Ted's Oldtimer La Paz batchoy: Innovating an Ilonggo specialty

The Ilonggo specialty La Paz batchoy has spawned many prototypes, but only one version became the yardstick of what an authentic batchoy should taste like—Iloilo City’s Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy.

Batchoy is a noodle soup variant topped with pork innards and beef. The steaming kaldo (Hiligaynon for broth) is poured over the mixture before being garnished with a generous serving of pork cracklings or chicharon, garlic and leeks. Founder Teodorico “Ted” Lepura added his own imprints to the meal by giving the recipe a tweak. The customary guinamos or Ilonggo bagoong was set aside and only premium ingredients and the crunchiest of chicharon are used. And while other batchoy broths are notoriously oily, he made sure that his kaldo comes without a greasy aftertaste.

Ted's Oldtimer Beef La Paz batchoy

When the company decided to expand to Mindanao, they were faced with the challenge of conquering non-pork eating clients in the area. Thus, the beef batchoy was born. “We developed the 100 percent beef batchoy to cater to our Muslim brothers,” says Adelfa Lepura-Borro, the current chief and youngest daughter of the founder of Ted’s Oldtimer.

Ted's Oldtimer miswa La Paz batchoy

“Although the basic ingredient is beef, it still embodies that distinct flavor that Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy is famous for.” The beef batchoy became a hit. Along with other innovations like miswa, sotanghon and bihon batchoy, the beef variant is offered at all Ted’s Oldtimer outlets nationwide.

It All Started with Ten Pesos

Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy originated from the district of La Paz in Iloilo City. Lepura has been churning out batchoy since the 1930s. When he was still in his teens, he apprenticed with various Chinese merchants who taught him how to create batchoy. He then refined the recipe and peddled the resulting concoction around town.

Buoyed by a growing number of loyal clientele, he cracked his proverbial piggy bank and used his life savings of 10 pesos to open his first stall in La Paz Public Market. The 5 square meter-kiosk, which was made of nipa and bamboo, was manned by the Lepura couple and their children.

Today, the company’s first store still exists, along with 34 more branches nationwide. It first ventured outside Iloilo in Bacolod City, and the successful outlet eventually snowballed into five branches. They experienced a slight setback when they opened their first store in Metro Manila. But their excellent reputation prevailed in converting Luzon residents into fans of Ted’s Oldtimer batchoy as evidenced by seven company owned and three franchised units currently operating in Metro Manila.

Success Secrets

Borro and her husband practice hands-on management. “If you are hands-on, you’re in tune with everything that’s happening in your business,” Borro emphasizes.

“Being hands-on also means knowing every aspect of your business so that even if you lose several employees at once, operations will not be disrupted.”

Puto and Ted's "home made" pan de sal are perfect partners for a steaming bowl of batchoy

In addition, Borro points to “having a bank partner that complements our long-term plans” as another factor for the company’s success. “Planters Bank has been very helpful to us. It is very efficient and has a flexible line of products and services that complement well our daily operational needs and expansion plans,” shares Borro.

Declared as the Best La Paz Batchoy by the National Shoppers Choice Awards, Ted’s Oldtimer will continue to sate the Filipinos’ craving for batchoy. This year, they are set to open several more outlets in Iloilo and Luzon. Ted’s Oldtimer vows to continuously innovate while maintaining the quality and taste that defines the company.

News article courtesy of
The Manila Bullettin | The Philippine Daily Inquirer

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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