Bavaria brings a taste of Germany to Iloilo City

Herzlich Wilkommen!

A “cordial welcome” as the Germans would say. But even if you don’t hear these words, you will still see, feel and most of all, taste Germany at Bavaria Restaurant.

Located along the quiet Seminario Street in Jaro, this quaint little restaurant has been “open secret” among Ilonggo foodies for around 13 years. Like a typical German tavern, the restaurant has given Ilonggos a chance to experience the Deutsch fashion of merry eating and drinking.

The Place

“I wanted to bring something unique to the Ilonggos and food is always a good option” says Helen Stummer, owner of Bavaria. “And they won’t only appreciate the food but also the setting and ambiance”.

True enough, patrons feel a transformation the moment they step in. A narrow hallway brings guests to a cozy dining area that also feels like a museum of sorts. Ornate decorations and displays in true German fashion harmonize the dainty fixtures. Wooden panels give the interior a warm and cozy ambiance that is both simple and elegant. It also shows memorabilia and souvenirs of Germany and as well as Mrs. Stummer’s travels around the world.

“But it didn’t start this way” she reveals. ”It was borne out of the need to complement my other business venture - the Nagarao Island Resort off Guimaras”. Her abode (on the same lot) used to accommodate resort guests who arrived off the schedule or those wanted to go around Iloilo City. Later, she decided to transform part of her house into a pension (now Iloilo City Inn) to shelter more guests “And the need to nourish them gave birth to Bavaria” she discloses.

The Food

German specialties highlight the gastronomy at Bavaria Restaurant. Start with vorspeisen & salate (appetizers and salad) like Kartoffelsalat (German Potato salad) and Wurstsalat (Bavarian sausage salad) or with suppen (soup) like the Bavarian Marrow soup (German stew made from beef shanks).

Bavarian marrow soup

For the main course, one can have the schwein (pork) specialty like Jagerschnitzel (Hunters schnitzel) – a famous Bavarian dish consisting of thinly sliced breaded pork served with dark mushroom sauce and mashed potato.

Or go healthier with rind (beef) like Sauerbraten (pot roast). This is considered to be the national dish of Germany and consists of beef marinated (in vinegar, water, spices and seasoning) for days before cooking.

Butcher's Platter

Care for some geflügel (chicken)? Try the Berliner chicken - breaded chicken fillet covered with creamy potato sauce topped with melted cheese and served with fettuccini. Fisch (fish) specialties include fish fillet that has are wrapped, crusted or spiced.

But it’s the wurst (sausages) that give the real taste of Germany. Served with side dishes like sauerkraut, blaukraut (red cabbage) or mashed and pan fried potato, take you pick from Nurnbergerwurst, bratwurst, schublig, frankfurter, cervelat and a whole lot more . Much better still order the assorted sausages platter (consists of five sausages) that comes with a basket of home baked German bread.

These sausages deserve a perfect match – beer! Try Weizen bier where the usual malted barley is replaced with wheat thus giving a unique brew. Or Pilsner bier - one of the most popular lager beers in Germany. Can’t get enough of beer? Then try the mass beers that come in 1 liter volume glasses and celebrate Oktoberfest all year round. Non-alcoholic? They have this famous German mixed drink called Spezi and a host local sodas, shakes, coffee and tea.

Bavaria also serves other European specialties like pizza, pasta, paella and other sausages as well. They also served frühstük (breakfast) in Continental, German, American and Filipino as well as sandwiches and desserts.

Have a taste of Germany in Iloilo City. Visit Bavaria for great food and the old world charm it brings - for a visit is more than gastronomy, it is also appreciation of another culture and everything in it.

Guten appetit!

This feature was published on The News Today last March 24, 2011 under my column - FLAVORS :)

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the usu

An Ilonggo favorite - Suman Latik

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog