I have been told about a "sio paowan" in Villa before but I never had the drive to go all the way there just for that. If not for a small misadventure I had, I would not have discovered this chicken sio pao which, as of now, earns my vote for the best chicken sio pao I have tasted here in Iloilo City.
I never thought that this "sio paowan" sa Villa was actually part of the name of a snack shop so it's actually is a proper name rather than generic. And there's more actually to it's name, Nang Pat's, most likely the matriarch who started making these chicken meat filled buns. A sari sari store and snack shop in one, Nang Pat's Siopaowan sa Villa, would be often be passed over as more popular one, Dinagyang, is just right a across the street. It was even the landmark I told the tricycle driver when I went here. It seems there's nothign really special about the place unless ofcourse one tries eating a "generic" sio pao.
Very cheap at 22 pesos, one gets a big sio pao that is graciously filled, full of flavour, a soft dough and no need for sauce since the filling alone oozes with it. These simple words cannot fully describe nor justify how much I really liked the sio poo when I first tasted it. Not that I was hungry that time, it was actually my second breakfast that time - lol. So good indeed that I got two to go and even after around two hours or so of being away from a steamer, it was as good as the one I had right off the steamer. (That would have been my third breakfast - lol.)
It was indeed a good gastronomic discovery and no amount of hype nor branding could sway my decision that this is the best chicken sio pao I have tasted as of this time. And I am ready for more.