Kong Kee: Good old Chinese cuisine

Most of the time it's just a sio pao take out when I visit Kong Kee restaurant. But today it was different; brought about by my frustrating pancit Molo quest, I decided to have a snack in this old school Chinese restaurant (which I think I haven't done ever since)

In fact, I didn't know that one can just sit down and order from the waiters, I found myself making a "pay as your order" thing. If it wasn't for their pancit Molo, it would just have been an inquiry visit. Though expensive at a PhP 58 per bowl, it didn't matter since my blog awaits this experience.

While waiting for my order I sort of took some semi-stolen shots of the restaurant though my position was very awkward since I had my back to the subjects of my photo.

Kong Kee still is a popular Chinese restaurant as I have observed numerous orders mainly of various pancit and sio pao. With an old school type of running a family business, family members and helpers work hand in hand, in and around the restaurant. Their ambiance is very antiquated from their mirrored walls to their plastic covered mantel laden tables to their monoblock chairs, but still I felt good being there despite these.

Maybe being located in the heritage district of the city and seeing familiar establishments located in old buildings combined with the hustle and bustle of "Calle Real" brought nostalgia or maybe it was just frustration combined with hunger.

When my pancit Molo arrived, I could actually smell the flour or starch that have been used in the wrapper and eventually tasted the same. I then realized that eating at Kong Kee without any sio pao is juts like eating at Ted's without ordering La Paz batchoy so I quickly ordered pork sio pao.

Their pancit Molo also had lang-lang and no chicken strips. It was nothing spectacular and just ordinary for my taste but Kong Kee probably had the best looking pancit Molo balls among all the restaurants I've been; that is to be expected since they are a Chinese restaurant.

My unplanned visit to Kong Kee was just ordinary, but I hope I can visit it soon for a much better order (and photos hopefully). What is considered to be one of the city's best traditional Chinese restaurant deserves more than this post.

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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