Christmas Ensaimada at Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu City

Christmas was really in the air when I dropped by Marco Polo Plaza Cebu on my last day in Cebu City. Among the most prestigious addresses in the Queen City of the South, the deluxe hotel was all garbed up for its Festive Season 2012 gala.

With celebration decors, lights, music and trimmings, it was highlighted by a huge Christmas tree (with live “little drummer boys” in the center of its posh lobby.

But my attention quickly turned into Café Marco’s display of pastries, goodies and sweets – with the Christmas Ensaimada as my gastronomic target.

From a distance I thought it was just the Café’s take on the ultimate Christmas give away - fruit cake. But it was “Ensaimada meets Fruit Cake” as the usually cheese-topped pastry welcomes glazed fruits, cashew and dates into its fold.

And that’s quite literal too, as I was in for another surprise – it was also filled with glazed fruits! The moment I forked down for a bite, it burst with the same colorful goodness of those that caught my attention.

The "rich and lust" pastry had me at first bite and in no time at all, all that was left was the lingering memory of this gastronomic adventure.

But wait, the final surprise (this visit had lots of surprises) it only costs PhP88 each. Maybe too costly for an ensaimada even with all the trimmings but knowing where it came from – the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, you’ll definitely agree - its affordably delicous and you'll surely ask for more.

This ensaimada also comes Mango and Ube-filled still with a lot of cheese toppings.

MARCO POLO PLAZA HOTEL CEBU

Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Apas

Cebu City, 6000, Philippines

Phone: +63 (32) 253 1111

Facsimile: +63 (32) 234 8170

Email: info@marcopoloplazacebu.com

www.marcopoloplazacebu.com

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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