Green Mango: Filipino fastfood

This is my latest new-resto-raids after trying out Carlo's Bakery and Cafe two weeks ago. As the talks in the SSC forum kept on centering on this newest restaurant added along the "Gastronomic" Valeria street, I can't help but feel the excitement and pressure of trying it out as soon as it opened.

And Green Mango now holds the distinction of being the soonest-to-be-tried-out newly-opened-resto on my list. Well it really wasn't that I stood in line when it opened its doors but tried it out on the second day and went back again the next day (it was dinner then brunch respectively).

From the outside it looks intimidating since its glass walls reveal a classy interior that do not seem to convey the usual fastfood scene. Good thing they placed a streamer that proudly says Filipino Fastfood. These words seem to wave at the passers-by and say "Try us, we're NOT that expensive" (not to underestimate them of course).

A new concept in fastfood restaurant interior design (in Iloilo City ) would certainly earn two thumbs up. Its counter is located at the center of the restaurant with three LCD monitors serving as menu boards. Cushioned seats align the perimeter with more chairs and tables found at the back of the counter and outside the restaurant. They even have a mini function hall good for casual meetings.

On their menu, the most expensive item (as of now) was less than a hundred pesos so it's another thumbs up. Mostly Filipino fares with fastfood staple burger and spaghetti. Breakfast meals "si-logs" with Pinoy faves like adobo, caldereta and bistek to their pancit, sinigang, grilled and fried food stations. You can have unlimited rice and drinks if you feel like it.

My order that time was Choice #3 of their fiesta meal consisting of grilled pork, bistek Tagalog and pancit palabok with rice and 8oz drink for 95 pesos. And now the thumbs down come in, at the counter I asked if I can mix and match items and they said no. But when they ran out of the items I ordered they rushed and said if they can change my orders. And I just said yes, because I was already hungry that time and it wasn’t really fastfood. I was waiting for almost 15 minutes.At last my order came and despite my hunger I spent another 10 minutes or so, taking photos of my order from all angles.

This is where my second thumbs down come in. Their tables are not that sturdy that it could topple anytime especially if you have many things on it. I've been there twice actually and would I consider myself lucky if I got to unsteady tables?From the looks of it, 'twas nothing spectacular and they served 3 saucy items side by side thus mixing their sauces. Luckily, their bistek saved the night. I liked the sauce mainly though the meat was still a bit tough. Their chicken barbecue (the changed order from pork belly barbecue, though it might have cost them more) and pancit palabok were just okay, had better ones elsewhere.

All in all I would say that the pros weighed more than the cons that I had brunch there the following day with a friend. We had three orders; bistek Tagalog (I insisted), pork adobo and beef caldereta. And these three made it into my favorite’s lists and can’t wait to be back there. New items to try and blog about.

UPDATE: Green Mango is set to open two branches soon. One is along E.Lopez street near McDonalds and the other at Ledi Supermart Building in Jaro Plaza.

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

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the usu

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.

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

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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