Extra-super-special BIHON batchoy at Ted's Oldtimer

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 the diversion road but since it was Sunday there wasn't any. Then my order came and as expected, it looked like everything has drowned in the caldo. Unlike the usual batchoy presentation, where there is sort of a mound in the middle made with noodles, pork slices, innards, chicharon and delicately topped with large slices of liver, this one didn't show any signs. Maybe because they are now using a much deeper bowl and this are of batchoy preparation is now slowly disappearing. Hopefully other branches still serve that way, since it is a sort of a batchoy trademark. But mind you, their miswa batchoy looks even worse since the miswa is the softest noodles being used in batchoy.

Slowly, I "siphoned" the caldo to expose the bihon and the drowned "toppings". Still very good and even though they were hidden at first, they still didn't short change one's order. It was curiosity satisfied but i still prefer the original meke noodles - but I hope they would look for smaller variations of meke since the last time, they are almost humongous (lol) and didn't look and taste good.

So three down and one to go - that's the sotanghon variant. Will they notice if I would again suggest Ted's for our next meeting? A new branch perhaps? Hmmm ... Maybe the one at Tagbak Terminal!

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 cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog