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Sooo Pinoy in Davao with the Kusineros

Still at Binggoy's Lounge, Ms. Baby Montemayor introduced us to the chefs who were part of Kusineros. A sort of informal organization of chefs in Davao City, the group aims to foster a strong and active fellowship and camaraderie among its members. Founded in 2010, the group help its members with ideas, opportunities and career growth.
Among the first that caught my eye was dish consisting of bangus wrapped in a certain leafy vegetable. It turns out to be a cuisine of the Mandaya tribe of the Compostela valley named Bungos na Bangus. Bungos is a tribal style of cooking where the fish is wrapped in leaves. For their version, the Kusineros steamed boneless bangus stuffed with spices wrapped with chinese pechay leaves topped with mango and pomelo salsa with bangus bihod sauce and potato durian croquettes. This is among their award winning recipes in various culinary competitions.
Here's another tribal dish and one that gave the Kusineros a champion distinction in one of the culinary competitions they joined. It's called lyurot which is food cooked in bamboo and is popular with the Mansaka tribe in Davao. As explained this is sort of a warrior dish as it is brought during hunting season and does not spoil for around 4 daysIt consists of rice, meat (which can be poultry, pork, deer, etc) and assorted vegetables. 
For the the Sooo Pinoy team,. the Kusineros made Chicken and Mushroom Bamboo Rice using lyurot style of cooking. It had shitake mushrooms, chicken and a mix of brown and regular riceflavoured with curry leaves. The use of the right kind of bamboo also contributes to the final taste of the dish.
And finally, what's more inspiring than a Durian Crepe Cake? It was among the last I took photos of so it sort of melted away. But despite how it looked, it was a delicious dessert and a fitting end to our double gastronomic adventure at Binggoy Lounge together with the Kusineros of Davao City.
Here are some of the photos during the Sooo Pinoy Davao event at Binggoy's Lounge with the Kusineros courtesy of their Facebook Page.
Filipinos are encouraged to join and support the Sooo Pinoy movement, a partnership between Unilever Food Solutions and the Department of Tourism, and go on a gastronomic adventure that both fills the stomach and enriches our awareness of our own identity.   To know more about the campaign, food lovers are invited to like the Sooo Pinoy page on Facebook and follow @SoooPinoy on Twitter

Sooo Pinoy Epic DAVAO Food Trip: June 25-29, 2012

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