Amazing Appetite: A one-of-a-kind Iloilo food trip

Five restaurants. Four world cuisines. Three locations. Two days. One BIG appetite!

These sum up the newest Iloilo dining experience as Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing introduces a one a kind food trip for the Ilonggos. It’s aimed for people with amazing appetite who will enjoy a buffet spread "spanning" five restaurants offering cuisine from different parts of the world in an exciting and one of a kind dining experience worth remembering.

Enjoy a cross over buffet in five restaurants namely; Al Dente Ristorante Italiano, 101 Luna Prime Steaks, Maki Japanese Restaurant, Freska Ilonggo Seafood Restaurant and Inasal and Steps of Rome Café. For only PhP550, one can avail of a “Food Trip Passport” to enjoy this unique culinary treat in the city of Iloilo. This passport allows the bearer to dine in all 5 restaurants on September 15 and 16, 2011 from 5pm to 11pm.

The bearer will be treated to a buffet spread in each restaurant with lots of varieties to choose from. At the Sarabia Manor Hotel, one can enjoy the Italian specialties dished up by Al Dente Ristorante Italiano which will include a Pasta Bar with 20 different kind of topping, Pizza Station and Organic Salad Bar.

Nearby 101 Luna Prime Steaks Restaurant will offer U.S. Roast Beef, Paella, Callos , Lengua, Fish and Chips for Ilonggos to enjoy continental cuisine of the Americas and Europe.

Going over to Smallville, experience a whole lot Japanese specialties - Assorted Sushi and Sashimi, Tempura Shrimps, Gyoza, Crabmeat and Scallop Spring Rolls, Yakisoba, Beef Sukiyaki and Misono Rice at Maki Japanese Restaurant.

Adjacent is Freska Ilonggo Seafood Restaurant and Inasal which will serve Pork Sisig, Crispy Pata, Kilawin na Tanigue, Grilled Oysters, Chicken Inasal and Grilled Stuffed Squid plus featuring a Halo halo station.

Finally at Plazuela de Iloilo, Steps of Rome Café will dish out Baby Back Ribs, Gourmet Burgers, Tacos, Imported Sausages and Cheeses, Crepes, Gelato and a whole lot more! This is indeed a value-for money and very affordable food trip that you and your friends will experience. A gastronomic journey that you will surely never forget and ask for more! These Food Trip Passports are now available until September 14, 2011 in all participating restaurants.

For details, please call (033) 336-78-13.

As an extra treat, all passport bearers will get a chance to win one of two pure breed Labrador puppies.

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 (

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

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.

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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