The Granary at Richmonde Hotel Iloilo

Richmonde Hotel Iloilo opened a few days ago and like a magnet it pulled Ilonggos towards it to experience the luxury it has to offer. From its gleaming facade to modestly lavish interiors, it has become "the place to see and be seen". And among the simplest way to enjoy the luxury it has to offer is to indulge in the gastronomic pleasures at The Granary.

Located at the hotel's lobby, the all-day outlet entices with its simple yet elegant interiors. Despite its business-like ambiance, sophistication is in the air - literally. Who wouldn't notice and appreciate the simple elegance these lighting fixtures the moment they step in!

Under these bright lights, the duo-toned furniture also speaks of mild sophistication. But if you prefer much brighter, then you can seat yourself in the area fronting the glass wall for maximum exposure. There, the walls are lined with native decors and another set of lighting fixtures might give you another visual fixation.

But of course, you'll get your groove back once the food servers hand you the menu. Just like the hotel, The Granary still offers a "soft-opening" menu but still plenty to choose from. For a food outlet inside a hotel, the price is very competitive to most restaurants and offers familiar items on the menu that ordering won't be such a problem.

To start with, we enjoyed the Traditional Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken. A staple on most menus but we did a double take when it came to our table. It made us appreciate the time and effort done to present a usual dish in a different and curious manner.

We had to try the Pancit Guisado but when made to choose which noodle - egg or rice noodles, we couldn't decide. So Pancit Guisado came with a combination of egg and rice noodles with a very generous serving of meat, seafood and vegetables.

Will you say no to a crunchilicious Lechon Kawali? Ofcourse, not! And when it came, it almost disappeared even before it was set on the table!

Care for some Kare-Kare? Made with ox tail and ox tripe in savory peanut - it had us also scrambling to have a piece. With sauteed shrimp paste, of course!

Yes, we were wondering about it too! It turns out be just a thin cracker adding some height to a plate of Grilled Norwegian Salmon. As always, salmon tastes great. And the cracker too - I can't help myself to let this go...

So with this burger that with a price of PHP410 made us really curios how it would taste given lots of fastfood burgers around.

And when it came, the patty alone was already worth it as one can taste,see, smell, feel its 100% beef burger. I swear I heard it moo on my first bite! And with perfectly crisp bacon on top, we can only say moore!

Desserts? Definitely! From this vanilla ice cream perfect for the hot afternoon to the very delectable Tiramisu, it was certainly saving the best for last.

And its the specialty dessert of The Granary - Richmonde Chocolate Cake with Mango Coulis, that perfectly ended the afternoon of gastronomic appreciation at Richmonde Hotel Iloilo. But it was also a sign that we will find ourselves yearning to discover what more it has to offer!

The Granary is open from 6am until 11pm. It offer Breakfast Buffets during weekends.

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.

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?"

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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