Skip to main content

Let's Eat

Article written by Mr. Bombette Marin

Much of the fun in visiting Iloilo is trying out its cuisine and sampling its specialties. Ours is a culinary society where eating has almost become a hobby. Ilonggo flavors and its cuisine have numerous indigenous and foreign influences, an intriguing mixture of the familiar and exotic. With most of its ingredients invariably fresh and often sourced out from one’s backyard, its mouth-watering concoctions will surely fascinate your senses and tickle your taste buds.


Clockwise from Top left: Tinu-om na manok of CABATUAN, Nang Palang's Buko Pie of OTON, Pineapple wine from PASSI CITY and Rice wine from POTOTAN

Try our famed baye-baye made of pinipig from Pavia and Miag-ao; the peanut-filled caramel candy or bandi from San Joaqiun. Savor the aroma and taste the delectable native chicken dishes of tinuom from Lea’s original in Cabatuan and linagpang nga manok from Leon.

Clockwise from Top left: Aripahol from POTOTAN, Bandi from SAN JOAQUIN, Sinakol from ALIMODIAN and Suman sapay from BAROTAC VIEJO

Grab a bite of our rice and coconut-based postres such as aripahol from Pototan; sinakol from Alimodian and suman sapay from Barotac Viejo and the tastiest buco pie from Nang Palang in Oton and bingka from Balasan.

Clockwise from Top left: Oysters, Blue crabs from BANATE, Fish tapa from CARLES and Bangus sisig from Tipong's in LEGANES
Quench your thirst with our exotic drinks such as the Rice wine from the country’s 2nd largest rice producer, Pototan, taho or ginger ale from Badiangan, and the sweet taste of Passi City’s pineapple transformed into wine, jam and dried fruit candy. Our pantat barbecue from Zarraga; steamed blue crabs and crab meat by the pack from Banate, and the popular fish tapa from Carles ; our bangus sisig from Tipong’s in Leganes will surely leave you wanting for more.

Popular posts from this blog

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

Budyawi

Bujawi (budjawi, budyawi) is what Ilonggos refer to the fruit of the buri or century palm tree . Abundant in many parts of the province of Iloilo, the buri has many many uses from the leaves to its trunk. It produces a fermented drink (tuba), alcohol, vinegar, syrup, and sugar. The trunk yields large quantities of starch. The bud (ubod) is used for salad or as a vegetable. The kernels of the young fruits are edible and are made into a sweetmeats. The mature seeds are used for beads? (rosaries) and buttons.  The petiole yields so-called buntal fiber of which, the famous Baliuag and Lucban hats are made, or which, when crudely extracted, is sometimes twisted into rope. Mature leaf is used for covering tobacco bales, rarely as a thatch for houses, while the ribs are used for making brooms. From the unopened leaf is obtained a very fine fiber, corresponding to raffia fiber, which is utilized in making cloth, fancy articles, and as string. Fibers secu

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.