(Food) Trip further down South

A trip to any destination wont be complete without having a taste of its local cuisine and delicacies and bringing some of it home, what ever those maybe.

Our recent trip to Mindanao saw us first having dinner, during our overnight in Cagayan de Oro city, at P.Joes in Limketkai center. With its WWII theme and ambiance, I surrendered to puttanesca and tuna sandwich.

The next day we had breakfast at a floating restaurant in Talisayan town. With the usual fresh catch of the day being displayed and cooked to your will, it was a good start for the day considering the view.

With a cousin working for Del Monte Phils in CDO, our meals always had plenty of fresh Del Monte pineapples of which oftentimes I make a substitute for rice. Naturally very sweet, that we even took a whole fruit with us home

A cousin's family prepared this lunch for us when we visited them last March 18 in Sibagat, Agusan Del Sur. It was almost an all meat ensemble with fish escabeche, chicken adobo, pork adobo, kinilaw na isda and fish "nilaga".

Having an early morning flight from Butuan to Cebu and an early evening "float", (i.e. we took a boat from Cebu) , gave us time to eat and buy pasalubong items in Cebu. Grabbed a quick snack at French baker (still not locally available) before we head back to the pier.

Now let's see Camiguin's pastel, CDO's lanzones plus Del Monte's pineapple (yes a fresh one thanks to a cousin who works there.) , assorted durian/buko based products from Butuan City (durian pops/butterscotch/polvoron/buko cheeseballs/etc) all from Mindanao.

From the usual tikoy, hopia and other chinese products, to the chicharon, rosquillos and nuts, and finally to the still-not-available-in-Iloilo, Chef Tony's popcorn.

ADDED April 03 2008: Chef Tony's popcorn is already AVAILABLE. I saw small buckets of it at Iloilo Supermart Atrium sold at 80 pesos

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog