FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Almost everything went as if on a blur today. The moment I woke up and read an important text message, in 20 minutes time I found myself already traveling to the city - fully dressed and prepared to attend a meeting. Together with some members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc . , we met the marketing manager and with the owner of Greatfoods Corporation ( Bauhinia , Amalfi , Nothing but Desserts , Mojave , Waffletime, Coffeebreak , Green Mango , theVenue , etc ) to discuss possible tie ups and deals for the upcoming Visayas Blogging Summit and Philippine Blog Awards 2010-Visayas . After a very fruitful talk (but unfortunately one of us got robbed), we then decided to go Smallville for lunch but decided to linger in front of The Off Price Store while discussing things over. As if on cue, our stomachs growled and we ate lucnh at M ang Inasa l . It was my nth time eating in this fastfood local barbecue restaurant but my first time in their Smallville branch. As usual inasal na pecho and c...

Enjoy a cup of coffee for free at Bluejay Coffee and Deli today Friday, July 30, 2010. Go to any of Bluejay's branches (Amigo Plaza and Gen. Luna) between 2-4 pm and savour a cup of Bluejay coffee. No hidden agendas, no minimum required amount, no fine prints (in the poster), just free coffee!. Mark the date and time to enjoy coffee at Bluejay Coffee and Deli.

Named after one of Iloilo City’s districts, Pancit Molo is one of the more identifiable pancit dishes in the country. It stands out uniquely among the noodle dishes mainly because of its non-traditional pancit look. It is a derivative of the Chinese wonton (filled dumplings) made into a soup. Pancit Molo ’s origins must also have been the same time that the concept of Cantonese Chinese dim sum, linked to the Chinese tradition of drinking tea or yum cha, started in the country. The Chinese traders journeying through their trade routes would probably makes stops at tea house to rest and snack on light dim sum items – noodles, dumplings, soups and little cakes. Thus it came to be that the favored stop at the time was probably Iloilo, particularly the quiet little town of Molo (know as Parian then), where enterprising Chinese businessmen probably decided to settle and set up little tea houses to cater to Chinese customers. Over time, intermarriages between Chinese and Filipinos ev...

Rumours have it that, at present, a battalion of these beings is plaguing the region. Text messages say that they come in droves - in boats, and have become a hot news item lately. Even a local news program, Ratsada , has mentioned it in one of its newscast. More so, its Facebook fan page is bombarded with this “human interest” news. So to be IN, I thought of being a “good host” to these beings if ever it’s true that they are having their midyear convention – no matter where it is. I’ll share the best places in town where these beings (and humans too) can get dinuguan (pig’s blood stew). It was through comments in my blog that I have discovered one of the best dinuguan s in town. A small snack shop along Valeria Street named Balbi’s got my thumbs up the first time I tasted their dinuguan . It was the one I prefer, dark and a bit sour. It doesn’t have any innards and made entirely of pork (meat and fat). It is perfect with puto manapla but that time, I also paired it with the food sho...

It was an impromptu trip to the district of Villa, as I found myself, together with the members of the Iloilo Bloggers , scouting for more venues for the upcoming Visayas Blogging Summit and Philippine Blog Awards 2010 - Visayas this November 27 and 28. We first checked out Punta Villa Resort and found ourselves in agreement that this would be a perfect venue for the events. We checked out the area and even found ourselves inside their main function hall garbed for a wedding reception. We then decided to check out the Villa culinary scene outside the resort but then decided to drop by Tatoy's Manukan and Seafoods as we also considered it as a possible venue. A short ride (could have been a long walk) brought us to this iconic Iloilo restaurant and I was surprised of the big development that greeted us. Gone are those native picnic tables and instead a great hall of more modern amenities stood in it's place but the sandy floored dining area still exists. We then checked out ...

This Century Tuna sisig is actually another experiment that turned out quite good and eventually becoming a "recipe" for me. One day I got tired of the usual ginisang tuna recipe that I decided to add more seasonings. I experimented on soy sauce then eventually vinegar (being the only other seasoning at hand) for more flavour. I then decided to cook it dry but it became too dry that I decided to put more oil and toasted it a little more. It became an instant hit even though I did nothing special but throw in the available seasonings that time. Thus my Century Tuna Sisig was born. I decided to experiment more by adding more onions plus chopped chilis before taking it away from the fire thus making it more sisig tasting and looking. It's a " Quickfire" dish for it can be done in 10 minutes or so. No fancy ingredients nor cooking techniques, just knowing your palate. First, let the tuna "boil until dry" in vinegar (or water with sinigang mix), soy s...

