagupan and the Fiestival of the North (Pangasinan)

"Bangus" is what we call milkfish in English. I'm certain everybody knows this fish but let's take a little closer look to it. The bangus or milkfish has the scientific name of "Chanos chanos." They reside in tropical waters mostly in Southeast Asia, and is a popular fish especially in the countries Indonesia and Philippines. Bangus is Philippines' national fish, by the way.

Milkfish are toothless and have small mouths. They feed on algae, pellets, zooplankton and detritus. Their body is covered with beautiful shiny scales and they grow around one meter long. Although, the bangus that are sold in markets are smaller with just around one feet long.
People say, the tastiest bangus can be found in Dagupan, a city located along the Lingayen Gulf in the north central coastline of Pangasinan province. These feed backs from people are not rumors because it is a proven fact! Bangus that are from Dagupan particularly from Bonuan is the best one out there. Some towns in the province also produce milkfish, but the ones from Dagupan remain unrivaled. So if you've bought a milkfish coming from Dagupan, you are sure of taste and quality.

How do we know if the milkfish we bought is from Dagupan? First, the lower fin is shorter than the upper fin. Second, mouth is small and the head is little and rounded. Third, rounded belly. Of course, only buy those with tags that says it's from Dagupan. But be careful some vendors try to trick people by putting tags and labeling them from Dagupan. Milkfish sold within Dagupan City don't have tags. The reason why bangus in this city has a unique delicious taste is due to the fresh water and salt water combination in the river. Dagupan City is very blessed to have a body of water like this.
The bangus industry continues to move forward throughout the years that it had eventually helped Dagupan City swim up towards a good economic growth. The city government worked hard on developing this industry and slowly bangus from Dagupan was recognized outside the province, into the entire Philippines, and even across the globe. Today, Philippines is one of the major exporters of milkfish and Dagupan City had also made sure they export their fishes at their utmost quality. They built two bangus processing plants in the province a few years ago, one in Dagupan City and the other on its nearby town, San Fabian.(I wonder how these export quality milkfish tastes. They must be expensive though.)

Dagupan City takes pride on their bangus and a proof of that is the annual celebration known by everyone as the Bangus Festival.
So what are you waiting for?! Please please come and join the fun on our next fiestival of the north next year! :)