FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

I ran out of "blog-eats" ideas today that I settled with my usual fallback, La Paz batchoy . I trooped to Ted's Oldtimer flagship branch at La Salette building in Valeria street. I was surprised (yet thankful) when I got there since it was around 3:30pm but there were only a handful of people in the batchoyan . While ordering, it occurred to me that this wont be just a "fallback post" after all. I decided to try their miswa batchoy. I never have tried it before for it was always meke for me. When my order came, I stared at it for a full minute! Why? It wasn't worth to be photographed! All I could see was the sabaw. The miswa is to be "blamed" since it wasn't "full-bodied" enough to "support" the toppings and easily softens with the soup. I had to think for another minute on how to still make this a blogworthy visit. Still dismayed, I just mixed the contents of the bowl ("destroying" the unseen presentation) wh

(In) famous for it's bitter taste, amargoso or amplaya is an acquired taste and often starts the first time you actually taste it. From then on, Either you love it, or just hate it, there is no gray area when it comes to liking amargoso . Naturally it is bitter, but it is in the preparation of the amargoso that dictates where you will like it or not. the most common way is to add salt and squeeze them to get rid of the bitterness. Another way is just to wash them over running water. But it depends in the variety of the amargoso you get. The most popular amargoso dish is cardillo (sauteed with meat then beaten egg is added). Also some prefer them to be dry while others swimming in sabaw. Whatever your prefererence is, amargoso, can make your life bitter or better, it's your call.

Usually it's macaroni or buko that goes well with fruits (cocktail) in salads. Enter the "lowly" sago and a "new" salad is born. Nothing much has changed in terms of the flavour but it's still something new to feel these little sagos go in circles inside mouth then easily slides down. It's another simple variation to our favorite fruit salad, though making sago at home might become more of a challenge than cooking macaroni or scraping buko . It even became an instant halo-halo when I added shaved ice and more milk and sugar!

I can still remember the time when an officemate came back from Boracay and all she did was to rave and crave for a milk shake they had from a restaurant named Jonah's . And I was surprised when the next day she came to work bringing some bananas and peanuts plus all the other needed ingredients needed to make her favorite milkshake. (We had overlapping shifts that made us both stayed in our workplace that made this cooking at work possible). Today, I decided to reminisce those days. I made two batches of that banana-peanut milkshake using both lakatan and saba (ripe) varieties of bananas. I used some left over peanuts (fried and salted though-lol, but I just washed them before blending them in). It's just the usual way of making milkshake but just adding something new. Just blend all the ingredients according to your taste! It was just as refreshing like I remembered it to be. For some, this combo may sound weird, though actually it's not something new as some people lik

It was an Ash Wednesday back then when I met some friends at a restaurant named Burgoo (in Manila). We had to "stay away" from red meat so to speak, so out of nowhere we just ordered some seafood pasta. We had Linguine with clams and Seafood aglio y olio . Both were surprisingly good and from then on I tried on experimenting in making my own. So today I experimented with the latter when I found some left over clams and squid in the fridge. Luckily, there was some uncooked pasta in the pantry so everything went smoothly. For my take on this Seafood aglio y olio , I just sauteed and stir fried some clams and squid in butter and olive oil then added some seasoning. It would have been much better if we had mushrooms, bellpeppers ans shrimps but still came out satisfying.

A previous entry discussed about the branding of (hopefully) some Iloilo products and brands as Iloilo's Finest. I had some issues with it's implementation but here's the "biggest" issue I just came across with. It seems that Wewin's Bakery has been using the line "Iloilo's Finest" for years now. Now will there be any legal? issues concerning this? Let's just wait and see.

Most often a staple in many Chinese restaurants, this dessert gives a feeling of lightness after eating those heavy and flavourful dishes. It was only years ago that this dessert made it "home". That is now being a part of some special occasion lunch or just when we feel like it. Im sure this big sachet of almond flavoured gelatin is available worldwide (it's made in Thailand) so wherever you may be we can share this dessert. This pack costs around PhP65, that's expensive for a gelatin I guess even if it had almond essence, milk and sugar. There is also a jasmine flavour. This dessert is very easy to make. Just prepare the gelatin as the package says (be sure to stay faithful in the measurements. I once added more water and the gelatin became "soggy" thus ruining the dessert.) When it has formed, cut into cubes then add you choice of mixed fruits. Ours usually consists of cans of (chilled) fruit cocktail and lychees. No need to add anything. Serve chilled

Well loved by Ilonggos, laswa is the traditional vegetable stew made with a variety of vegetables and seafoods. This in particularhas tagabang (saluyot), puso ng saging, takway and eggplant cooked with shrimps. Photos courtesy of LABETH of SkyscraperCity forum

I'll be sending a former officemate some Ilonggo delicacies next week. From the usual yemas and buttered toasts to boneless dilis and a "ref magnet". But one request "got" me. It was for a "thick piaya". Piayas are usually thin yet some manage bakeshops to "get some air" into these. But it wasn't that either that she wants. She wanted a fully filled thick piaya that almost resembles like hopia in one way or another. I found the answer while browsing over my blogs photos album, they've got to be these piayas from Wewin's! As if she dreamt about these piayas and craved when she woke up. (lol) Just to be sure I bought a "sample" for a taste test and for a visual confirmation if they really are these ones. Haven't received the confirmation though, but I surely loved them myself that I got to finish a pack of 5's in less than 5 minutes after more than 15 minutes of photosession.

My Century Tuna fried rice is a complete meal in itself. With tuna flakes and mixed vegetables, what more can I ask for? But I couldn't NO to salted egg mixed with tomatoes? It was another satisfying breakfast not only gastronomically but also "bloggingly" or "blogfully"

A nameless yet eye catching cake by Tinapayan Bakeshop Tiramisu cake by JD bakeshop Cherry Choco Moist cake by JD Bakeshop White Forest by JD Bakeshop Black Forest cake by Goldilocks Bakeshop

I already planned on a pancit-meatball-camaron snack but the latter was already scrapped out from the menu so I eyed a simple burger but (thankfully) didn't order one since the pancit bihon I got was too much to handle, yet I succeeded in finishing it all (lol) So it was just a chicken bihon and a stick of meatballs. I'm still craving for their meatballs!

Plain, simple and ordinary as it may seem, these meatballs from Roberto's are among the iconic restaurant's best sellers. For 20 pesos a stick (4 pieces), it seems one stick is not enough. It has this distinct aroma that brings back nostalgia to those who grew up being "suki" with the restaurant. Comes with a pack of sauce that's very tasty that I finished it even I had no meatballs left. It was also very thick (too much cornstarch?) that you could almost use it a paste (lol). I really enjoyed these meatballs and cant' wait to buy more than a stick next time.

Roberto's chicken bihon was plain and simple. Not even a few leaves of cabbage and strips of carrots can manage to make it more appetizing to look at plus just a few pieces of chicken visible on top. But what caught my interest the most was the kind of bihon they used. It was thick, probably 2-3 times that of the usual bihon I know. I thought it was a wrong order but when I finally got a taste of Roberto's chicken bihon, I now know why noodle dishes are popular from this restaurant. It was packed with flavour and chicken pieces kept on "hatching" underneath! I totally forgot how unappetizing it looked nor how thick their bihon was since I was totally engrossed in enjoying my snack. Their bihon upclose. Looks like more of a sotanghon but certainly and undeniably bihon with a capital B.