The sab-a ( saba ) is among (if not) the most versatile variety of the banana family. It can be cooked in dishes like pochero , eaten as is when ripe and made into a variety of desserts too. It's also a common sight in the markets and knows no season at all so it can be enjoyed all throughout the year. Among my favorite desserts made with saba is minatamis na saging , simply sweetened banana. The saba is simply boiled in water and sugar or at times with condensed milk to give it a well sweet taste. On it's or used in halo halo , this treat is a sure fire hit. Adding shaved iced to minatmais na saba transform it into saba con hielo , a popular cooler and much easier to prepare than halo-halo . Adding milk gives more flavour to this simple yet effective iced dessert. Going a notch higher makes an even better cooler - a shake! This banana-peanut shake is an adaptation of the famous Jonah's shake in Boracay. I was introduced into this by an office mate before that we decid...

Together with some Iloilo bloggers and other members of the media, I was invited for yet another food tasting session at Bluejay Coffee and Deli . Dubbed as “Must Try Meals”, this offering is part of the restaurant's thrust to capture the mass market. It was sort of a twilight zone seeing items at Bluejay priced below their usual range. It is indeed a testament of how keen the café is in its efforts to expand its customer base. First to be served is a staple in almost all food shops – a burger combo. From the simple snack shops and fast foods to specialty restos, this combo is always among the best sellers as Filipinos have adapted this American innovation – with mouths wide open. For only P49, Bluejay’s Chef Burger combo is very much worth the price since it is better tasting than almost all other burgers. It won’t be easy find an item like this elsewhere; served at this price, tasting this good and at an ambiance like that of Bluejay 's. The patty was fried crisp served with...

It was my first meal of the day and it was already past noontime. I met up with members of the Iloilo Bloggers at Ted's Oldtimer Lapaz Batchoy 's swankiest branch to date along the diversion road, to discuss the upcoming Visayas Blogging Summit and the Philippine Blog Awards 2010 . I suggested this branch since it has the ambaince of a good informal meeting place - roomy, wi-fi ready, classy without being trying hard and aside from batchoy they also have coffee and cakes from another favorite hang out - Dulgies Cafe . I was the first one to arrive and I ordered what I already planned for days (lol) - bowl big of their bihon batchoy . A friend weeks ago asked if I already tried Ted's bihon batchoy for it was very good, she said. Only having tried the meke and miswa , the bihon variant made me more curious and that's among the reasons why I suggested this place for our meeting (lol). While waiting for my order, I got a good view of "hustle and bustle" of t...

A trip to the neighbourhood bakery oftentimes would bring a lot of discoveries. From old favorite cookies to new and exciting bread finds. But most often, it doesn't matter whether it's new or old but how newly cooked it is. Usually, I asked " Ano ang bag-ong luto " (What's newly off the oven?) No matter what it is, it is usually the one I buy since it just tastes better especially if it is hot. And none of them can compared with a newly off the oven batch of mini hopia baboy. Nothing fancy on this bread filled with some goey sweet stuff, it just tastes good. And it's really a bargain for only 1 peso and most of the time I get 20 pieces and half of them almost finished before I get home.

A can of Century Tuna would often end up as sandwich filling or just "plainly eaten with rice". That was before I discovered the "solid" varieties. Now, only our imagination limits the possiblities of what we can do with a can of Century Tuna whether at home, at the office or just anywhere. Here's a rundown of my "experiments" with Century Tuna that eventually became recipes. Century Tuna "Simple Sinigang" Century Tuna "Healthy Sisig" Century Tuna "All around mix" Century Tuna "Fried rice" Century Tuna "Healthy adobo flakes" Century Tuna "Sinigang" Century Tuna "Potato aglio y olio" Century Tuna "Instant noodle toppings" Century Tuna "Casserole" Century Tuna "Ala King" Century Tuna "Ampalaya con Tuna" Century Tuna "Eggplant and radish" Read and discover more Century Tuna recipes