Tino-um is a traditional way of cooking that calls for the ingredients to be wrapped in banana leaves then cooked. It is most popular in Cabatuan, Iloilo as the town is famous for its tino-um nga manok.
Just a few meters walk beside the town's public market, one is ushered to the most popular tino-um na manok restaurant - Leah's. A turo-turo that serves many other dishes but its specialty is what people go after.
I "pried" my way to the kitchen and saw a lot of tino-ums, already prepared and just waiting for an order. Here's the recipe of Leah's Tino-um as presented by IloveIloilo blog, in which the writers interviewed Lola Sabel of Leah's Tino-um.
After ordering for one, our tino-um came in a clay bowl with the top portion of the "bag" cut off. It surely saved us from the hassle of cutting them ourselves.
And it gave us more time to enjoy the soupy dish with chicken slices, seasoned with onions, tomatoes and tanglad, among others. The soup was light with hints of banana leaves (and the clay bowl). Its a simpler version of tinolang manok, minus the papaya and greens - just chicken and broth.
The next time you find yourselves in town, do drop by Leah's and savour the the Pride of Cabatuan - tino-um nga manok!