Gluttony: My favorite “sin”

Just a single mistake made my dinner "crashed like dominoes". But that will come later.

Today’s gastronomy trip started in Deco’s La Salette with Lee and Marc for Lee’s batchoy survey. With super special batchoy and two kinds of pan de sal; pre war and that of Pa-a. Over these, we talked about almost anything under the sun.

We then had a side trip to Deco’s pasalubong shop where, as I always say, you can find almost everything for your pasalubong box. Ever since this opened I have been very vocal about my “thumbs up” for this one stop shop.
On our way to the Capitol, we met accidentally bumped into Rex, under the pedestrian overpass of all places. Having idle time at hand, he joined our adventure that afternoon.
We decided to let our lunch settle down first before having our next batchoy meal, this time at Ted’s, by visiting the Capitol and going up the 6th floor for (almost) a birds eye view of the city of Iloilo and beyond. It was really a great first time for me and Lee, thanks to Marc who came up with the idea.

Then it was time to continue our batchoy survey at Ted’s Casa Plaza. Fortunately for Rex they serve chicken batchoy or else he might have “fasted” too early for the Lenten season. Unfortunately for me I had the worst bowl of batchoy in my entire gastronomic life! No further explaining needed.
My worst bowl of batchoy

I then separated from the group who went to INHS and to Marc’s secret hideout nearby; whereas I had an appointment with my optometrist which unfortunately went “haywire” and kept Lee waiting for me.
It should been a Bauhinia dinner but since Marc wasn’t available, he went to Pototan for its annual Christmas Lights festival; we decided to look for another restaurant. And found Maki.

And this is where my title comes in. We were browsing the menu for our orders when Lee suggested a bento box that came with various combinations of what they had to offer. Taking the only table available that time, we had no choice but to sit at the center of the restaurant. But this came in “handy” when owner Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing herself went to our table (I guess as she would always do) and introduced their Bento-Bento promo. It was a Create-Your-Own and Eat-All-You-Can bento meal promo. She then gave us a list of what was included in that promo and upon seeing how it compared with a single order of a bento meal, it was “it”. We also had Long Island and refillable Red Iced “teas”.

It was fun making our own bento meal. We just chose one from each category, gave it to the server and after a few minutes, our bento box comes out of the kitchen. It was a dismay that my camera phone failed me again. It would have been great taking pics. After my good bento #1 combo (California maki, Japanese sio mai, Beef teppanyaki and shrimp tempura), I then made my #2 (crazy maki, gyoza, beef teriyaki and squid tempura). But it was a long wait. And I was served with New York maki and Japanese sio mai which was actually Lee’s combo (he was already eating his).

And this is where it all began (ironically at the end of my story), instead of returning the wrong bento box, I just ate it and made my #3 (crazy maki, sio mai, gyoza, squid tempura). And it came within a few minutes. Then I made my #4 (vegetable tempura, gyoza, spring roll). As I was enjoying my #3, my correct #2 combo came. I was literally dumbfounded and I just told them to keep in the kitchen for a while. After finishing my #3, I then asked for my correct #2. Before I finished my first piece of crazy maki, my #4 arrived. I literally had two bento boxes that time waiting for me to devour. If only I had pics to show, it was really a “priceless” moment. With superhuman effort, I finished my #2 and was on my #4 (actually my 5th bento box that night) when Lee ordered green tea ice cream. Though I was really bursting with those I mentioned above, I still gave in when Lee divided his 2-scoop green ice cream. It was a miracle that I still finished it and what was even more surprising was that I still tasted how good (really GOOD) it was. Of course it’s Haagen Dazs!

To summarize my dinner gluttony I had .....

4 pcs California maki
4 pcs New York maki
8 pcs Crazy maki
6 pcs Japanese sio mai
6 pcs gyoza
2 pcs Japanese spring rolls
8 pcs squid tempura
3 pcs shrimp tempura
4 pcs vegetable tempura
1 beef teppanyaki
1 beef teriyaki
1 scoop of green tea ice cream
Bottom less iced tea (around 4 big glasses)

Damn! This is embarrassing, lol!

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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