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Trying out the flavors of Singapore at Newton Food Centre

Hawker food centres are popular in Singapore as they offer every day food conveniences at an affordable price in generally expensive Lion City. Newton Food Centre is among the OG hawker centres in Singapore and still remains among the most popular - even featured in the movie Crazy Rich Asians. During my first time in Singapore ( thank you Cebu Pacific ), I was able to visit this hawker centre and it was overwhelming - so many stalls to choose from aside from having unfamiliar yet appetizing and inviting dishes all throughout. Here are some pics and picks of our gastronomic adventure in Singapore at Newton Food Centre. And had a gastronomic affair with these flavors of Singapore. Cereal Prawns Roast Pork combo Fried Rice Stingray in Sambal Sauce Nasi Goreng Char Kway Teow Nasi Lemak Fruit platter Good thing there’s an MTR station nearby bearing its name, so going there is relatively easy. It was a delicious foodie adventure at Newton Food Centre and I won’t mind  going there again ...
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Atsara nga Dampalit

What is dampalit , you may ask? That's actually what I did when we were served  atsarang dampalit  during a welcome lunch in Roxas City. Maam Sonie, our host, explained that dampalit , is sort of a weed that grows near fishponds and most commonly used as feeds.  And they sort of have a portion of their vegetable garden that is devoted to dampalit , thus they can have this "exotic" and delicious atsara anytime. The bottled atsarang dampalit served was just a day old that we still tasted the crunch in the dampalit leaves.  While common atsaras have papaya, tambo (labong ), amargoso (bitter gourd) and even pineapple as base, its the first time I tried made from leaves of a plant.  And there's no bitter nor tartness ( pakla ) for it tastes like most  atsaras  but with a different feel and look.    It still has that sweet-sour taste that erupts in the mouth plus bell peppers giving color and fl...
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Apan-apan

I never actually dared to try apan-apan before knowing it was a local delicacy made with grasshoppers. I could just hear the crunch of it's legs and other body parts. But now, apan-apan is more popular as an apptizer made with kangkong sauteed in guinamos (the local term for bago-ong). And I get to enjoy it more and crave for it at times. Cooking apan-apan is like making adobong kangkong only with guinamos. But at times, it doesn't really matter since I almost interchange the method being an experimental cook. So it usually starts with the sauteeing of garlic and onions then adding guinamos - I often add chillis for a kick. Then I add vinegar, soy sauce and kangkong leaves and the upper portion of the stalk. Then it's just simmering it until the stalks are soft enough to be eaten. ( Click for Recipe-style post ) I like tweaking the recipe by adding (ingredients I love like) calamansi and sesame oil. The former brings more tang and the latter the dif...
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Ilonggo fresh lumpia

What makes the Ilonggo fresh lumpia different from most lumpiang sariwa is the absence of the sauce for the flavours is already "built-in". It is conveniently eaten on the go and sold in some stalls and bakeshops in the malls.  I got to discover this delicious fresh lumpia courtesy of Mr Eugene Jamerlan who helped the maker, Ms. Charito del Rosario, in marketing her delectable products (she also makes empanada). Each costs PhP15 and Ms Chari takes a minimum order of 50 pieces. That's too many and too expensive I thought.  Well, it's just her a sideline job for her and she doesn't make it on a daily basis, just upon order. But if you're lucky enough to order at the same time she has a big order, she can lower the minimum to maybe around 20 pieces.  Her recipe is very simple based on the actual product and it has a delectable clean taste where in you can savour the melange of the ingredients at the same time retaining some of the...
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Feb. 2 is Jaro Fiesta

All roads lead to Jaro, Iloilo City every February 2, as Ilonggos celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Candles in different aspects - religious, gastronomic, enterprising, and more. As early as December the Jaro Plaza is teeming with the Jaro Grand Carnival with activities like carnival games, food stalls, fruit stands and ukay-ukay, among others. It culminates on fiesta day with the coronation of the Fiesta Queen, chosen among the lasses of Jaro families.  The district Jaro, Iloilo celebrates biggest fiesta in the region characterized by the pageantry and the grandeur of the occasion paying homage to Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, the patron saint of Western Visayas. Check out my Jaro Fiesta blogposts for 2013 , 2014 and 2015 !
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Aripahol nga pilit kag niyog

My first memories of aripahol , were just exactly like this - steamed grated coconut meat and pounded pilit ( malagkit ) rice wrapped in banana leaves. Almost every afternoon then, I hear the manuglibod , yell her stuff and we'd almost always buy aripahol . But then as time went by, it became "scarce" as the  manuglibod , suddenly made her disappearing act that eventually led to the non existence of  aripahol  in our place or even in town. Then came to my senses another kind of aripahol - puto lanson.  This one's made with grated balinghoy  ( kamoteng-kahoy or cassava) mixed with butter and sugar then steamed. But still, my tastebuds crave for the aripahol I grew up with. I got quite  surprise a few days ago upon seeing this very familiar sight - a delightful combination of pilit, white coconut meat and green banana leaves. And that familiar smell! Aripahol nga pilit kag niyog finally made a comeback at home. I've been s...
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Linagpang nga Bangrus with Guinamos

Non-Ilonggos would only be familiar with bangrus which is how the Ilonggos call bangus or milkfish. So how about linagpang and guinamos ? Guinamos is the local bago-ong which is made from small shrimps pounded into a paste and is sold in mounds in the local market. It is used the same way bago-ong - as a flavor enhancer, as a dip, as a side dish (to kare-kare) and goes well with green mangoes too! Linagpang meanwhile is basically a soup with almost all of the ingredient are broiled. It's a "peasant dish" they say since it is very simple and easy to make. It has rustic origins as it is attributed to how the farmers would come home tired from the days work and all they'll do is to broil the ingredients, flake and slice them, add broth then season it with salt, among others. Fish and poultry are often the most popular meats for linagpang as they can be conveniently cooked. The process slightly differs when using ch...
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Panso from Buho Bakery

Buho Bakery is one of the more iconic neighborhood bakeshops in Iloilo City. Just the mere mention of it brings back memories of yesteryears and of course it's claim to fame bread - panso . While its a take off from pancho , which is a desiccated coconut filled bread, panso from Buho is more of the commercialized version of it. But nevertheless, it's so delicious especially when its hot off the oven. "Buho" means hole in Hiligay-non and it's this hole on its wall that gave it it's monicker. At certain times of the day they are closed, but everytime you'd crave for their breads, you just knock at thins window and it'll be opened to take your orders.   The filling of these bread is like coloured and chewey dough with some slight flavor.  And the bread, which is very good on its own, is their basic bread recipe used for their other products like teren-teren, pan del eche and more. These panso costs PhP2 each and you...
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