Rediscovering delight at Bauhinia Filino Cuisine

Urbanites in Metro Iloilo have always been such big fans of Filipino Cuisine, traveling far and wide to savor superbly- tasting and uniquely-presented Filipino dishes to charm the eyes and satisfy palates.

This led to the conceptualization of Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine, a Filipino restaurant envisioned to be a food gem that would cater the public with great-tasting Filipino delights prepared with a twist. The restaurant recently invited the Iloilo media and bloggers to have a taste of their best sellers and fresh inclusions as they came up with a new menu.

Kinilaw na Tanigue at tuna (PhP 175)
Mackerel fish marinated in calamansi and vinegar, seared tuna, carrto slaw, balsamic reduction

The kinilaw reminds me of (my favorite) cold pork loin salad, at this Thai resto, so it was good the moment I tasted it and easily overshadowed the tuna. Also being served in shot glasses makes it more appetizing.

Squid ala Pobre crostini (PhP 130)
Sautéed squid in olive oil and chilies on French baguette

Simply it’s spicy squid pizza. Another good appetizer and a perfect way to disguise squid (or any other seafood in fact) and serve them to non eaters. You’ll just have to eat them as soon for it will become soggy after some time.

Tinu-om na sugpo (PhP 245)

Succulent prawns wrapped in native pechay and simmered in coconut-kaffir broth

Ti-nuom usually is associated with chicken wrapped in banana leaves but shrimp wrapped in pechay leaves would taste good as well.

Monggo at sili (PhP 265)
Slowly simmered Philippine lentils, pork belly cracklings and chili.

The combination of mashed monggo with chili and crispy pork is definitely a gastronomic contrast. It’s just simple monggo soup made spicy with lechon kawali and for its price it would definitely raise eyebrows.

Ginata-ang salmon (PhP 315)
Pan seared salmon in spicy coconut mushroom sauce on fried eggplant

Definitely my favorite among the rest of the selection. Perfectly seared salmon with a subtle tasting sauce and just the right spices. Fried eggplants provide a good garnish and side dish too.

Sugpo sa Aligue at Sili (PhP 245)
Tiger prawns cooked in coconut - crabfat sauce, spicy upon request

The sauce combination was (cholesterolifically - lol) good and the prawns, as pointed out by one blogger, easily melts in your mouth. Maybe it’s their recipe or just they were frozen.

Tenderloin ala pobre (PhP 245)
Pepper and garlic crusted beef tenderloin

Perfect inside out, from its pepper and garlic crusting to the way the meat was cooked medium rare.

La Pinay (PhP 185)
Mesclun salad, grilled eggplant, roasted bell peppers and cashew praline in spicy balsamic dressing

A good combination of fresh greens and grilled vegetables but I find it too sweet because of the praline and dressing.

Crispy Adobo salad (PhP 165)
Fried adobo flakes with green mango, radish and cucumber with Camiguin honey-soy dressing.

Even without the fried adobo flake toppings, this one would still be good. The vegetables provided just the right mix of texture & contrast and the dressing the right flavour.

Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine is located at The Avenue complex, G. Pison Avenue, Mandurriao, Iloi9lo City. For more inquiries call Bauhinia at 329-6159.

Mama's Kitchen and Sinamay House in Arevalo

A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...

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

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 por...

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 us...

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. ...

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