Food Trip "Around the World" at SM City Iloilo Food Court

After our gastronomic adventures at the new SM City Iloilo Food Hall, the following week we invaded the its older sibling - the SM FoodCourt. Opened since the mall opened in 1999, the foodcourt has always been, and until now, a magnet for the Ilonggos to satisfy their hunger and not to mention the preferred meeting place.

With an interesting mix of stalls and food outlets, you'll surely have a favorite one or a discovery that can satisfy your cravings. Be it local or international dishes and specialties, a few steps in and around the food court will give a taste of home or a food tour around the world.

Let's start with the latter, as we salivate on this Mixed Maki and Sushi platter from Yakushii. But one can order a few pieces for his own consumption but a platter is perfect for those who really dig in these delicious Japanese specialties. With many variations to choose from, its Japanese on-the-go at the comfort of the foodcourt.

Still in Japan, how about some delicious takoyaki from Takuyaki? As defined, these are ball-shaped Japanese snacks made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special moulded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. But at Takuyaki, one can get variants such as bacon, crab and ham for the more discriminating tastebuds. They also have some meatballs and deep-fried battered eggs!

Completing our Japan food trip were Tempura and Chicken Teriyaki from Wild Bamboo. As both are among the most popular offerings when talking about Japanese cuisine, Wild Bamboo offers a modern take on these specialties. Perfect for a quick munch or complete meals, you'll have plenty of choices.

From a foodie destination to another one, let's talk about Italy!

Ofcourse, there will always be pizza. One of the most popular Italian export, pizza can be found anywhere in the world and with variations that are as diverse as it can be. So here are two pizza specialties from Pizza Hut - Three Cheese & Bacon (above) and Hawaiian with all those pineapple slices and ham.

But Italy will always be pasta country. Spaghetti, lasagna, fettucini, linguine... and the list goes on.

Spaghetti Cravings brings you a mix and match of these pasta creations - from Original to Cheesy-Meaty Macaroni to Creamy Herb & Garlic Shrimp and Creamy Pesto with Chicken among others, there's one that will surely tickle your palate. And there more when you get there...

Back to Asia, specifically Korea, Mr. Kimbob brings Korean health food to Iloilo and the rest of the country. Before Koreans, specially the South have invaded the Philippines in the past decade or so, Mr. Kimbob already has brought in their cuisine way ahead than the K-Pop and K-Dramas.

So what do we have here? Above is the tukboki, a Korean snack made from rice and fish cakes and served on a hot plate. Garnished with vegetables, it is smothered with sweet red spicy sauce. A perfect taste introduction of what's to come.

There's gimbap/kimbap which is the Korean version of a maki. It is made from steamed white rice, various other ingredients such as fish, rolled in gim (dried seaweed sheets) and served in bite-size slices. How many can you finish off?

And the specialty is Bibimbob, a wordplay on the Korean dish bibimbap. Wikipedia says that is literally translated as "mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste), soy sauce, or doenjang, a fermented soybean paste. A raw or fried egg and sliced meat are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating. What's you meat - beef, pork or chicken?

Finally back to Europe - France! But to say that France's most popular contribution to world cuisine is this boxful of fried potatoes sticks - I hear another French Revolution in the works. But what Potato Corner did to our well-loved fries created another revolution and a delicious one. And I really love the Sour Cream flavour and I can finish a GIGA serving all by myself! They also have BBQ, Sweetcorn, Wasabi and Cheese as regular and special flavours.

This is only Part 1 of our Food Trip at SM City Iloilo Foodcourt, Part 2 will tackle restaurants and food that are closer to home and more familiar in taste...

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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