The flavors of modern Iloilo at Punot Restaurant

SEAFOOD ALA PUNOT

Discover the flavors of modern Iloilo as the pride of Estancia, Iloilo now caters the discriminating tastebuds of the Ilonggos in Iloilo City. Literally translated as "fishpen" in Hiligaynon, Punot restaurant is named as such as the town is considered to be the "Alaska of the Philippines" as it houses a lot fishpens and also is located in one of the country's richest fishing grounds - the Visayan Sea.

ESTANCIA CHOWDER

A special food tasting session was arranged for the members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. a few days ago by the Arañador siblings - Singapore-based advertising executive Andrea and Center for Culinary Arts graduate Chef Tope. Punot is the first venture of the siblings paying tribute to their parents Lea and Rogelio who built the family's two restaurants in Estancia - Friends (1987) and Punot (2000).

KILAWIN SHOTS

Whetting our appetites that night we had the Estancia Chowder which is a light and creamy soup with mixed seafood, bacon and potato . Despite the lightness of the soup, it was so full of flavour that I had a second serving. I love the Kilawin Shots especially the shrimp version; the tanginess was just right complemented by the chili - it was a burst of freshness in every shot!

POMELO BALINGON SALAD

Over the two salad offerings we had that night, Andrea explained how she and her brother have been exposed in the food business since they were young through their parents first food business. She said it was inevitable that they will continue the gastronomic legacy their parents have started. I was so glad they did, for if they didn't, how can I discover that balingon (dilis) is perfect with pomelo. I just love the Pomelo Balingon Salad - the crispiness and saltiness of the dilis was a perfect match with the sweet-tangy pomelo. Of course sprinkled with their special vinaigrette, laying on a bed of lettuce and topped with cashew. With Romaine lettuce, pan de sal croutons and crisp bacon on top of barbecued chicken, the Chicken Inasal Caesar Salad is a different take on one of the most popular Ilonggo specialties.

CHICKEN INASAL CAESAR SALAD

It was a full house that night and Chef Tope never came out of the kitchen as he was busy concocting recipes. Andrea just briefed us that his brother first studied Commerce at Central Philippine University. But he could not resist pursuing his first love - cooking. He then enrolled at teh Center for Culinary Arts.

BAKED TALABA

Then came to our table two shellfish specialties of the house - Baked Talaba and Punot Imbao Gratin. The former had oysters baked with hollandaise sauce and herbed crumbs sitting on a bed of kangkong leaves. The green leafy vegetable gave the rather rich mix a sort of "breath fresh air" as it makes it more native not to mention I love kangkong. The imbao, on the other hand, was topped with a special sauce gratine and mozarella.

IMBAO GRATIN

Having worked in the advertising industry for almost 10 years, Andrea thought now is the right time to venture out with his brother and realize their long-time dream of having their own restaurant. Having been exposed to different restaunrats all over the world, both Chef Tope and Andrea value the whole dining experience - quality, presentation, location and ambiance. With his training and experience, Chef Tope knows and values the importance of using only the finest and the freshest ingredients.

KASAG CAKES

And it was evident on the Kasag Cakes that came next. Their classic crab cake recipe is now made even special with aoili, honey-mustard sauce. It was crisp in the outside but inside the crabmeat oozed with flavour. Even without the sauce, I can finish more than what I am "entitled" to (lol).

KASAG CAKES

We had two kind of sabaw and both reflect traditional Ilonggo recipes with a twist. My favorite was the Corned Beef Kansi - corned beef shank in soured broth with jackfruit, lemongrass and achuete oil. Kansi is roughly the local equivalent of the bulalo and using corned beef (of course people might really associate it with the one in cans) it becoems even special. The broth alone is already worth the order -full of flavour and with just the right balance of sourness and the beefy flavour. This alone can make my foodtrip back to Punot already worth it!

CORNED BEEF KANSI.

The Chicken Binakol - chicken with coconut water in the broth, coconut meat sweet peppers and potatoes, among others was topped with toasted desiccated coconut.

CHICKEN BINAKOL

Then there's Creamy Kasag - blue crabs with native spinach and green chillies in creamy coconut sauce.

CREAMY KASAG

One of the more visually interesting eats that night was Pasta Dinagyang made with penne pasta blackened with squid ink and topped with mixed seafood.

PASTA DINAGYANG

CALLOS NI ELVING

CHICKEN BARBECUE

CRISPY PATA

WATERMELON SHAKE

LECHE FLAN

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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