FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

An old yet easy method of making caramel is to boil condensed milk (yup in can), for about four hours and letting it cool for another two hours or more to avoid an untoward incident. This takes patience of waiting and refilling the pan to make the water always cover the canned milk. And of course steady and contionous fire to maintain water at it's boiling point. That's why we always do this in the dirty kitchen where less expensive fuel is abundant. But after this tedious process, you'll have an instant caramel. Though not actually instant as in fast, but instant meaning less complications in the actually food preparation. It's taste would also be dependent on the condensed milk used. Only imagination limits the use of this caramel aside from cakes, shakes, sandwich filling and many more.

A restaurant, serving tasty Mexican foods, opens this week in Iloilo City. The first Mexican-inspired Mooon restaurant is located at the corner of Quezon and De Leon streets of Paseo de Iloilo, Robinson Place. Ondoy Zaldarriaga, consultant, said Mooon restaurant will formally open on May 30 to serve and satisfy the craving of Ilonggo for Mexican food at affordable prices. Mooon restaurant offers its mouth watering Mexican Mooonsteak, pan seared fish fillet, gambas ala luna, campesinos, chicken wings, mexican baby back ribs, spaghetti ala gambas, and chimichanga, on top of various European, Spanish, and Filipino dishes. Pages Holdings Inc. operates Mooon restaurant. It has branched out its business investments in Iloilo City after successfully establishing several branches of Mooon Café, Thirsty Juices and Shakes, a Play House and Bright Academy in Banilad Cebu. It already has six Mooon Cafe branches in Cebu, one in Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, and at the Robinsons Place Iloilo. Anothe...

Despite the popularity of the paho kag ibos ( mangga't suman ) combination, I still prefer eating my ibos with sugar - and in this case with added homemade instant caramel sauce. You know boiling can of condensed milk for hours and letting them cool before opening. Double the sweetness, double the fun but of course, I just do this once in a while.

Mangga't suman (mango and sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves) is a popular snack and dessert combination. The sweetness of ripe mangoes goes well with the blandness of the native delicacy making them perfect partners. Just like taste, it still is subjective, for I like eating my ibos just with sugar and separate from ripe mangoes. Though for this blog post I have no other choice but to eat them as they were "meant" to be - lol. But they are not as weird as the other in(famous) combo of what else - champorado and tuyo .

Though not having the ingredients of a typical laswa dish, this merry mix of vegetables bought from the market and grown in our backyard still brings the gastronomical pleasure of a simple laswa dish. Just stew all the available vegetables with seasoning and subak of choice, and within minutes, you'll have a a delicious and nutritious dish. There's gastronomy in simplicity - and this is clearly manifested in this simple vegetable dish Ilonggos call laswa .

A spoof of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" shown in the local gag show, Bubble Gang , is fast becoming a viral video on Youtube. With Bitoy (Michael V.) as Gagang Lady, the parody shows how gluttony may end up making one do the Bathroom Dance. So enjoy another breaker from the usual gastronomic delights we have here but it still is food related, too much food, that is - lol.

At long last, the search is over, as the Sooo Pinoy campaign came to an end. Though I would have not known the results of this national search for the ultimate Pinoy dish, if not for a related feature of the TV show Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (over at GMA 7) about this search and the eventual winner, sinigang . I really love sinigang but I did not vote for this soured broth dish as the Pinoy's national dish (I voted for adobo ). So what's make sinigang a (in this case the ) favorite among Filipinos? Is it the meat or seafood? Or the variety of vegetables added? Or the versatility and the simple preparations of this dish? I could say all of the above but for me, is the sour broth it comes with. And that's where the show of multi awarded journalist Jessica Soho concentrated in - the different methods of souring not only sinigang and a whole lot more. From the very common sambag ( sampaloc or tamarind), green mango, guava and kamias to the exotic like kamonsil ( kamac...

It was another gastronomical afternoon at Bluejay Coffee and Deli as the restaurant invited the media (print, cable broadcast and bloggers) for another series of taste test. This time, the specialties and "best sellers of the house" in their pasta line took the limelight. While waiting for the others (I was an early bird ... excited! - lol), I took my time to appreciate the centerpiece of their mini function room - their menu posted like someone was playing Scrabble . Random sized tiles spell and connect some items on their extensive menu - Bluejay is not only a coffee stop but also a full service restaurant. A selection of wines displayed beside itbalances the interior design in the room. Served at intervals during the said event were Bluejay's best selling pastas: Seafood Marinara, Miner's Carbonara and Mushroom aglio y olio with strawberry-lemonade on the side.

Bluejay is more than just a coffee shop as one might expect it to be. They serve "All-day" breakfast and " Power Lunch " to gourmet steaks and mouth watering cakes and pastries. They have imported deli items and wines to go with it. They have a very extensive menu ranging from soups and salads to sandwiches and pasta. Indeed, Bluejay is more than coffee. Anyway, here are three of Bluejay's pasta best sellers. Seafood Marinara Fresh seafoods (shrimps, squid and clams) in tomato concasse Seafood lovers will surely be all smiles with this marinara. Fresh tomatoes roughly chopped (concasse) and seasoned, instead of the regular tomato sauce, makes this pasta dish is very light on the stomach. Perfectly cooked shrimps, squid and clams provide instant gratification for anyone who loves marinara or any other tomato based pasta dish. No wonder it is among their best sellers. Mushroom Aglio y Olio Mushrooms delicately sautéed in garlic and olive oil with pesto. Easily t...

