FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Bingka is very much synonymous with Holy Week here in the heritage town of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.Unlike in the plazas of Iloilo City, where bingka stalls are a staple year round, it is only during Lenten season that these bingkas in our town make their presence felt - bigtime. Eversince I was a kid, rows and rows of bingka stalls dot the town plaza during this time of the year. Townsfolk would feast on these native delicacies after participating in the Holy Week rites creating a fiesta like atmosphere in the plaza. This bingka tradition in our town remained almost the same with the exception of new players coming in while the old ones fade out. So today, Holy Monday, I started my local bingka feast as I bought from two different stalls. The first thing I've noticed is that bingkas sold here in our town are very much different from the ones I've tried in the city. While the latter are thin, chewy and moist, bingkas here were much thicker, spongy (and air-filled) and sort of d...

Finally, I have my own blogpost about this very famous bingka of Iloilo City. Almost every Ilonggos in forum or blogs mention this native treat and I feel sort of ashamed having this food blog about the delights of Iloilo and not featuring this bingka. Asking some information from fellow bloggers, I planned to visit their store, in, where else, but Mohon near the boundary of Iloilo City and the municipality of Oton. It would have been an easy trip since it just less than 10kms from downtown but it was about to be served to me in a silver platter. Well almost ... I was having my usual night cap at a cafe when I mentioned to my barkada that I'm going to Oton to buy buko pie. He suddenly suggested to also try Mohon bingka and I can order from him since he personally knows someone there. Though it would be very convenient but I'd like a first hand experience so I'll have an adventure to share in my blogpost. But soon I learned that they often run out bingkas to sell or have sc...

Breakfast was first in our itinerary when we went to Guimaras. With island hopping and visiting the attractions of the nearby island in our list that day, we need to build our energy to accomplish these things in just a day. So we had our first meal of the day at JD Bakeshop and Restaurant that morning in downtown Iloilo City. Our lot consisted of JD Rice Squares (Spanish and Japanese variants), pancit Molo and ginat-an for dessert. This Spanish rice square is almost like a a meaty paella with pork bits, sausages and greens topped with sunny side up egg. A serving of this rice topping is almost good enough for two but just enough for one having a big appetite. A Japanese version of this rice square consists of a mix of seafood and ground meat with a hint of ginger also topped with egg. Our hot soup was pancit Molo but it wasn't that appetizing and not the taste I love compared to the one I had at JD Roadhouse before. This ginat-an was too sweet and lacks the homey flavour one looks...

Now I'm back with my "playing with food" posts though these will be more tame than the previous ones. Whenever we plan to have pancit Molo at home, the fillings are prepared beforehand in "bulk". Not all of it become pancit Molo balls as some become fried patties which are easier to prepare especially as a quick fix or for demanding little children at home-lol. So this one's just plain accented with mango and tomato catsup to make it appeal more to the eyes of my 6 year old nephew. And while we are still on the subject, here are two other mango and tomato catsup accented lunch plates, this time with hotdogs.

Mang Inasal doesn't only make good chicken inasal but also appetizing desserts. Like this perfect summer heat buster, a special halo halo with all the ingredients one usually gets plus barquillos as garnish. Looks good and in fact tastes even better. Another perfect reason to love summer and Mang Inasal! Photos courtesy of Metropolitan_Iloilo of SSC forum

Ted's Oldtimer La Paz batchoy has now opened it's latest branch along Diversion Road (in front of St. Joseph Grade School). This used to be the one located at the junction of MH del Pilar/Gen. Luna and Diversion/Infante also known as "Stoplight". Ilonggos as well as tourist can now enjoy this Iloilo specialty in style as Ted's Oldtimer's newest branch gives diners a place that has ambiance different from the usual "batchoyan" inside out. From it's stylish facade which will surely entice passersby to it's sleek and modern yet without losing the "Ted's" touch - that green and white color ombination that is umistakably Ted's. True enough, it's now time to enjoy a hot bowl of Ted's La Paz batchoy in a new location, with a new look and of course it will be a new experience. Photos courtesy of Teds Oldtimer La Paz batchoy in Facebook

Dulgies Cafe is synonymous with delicious and indulgent cakes, pastries and other desserts. They also give you the best value for almost every order plus a good ambiance to match with. But aside from being a haven for those having a sweet tooth, Dulgies Cafe also serves pasta and sandwiches. And it's the latter that I am raving and craving for eversince. Their take on a club sandwich is simply named D'Club but it isn't ordinary as it is named. It was the lure of the "black rice" bread that made me order this one before for it was new to my senses. Having no idea what it looked like, it surprisingly looked good when it was served and even better when I finally tasted it. It was then a favorite order eversince. With all the works between breads, it surely is worth every cent. A closer look at the black rice bread

Dinner at Jo's Chicken Inato restaurant near St. Paul's University proved to be a meal of discoveries and rediscoveries. Though it was their buko halo that lured us to this inasal house that time, we can't say no to their specialty; chicken inato. It's chicken barbecue served Dumaguete style for which the said restaurant originated. A favorite during my college years, Jo's chicken inato has seen many treats, events or even just simple eats. For this dinner, we rediscovered their chicken inato and discovered a new dish, manok sa buko.Their chicken inato was still the same - delicious until to the last bite that I can't help but eat bare hands. Grilled and flavoured like the way I liked it then, it has maintained all throughout these years its distinct barbecue taste with local touch when dipped in a calamansi-soy sauce-vinegar concoction. Manok sa buko turned out to be almost quite like chicken binakol. Akin to tinola, only added with coconut meat and juice, th...

It was another healthy combination for lunch today as I feasted on laswa and "tortang" lobo-lobo . Everybody (now) knows that laswa is a popular Ilonggo vegetable dish that consists of an assortment of vegetables stewed? with a seafood of choice. Mostly it would be shrimps, crabs or bago-ngon . But among the more popular " lakot " would be pinakas nga guma-a (halved, salted and dried guma-a fish) that would also help in flavouring the dish. Lobo-lobo on the other hand are tiny fishes (as small as kalkag or alamang). As I have blogged before I only know two ways of cooking them, one if torta and the other is sinabawan with thse lobo-lobo wrapped in banana leaves. But this one seems to have combine both.

Cool down this summer with Iced Coffee Jellies from Iloilo City's homegrown coffeeshop, Coffeebreak . These newest thirst quenchers come in Latte, Cappucino, Caramel, Mocha, White Choco and Dark Choco flavours to complement the coffee and jelly. Each Iced Coffee Jelly costs Php95. Coffeebreak's Iced Coffee Jelly - White Choco