Gastronomic memories from work

Take away the gastronomic pleasures at work and you'll surely be like robots doing routinary work all day long. So here's going back to my "gastronomic pleasures at work" before.

During our Christmas 2006 Party, before each employee gets his additional "bonus", he has to perform Boom tarat-tarat onstage. And the best performer won this bag of goodies. Guess who?

Before, I was assigned to the 10pm-6am shift. So my usual routine was to have dinner at the mall and this was may favorite order. Sizzling Double pork chop with extra java rice please!

Another favorite snack/siding of mine was 711's pork sio mai. At 32 pesos per pack of 5 it was a bargain. Not to mention free Diet Coke during their promo period.

A post-birthday treat for my two closest officemates at Burgoo. Eversince I've been there, it had become my favorite destination for some occasional treats or times when I just feel like eating since I really love their linguine with clams and seafood aglio y olio.

I always smile whenever I see this picture. It reminds me of the time when we had our 2nd summer outing at Montemar Beach Club in Bataan. It was buffet all the way, all the time but I didn't eat rice. Instead I piled on grilled chicken and made it my "rice".

For the first (and last) time in the history of the company, we had a Halloween Party last 2005! A simple treat from our new Admin Supervisor. Though my plate on showed couple of sio mais but actually had almost 15!

Two dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts and two kilos of fresh strawberries from Baguio were among the most memorable snacks at work before. Very memorable indeed since it was "off" my wallet (lol). But who cares? It was really an enjoyable afternoon.

Two of my officemates and I were tasked to update some records in Malate one time, we also updated with the latest offerings of Mr Choi's Kitchen at Robinsons' Malate!

An afternoon of Julie's garlic sticks (very cheap at 5 pesos per pack) dipped in sandwich spread with an office-made strawberry (fresh from Baguio) ice cream.

The ultimate party staple in the office is, of course, pancit! Most of the time its just a phone call away from Amber's (together with their delightful pichi pichi.)

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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