FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

A very big caldero serves as "second home" to ... ... these crustaceans waiting to be cooked to your hearts desire. A portion of their wide selection ... ... made their way to our table! More on Breakthrough

This is one place where you can truly relax while feasting on almost all what they have. Relax , in the sense that you can almost always have the place on your own and feast, because your budget will go a long way. For this visit I had their specialty, buttered chiffon and lemon square. I also tried their mixed pizza, though it was nothing to rave about. Its just a mix of their other pizza toppings; ham, cheese, sardines. But their crust was really thin, just like a hard pita or better yet like Piaya crisps After finishing off these three my eyes fell on their ham and cheese bread. Almost as big as my palm, this got me curious so I got one. Its a simplified calzone but for 22 pesos it was worth it though not something to be raved about. The bread was much better than the filling, I must say.

Suddenly I had this craving for apple pie! I scanned some magazines looking for recipes. But eventually did not follow any of them, instead I experimented with one having a crust, filling and toppings using graham. It turned great despite the fact its my first time and having limited ingredients. Then the next day, I decided to make another one. This time I used bread crumbs for crust and flour mixture as crumbs toppings. This one turned even better since I made sure it had generous filling and toppings.

Mini lumpiang shanghai. Its was cut into bite sized pieces just before frying. I craved for instant yakisoba the moment I woke up today but there wasn't any for I dont buy and stock it. But my craving was so intense that I made something like it with the available ingredients. Luckily we have a never ending supply of instant noodles and I just made this "pa-cham" sauce with oyster sauce, honey, chili powder,soy sauce, garlic seasoning and calamansi. But it was way different from what I craved for, for one thing, that chili powder must have been sitting there for ages since it had no trace of chili in it even though I did put a generous amount.Oh well, it may not have been what I expected it to be but well enough to satisfy my craving. One of my favorite "junk food". Oheya is Oishi's answer to Nova, another multi grain snack. I usually buy the cheese flavour since it's the only one that comes in the size I want at the grocery. But I couldn't say no

I got curious with tortitas after being mentioned (and with recipe too) in FOOD Magazines March 2008 issue. Though the recipe's accompanying photo showed a very ordinary looking bread, still I set my eyes for one. Finally, I was able to get one from Tinapayan. Curiosity satisfied but at the same time dismayed since their (Tinapayan's) version was just like ensaymada (dinner roll topped with butter and cheese). Well, I'll pay Pananderia de Molo a visit soon. Tortitas recipe courtesy of FOOD Magazine March 2008 issue Still havent found one baked by Panaderia de Molo but got this one from the grocery. Its an ordinay dinner roll by Delifranz labeled as "tortitas". Even JD bakeshop has its own version if this really TORTITAS

Even with five celebrants, it was a just a simple lunch. A mix of old favorites, a new recipe from a magazine and some out of the blue ideas made this year's Mother's Day luncheon. Linguine with baked chicken with creamy mushroom sauce from Yummy magazine's May 2008 issue. Old favorite Valenciana. Fried bangus in tausi sauce. The usual vegetable side dish, chop suey. Melt's in your mouth, pata adobado. Grilled liempo. Cupcakes galore

While looking for a dessert for our Mother's Day lunch, this box of sixteen cupcakes made by Panaderia de Iloilo caught my attention, then my head was spinning of ideas all of a sudden. I often read magazine articles or see on tv some cakes made of doughtnuts or cupcakes, so I decided to create one myself. Having no plans of making this one caught me off guard since I cant be sure of the quantity and quality of those cupcakes. Even more, I have no idea how will I assemble them since we dont have those tiered thingies at home. So I walkingaround the mall with my mind busy thinking about these things. In the end, I bought 3 boxes of cupcakes just to make sure I wont run out and just to make very sure, I also got choco beehives from the Iloilo Bird House.

Sinugba na bangus. Simply my favorite! Just take out the innards and grill, no need to stuff it. Its the "sawsawan" that will bring out the best and its always calamansi-soy suace-sili for me. Fried with tausi sauce Sinigang with puso ng saging I really love this combination. The sour and milky soup plus fleshy puso ng saging and ofcourse bangus belly. Yum yum! Escabeche Paksiw I also love bangus cooked this way. Paksiw is more commonly referred at home as "pinamalhan" (cooked until almost dry) but actually is "swimming" in vinegar and soy sauce. A simple recipe would call for a vinegar, soysauce, garlic, ginger, and a little oil when almost cooked dry. But most of the time we eat with it's "sabaw"

A visit to this cafe will always be credited with a blogpost. Yesterday's lunch for two consisted of a sandwich, a pasta and of course, cakes. Creamy sausage pasta... Linguine in white sauce with two kinds of sausages. D Club sandwich. Usual club sandwich fillings on a not so usual bread, one made of black rice. Midnight caramel cake. Cream filled chocolate cake with caramel sauce. Blueberry cheesecake. Still a good order even if its usual