To plan or not to plan ....

It was a well-planned itinerary for yesterday but the moment I left the house, I knew there would be something wrong ....

I was to continue my chicken inasal quest at Chicken Sari-sari along Luna St., La Paz but I had a very heavy meal at home so I cancelled it while on the ride.

I decided to go to the Central Market to buy some bujawi, kusay and tahure but the first wasn't available while the other two well let's say .... would you be courageous enough to inside a wet market after it rained (very) hard?

So things went down the drain .... except maybe my planned snack at Panaderia de Molo in front of the University of Iloilo. But it happened that they had no pancit Molo left to be served and ready to cook Molo balls were to come later that afternoon so it was all in vain.

I then decided to have my snack at Roberto's but it was full packed that time so I just contented my self with a take out; King and Queen sio paos.

I saw Kong Kee Restaurant from a distance and decided to check if they serve pancit Molo. Eventually I settled for a snack in this old school Chinese restaurant.

Though if they didn't serve one I might have gone all the way back to Barrio Inasal along Delgado Street for I saw a tarpaulin saying they serve one.

To cap the night off, a friend and I planned on invading San Mars Point along Gen. Luna but the aftermath of the heavy downpour confined us at Robinsons so we just decided to have dinner at Kublai Khan.

Our planned dessert at Coffeebreak almost turned out to be a S'Mores cake galore at Red Ribbon but they don't have slices to serve so we just contented ourselves with a pack of Biscocho Haus' yema. I also learned that their branch outside the mall serve quick snacks including pancit Molo, mentally noting it for my next quest.

So much for a well planned day but still I have lots of blogpost to share, so no harm done. And yes, I will continue to plan whatever it may be but open to adapt changes that may come along the way. That's life isn't it?

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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