Bluejay on the grill

I had a rather hard time deciding what to get for lunch last Saturday as I found myself at Bluejay Coffee and Deli in Amigo Plaza mall. As usual it was my blog that influenced what I will order for I have so many blog posts about this posh café that surely I'll have a repeat.

Almost ordered their Country Clubhouse when I decided to have a go on their grilled sausages meal combos. I got one marked as one of their best sellers – Italian Garlic. Actually, I’ve wanted to try their sauerkraut that I, on the last minute, decided to switch orders.

My Italian Sausage combo meal came and I was rather disappointed on how it looked like. I can’t believe that for its price and for a classy restaurant like Bluejay one would be served a rather ugly presented meal. What you see is actually what I was served – I haven’t touched anything at all. That is if you’re thinking I actually started eating before I took this shot. Oh well, I just had other angles to make up for it

The first one I tasted was their sauerkraut and I didn’t actually like it. I don’t know how it should taste like but I had a better sauerkraut experience from a restaurant named Bavaria. But I did finish within two "mouthfuls" (or was it one and a half?). So no need of having a separate order as planned if ever I liked it.

At least their Italian sausage was good and did make up for the two disappoints I had. Grilled perfectly and true to its name, seasoned just right with garlic, pepper and other spices. One can also get this and other sausages in their deli section for around PhP45/100 grams and I might just do that next time or so.

The garlic rice, despite served rather unattractive, also was also very good – cooked and seasoned well, but it was rather not enough for people who have big appetite.

I also got their raspberry iced tea go with my sausage meal and it was as refreshingly good as I had it before. A perfect drink to go with almost any order at Bluejay Coffee and Deli and indeed ‘twas good to the last drop.

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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