This may seem redundant since for some tinola is chicken with papaya and greens with essence of ginger and others seasoning. Yet at home, we refer any vegetable dish, cooked in whatever way, as tinola. But here's the tinola everybody is familiar with - chicken with sliced papaya , sili leaves, sili as both garnish and flavouring and an oily broth. A perfect dish during rainy and cold days.

Almost hidden along Jalandoni Street is a newly opened barbecue restaurant that I only got to discover when we had our bloggers meeting last weekend. From the outside I was expecting the usual native themed restaurant serving the usual pork and chicken barbecue with other native offerings. But New York Barbeque did surprise me. It's modern interiors - though just a small space, complements their menu consisting mainly of rice meals, sandwiches and barbecues on the go with desserts on the side. Unfortunately, I was still full that time, after having lunch an hour ago (at Bluejay) that I only got to taste one of their desserts - leche flan. It tasted good despite served simply in cups out from the fridge. I'll just have to schedule another visit next time to have a taste of their specialties - maybe all of them in just one sitting (lol) since they have budget friendly prices for their combo meals. So "Start spreading the news, I am eating today. I want to be a part of it -...

I purposedly had lunch last Sunday at Bluejay's branch at Amigo Plaza mall to have a taste of one of their specialties. Good thing it wasn't crowded on a special day - Mother's Day so I had plenty of seats to choose from. I opted for the one away from the prying eyes of both the passers by and the staff so that I won't be conscious with what I am doing. Made with pure U.S. beef patty, caramelized onions, cheese and lettuce is Bluejay's signature cheeseburger but doubling it's goodness gives you the specialty and best seller of the house - US double decker burger ! Indeed it paid off with these appetizing and sumptuous photos of my lunch consisting of their delicious cheeseburger to which I "murdered" by making a rather ugly slice - lol. Fried or pan grilled patties were good as expected it to be but the onions tasted "fresh" rather than caramelized. Complemented by a drink which had me "by the name" - Kiwi Lemonade, it was a perfec...

If AURA doesn’t ring a bell, in the next days, it surely will. And it will not be just a ring. It will be a hell-good, frenzied party bang. There’s always something pleasurably roguish about partying and booze; about being madly awake at 3am, dancing and enjoying your heart out to mad-good party music in an all-fabulous, chic and upscale club.But with all its negative blah-blah, you know you’d never say no to a really good, disco-kicked night out. You know you love it. And this May, you’ll love it more. It’s time you experience a real, smacking-good disco partying that’s worth all the effort.You will love AURA. It’s an oh-so glitzy nightspot where everything fun starts and ends. The hippest place to party. A lightning rod once it stirs its disco beams. It will be a voguish fashion spot, where everyone will likely dress to impress, and express. The club spells of sophistication with super chic interiors, superb amenities, and a vibe just perfect for partyphiles.And of course, there will...

What more can I say to this "concoction" of tambo (bamboo shots), corn, okra and tagabang ( saluyot ) cooked in gata (coconut milk) with kalampay (small or midget? crabs) but Namit (delicious)!

A green leafy vegetable with a violet stem - that's alugbati . Very common in the region and gives kamote tops and kangkong leaves a "run for their money". This is among my favorite leafy vegetable no matter how it is cooked. Whether as simple as this - with shrimps and eggplant, or a little more "complicated", with squash, meat and string beans. Or even just as "garnish" in an all time Pinoy favorite - ginisang monggo . Now that's Alugbati 101.

I just came across this very informative post from ILoveIloilo blog. I remember seeing this salt, budbud , on Food Magazine but it has little info about it. Curiosity led me online and discovered this feature from Inday Hami's blog. So I thought of sharing the photo and some snippets of the said blog entry written by Archie E. Nacional. I remember that every time my mother my mother does her marketing chores, she always looks for budbud . So I wondered. What’s so special about this salt of Miagao? Why on earth is my mother so devoted to it? Perhaps, this is the right time to satisfy my curiosity. I may learn much information about budbud while doing this article. I found out from the book of Failagao entitled “History of Miagao” that the salt-making industry in Miagao originated in Barangay Guibongan in the year 1823. Actually, from my personal interviews with budbud salt-makers, there are three salt varieties identified in Western Visayas. These are the budbud of Miagao , the...

Last year, a friend inquired where to buy "alamid" coffee. I didn't quite answered her right since I wasn't so sure myself. But thanks to Lee of IlonggoLivingInCanada , I may now give a much better answer even though it's already late. Well, as they say "Better late than ... later" - lol. So what is coffee "alamid"? It's one of the most expensive coffees in the world to start with, fetching around US$600 a pound. Yet it is not the actual coffee beans that make it costly but the "alamids". Then the next question is of course, what, who where, are these "alamids"? They are what locals refer to civets, wild mountain cats found in some parts of the country. These cats are omnivores, feeding on insects, small animals, fishes, wild plants and fruits including coffee beans. These civets cannot digest the beans so naturally they have to come out of their system after it has mixed with the digestive juices and ferments inside th...