La Paz and Molo: More than just districts

Big players in the food industry have adapted in one way or the other into their menu, the two famous soups named after Iloilo City's two districts; La Paz and Molo.

Fast food giant, Jollibee recently came out with its La Paz batchoy style noodle soup a year after coming out with its own Pancit Molo version.

Goldilocks bakeshop also came up with its own Pancit Molo also after a year of coming out of its batchoy though named batchoy tagalog.

Max's restaurant also included a La Paz batchoy style noodle soup.

Instant cup noodles super brands Lucky Me and Nissin came out with their La Paz batchoy line long ago but neither comes close to the taste we Ilonggos love.

In the end it’s the popularity of these soups that have influenced these super brands to make them more accessible whenever, wherever.

Ginat-an nga bago-ngon, takway kag dagmay

Bago-ngon is a local snail with good with any vegetable dishes like this or laswa. Takway is the tendril jutting the sides of a gabi plant while dagmay is a rootcrop related to gabi and ube. Mix them all together and one gets this native Ilonggo vegetable dish that will not only satisfy but also brings back gastronomic memories. When was the last time you had this dish?

Meryenda with Gardenia : Toast Toppings Challenge

It's meryenda time! And make it even more delicious with Gardenia. Among the most popular and widely available brands in the country, Gardenia is famous for its Classic White Bread, its signature product. GARDENIA Classic White bread is not only known for its freshness, softness and oven-baked aroma but also for its nutritive value. It is made with high-protein flour, is folate-enriched and has vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3 and C) and minerals (calcium, iron and iodine) It is also cholesterol-free, has zero transfat, zero saturated fat and bromate-free! And definitely, one loaf is not enough! So always stock up whenever you do your grocery shopping. With a lot Gardenia breads in my midst ( madamo gid nga salamat , Gardenia ), I decided to challenge myself in making some toast toppings with ingredients I could find in the fridge and in the cupboard. And here are some of my favorites which are also very easy to make. HAWAIIAN 🍍 What could be more tropical and distinctly Hawaiian than

An Ilonggo favorite - Suman Latik

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik

Delicious puto from Brgy. Lanag in Santa Barbara

Now who doesn't love puto? One of my favorites before was the puto I christened " Puto Calaboa " as it was made in Brgy. Calaboa Santa Barbara, Iloilo. But after sometime, they supply stopped coming to town as the maker of the puto had some personal health issues. Now enter another puto maker from Santa Barbara - this time coming from Brgy. Lanag, an adjacent baranggay to the poblacion. Wrapped in 5's using banana leaves, the puto is made fresh daily every morning. The puto-maker just make a limited batch so as to ensure the quality and avoid having oversupply to be sold the following day. The puto smells very good as if you are already eating it. Each bite (though I could easily eat it all in one bite) gives a full flavour esp. of the richness of the coconut milk. Its the kind of puto that you can't stop eating given its almost dainty size at the same time rich flavour - but it's not " makasalum-od " (

A vegetable dish called Tinutu-an

I've been cooking this dish for the longest time but it's only now that I've known it has name. It is called TINUTUAN. A very basic vegetable dish and just like LASWA, it is very versatile with no specific ingredients. You can just throw-in what's available and sort of edible when cooked and mixed. TINUTUAN, as I always cook it, is mostly flavored by sauteed sardines. Or at times, no sauteeing is needed. Other times, canned tuna is also good. This one in particular has malunggay, papaya, sayote and patola with a can of sardines in oil. The latter's sauce type made the dish retain its original color as opposed to one that's in tomato sauce. TINUTU-AN is a perfect side dish to fried or broiled fish or meat. But on its own, it' s already a delicious and nutritious dish perfect with a plate of hot rice. What't your Tinutu-an story?

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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