A dinner of "favoreats" at Bourbon Street

Nothing's left when you've fully enjoyed what you ordered and ate. Even in a classy bar and restaurant, everything's licked clean to fully illustrate sarap to the bones. Never mind if poise is momentarily forgotten nor the stares from other diners - lol. Together with two friends, we invaded Bourbon Street at the Red Square in "Smallville" last weekend. It was a get together planned just the night before - almost impromptu given the circumstances. The two being first timers, I sort of had the upper hand in our orders.

For starters we had their Bistro Salad - a combination of fruits and vegetables. Lettuce, apples, grapes, oranges, candied walnuts and feta cheese with honey balsamic vinaigrette. It was a fresh welcome for the eats to come.

Then there's their Buffalo Wings. Ever since it's reinvention and my rediscovery, it has become a staple order. Perfectly fried chicken portions with their hot and spicy sauce - not only a perfect appetizer but also a filling side order.

Another good order is Snapper Florentine. Fried snapper in shellfish and vegetable cream sauce. I just love the taste of the Florentine sauce together with the snapper. Just the right seasoning and side dishes. But it's presentation that time was nothing compared to the one we had months ago - actually it lacked presentation. Good thing it still tasted the same and well complemented our other orders.

And finally it won't be a complete Bourbon experience if our lot did not include their specialty- Bourbon BBQ Ribs! A half slab quickly disappeared as we enjoyed the tenderly cooked and well seasoned pork ribs. We almost had an extra rib from the usual 4-rib half slab. Though there were some portions that were a bit salty than the others but were still (very) good. In fact as I always say, I can finish this (half order) all by myself.

Satisfied with our dinner we planned on going back soon - if our schedules permit. And I'm sure one or two of our orders during this dinner will certainly be part of it. Wanna bet?

More of Bourbon Street-Iloilo City

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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