Uncle John's Fried Chicken at Ministop

The battle of 24/7 convenience stores heats up in Iloilo City as national brands give homegrown stores a run for their money. Before 2014, Ilonggos were attuned to local stores like Quix! Mart, Go Mart, Munsterrific and I-Mart, among others. With the entry of 7 Eleven, earlier this year and MiniStop, a few days ago, the battle seemed to rise notches higher. And in order to have an edge, these stores must have signature product that would make Ilonggos go back to them more often.

Enter MiniStop's Uncle John's Fried Chicken. This has aroused my gastronomic curiosity ever since its opening day. For starters, only MiniStop offers fried chicken among the convenience stores and the fact that it is among the most aggressively advertised, there must be something about this fried chicken...

A one piece combo meal (PhP79) consists of a single fried chicken with gravy, one rice and a 500ml plastic bottle of Pepsi products while if you want 2 pieces be prepared to shell out PhP119. Without drinks according to the menu, its only PhP57.

They ran out of gravy so I got ketchup instead

And they're right, It's Big, It's Hot and I must add, It's Crispylicious! The skin and breading already packs the flavor and even if its overly crispy outside, the chicken is juicy inside. It was an utmost pleasure savoring every bite and regretted that I didn't get a two-piece order. The only downside I had when I ordered this is with the rice- my very first visit they had ran out and in my next two visits the rice was not "fully cooked" or as Ilonggos would say "lagdos".

But I enjoyed the chicken very much that I can't wait for my next visit at MiniStop for another "Eat's a Date" with Uncle John's fried chicken. It'll surely be a two-piece order this time... or maybe a bucket!

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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