FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

What a gastronomic blast I had last Sunday! I had an early lunch at Pecho Pak at the same time continuing my blogquest for the best chicken inasal and pancit Molo in the city Enjoyed sio mai and fresh lumpia bought at a mini food fair at The Atrium and observed Tinapayan's preparation for their annual chocolate affair that started today. Unexpectedly met a friend at SM Delgado and we (again) raided JD Cafe at the Roadhouse Finally ended the day at the newest Coffeebreak branch at The Avenue.

Finally, I've continued my long delayed quest for the best chicken inasal in the city. Today, I had an early lunch at Pecho Pak along E. Lopez Street in La Paz (or is it Jaro). My timing was great since it was less crowded and I can freely sit anywhere. I had my usual order of pecho and I was happy they also had chicken liver. As a bonus, I also ordered pancit Molo (for my other quest). While waiting for my order I took some photos of the place. They had an open air portion at the back so that they could maximize the natural lighting and ventilation. Nothing fancy in their furniture but the bench I got sort of had a soft middle and tends to sag (maybe I was just unlucky to have chosen that one). Among the other chicken inasal houses I've been to (only the branches for this quest), Pecho Pak seems to have the most extensive menu yet the most affordable price range, probably reaching out for the students in the area plus the workers and visitors in the nearby hospitals. Then my o...

I was planning to visit JD to include it in my search for the best pancit Molo in the city but as expected, this turned out to be another "raid" with my regular JD partner in crime showing unexpectedly. Though wasn't really hungry that time, I couldn’t say no since for I have a quest there. As usual, it was the Roadhouse branch where we had our late dinner and around 9pm, the place was full packed inside out. Aside from pancit Molo, I had chicken macaroni salad, a blueberry cheesecake and iced tea. ( Hmmm, I did say I wasn't hungry, right? Well.... ) Their pancit Molo was perfect. The soup tasted great, there were plenty of chicken strips, a very generous number of pancit Molo balls ( around seven I think ) and no traces pancit lang lang. But the best part is, it's only 21 pesos! Yup one of the more affordable items in the menu. But when I tasted the Molo balls, now I know why it’s very cheap. The filling was a total letdown. No, it wasn't the size of th...

After learning about Perri Todd's in forums and blogs, I immediately set my sights (and taste) on it. I called their shop, ask for directions and carefully planned my trip. The problem was, I still wasn't sure about their location even though I was given enough information and landmarks ( Cuartero St., INC church, Jaro 1 and 2 schools and a red gate.) SM Jaro would be an ideal place to start so that I can call my order from there, but never went there since I ran out of coins to use in pay phones ( lol ). So I just walked towards the street which I thought to be Cuartero Street (it was actually Fajardo). I was surprised to see the INC church sooner than expected but there were many red gates to choose from. I decided on the best thing to do, call them from a rental phone in a sari-sari store. After talking to the owner, it was then I realized that I was outside their gate and had a phone call to a person 10 meters away! (Refer to the first pic.) Online menu @ Perry Todd's...

Perri Todd's gigantic hamburger .... And his eyes bulged and mouth "O"ed with what was before him. Even after having lunch a few minutes ago, he said he was still hungry and wanted to eat the hamburger ( since he was taken by the size of it. I placed a cell card next to it for comparison ). Perri Todd's hamburger And the verdict? These burgers definitely lived up more than the (size) hype. It tasted better than most burgers around and can boast not only of its size but how it tastes as well, even better than those fastfood "big" burgers. As expected it’s only the bun that makes up the size, it still is worth the price and those add ons would surely be part of my next order s . Perri Todd's burgers Inday Hami of iLOVEiloilo.com was right, pomodoro-bologna pasta was delicious. Though I'm more of an olive oil based pasta person, this tomato based pasta was well worth it. It came with two pieces of toasted bread that were equally good. This would b...

Thanks to fellow Skyscrapercity forum member Hardball for sharing these enticing, delectable and mouth watering photos of his recent visit to Breakthrough Restaurant. No seafood fanfare eats would be complete without having these juicy and delectable pasayan (shrimps). Another staple of any seafood spread is lokus (squid) and no better way of cooking them than being grilled to perfection. Grilled pantat or hito (mudfish) partnered with sinamak (spiced local vinegar) and fish kilawin (localized ceviche ) No need to take them out of the shell, sizzling crabmeat is fast catching up as one of the must order item. Ordering managat (snapper) is by weight (in kilos) and they'll suggest the head and tail be part of a soup while the body, grilled. (like the one below) And everybody's favorite order, scallops with garlic and butter served in half shells.

It was only days ago when I came across Inday Hami's kalampay post in her iLOVEiloilo blog and when I woke up this morning, I was surprised that the frying pan that usually has pinamalhan (of all kinds) had these small crabs instead. Almost instantly there were flashes and clicking in the kitchen despite the fact that my stomach was already growling. I really cant remember the last time I saw kalampay over the dinner table for its the usual crabs that always make it there. But whether kalampay or crabs, still I don't eat any of them ... except may those already prepared crabmeat with all those garnishings. (hehe)

I was glad to squeeze in this visit despite the heavy downpour today. Before I even reached the said snack shop, I already know what I'm going to order, Pancit Molo and hamburger . The former to form part of my pancit Molo quest and the latter being one of the popular items, I heard. So after ordering I chose a spot facing the wall to minimize curious onlookers during my photo shoot. As usual I took some shots around the place like their "Mega" menus and their pasalubong shelves. It came to me that time that Wewin's is just like a pioneering neighbourhood bakery that went big-time because of a famous product (that being biscocho) then decided to serve short orders (and turo-turo) as expansion of the products. My burger and drinks arrive first and after a few minutes the waitress said pancit Molo was unavailable that time and she suggested lomi. Being curious with the lomi an old lady two tables away from me ordered, I consented. Their burger was a dismay since it w...