The famous Jiecel and Thea's sio pao and sio mai

Jiecel and Thea's Refreshment in Mandurriao prides itself as the home of the best sio pao, sio mai and mami in the city. For a snack shop that serves these Chinese specialties, the place itself doesn't look and feel like a Chinese food place. It's just an ordinary snack bar serving variations of these three specialties. But they are so good that most of the time it is packed with patrons and parking space, at times, becomes a problem. Yes, even those "big time" queue in this "small time" snack bar.

I met Lee and Inday Hami weeks ago in this hole in the wall and over their sumptuous treats talked about, what else, food, food and more food. For around P35 one gets 4 pieces of sio mai which are simple yet very good - though I have tasted better ones, yet for the price one pays, Jiecel and Thea's wins "pound for pound", as one may say. Made even more appetizing by the chili-garlic sauce and if concocted with calamansi and soy sauce makes a perfect dip that a second order of sio mai will surely follow.

The sio pao meanwhile comes in a mamon like dough, so it's one of the softest sio paos around. Though I prefer the other type of dough, I still can't help but also enjoy their sio pao. Words have it that their sio pao is comparable to that famous Ma Mon Luk in Manila where one of the their cooks used to work there.

As that still remains a rumour, the fact is that Jiecel and Thea's already made it's name when it comes to these Chinese dim sum and noodles dishes. It's popularity around made this "small" big time snackshop, confident enough to claim as that they serve the best sio pao, sio mai and mami in town. Why not try it yourself next time you're in Iloilo City.

Jiecel and Thea's Refreshment
Taft Street, Sta. Rosa, Mandurriao, Iloilo City
Tel No. 321-0287
(Along the highway going to the old Iloilo airport.)

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 por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

Lauya nga Pata sang Baboy

It was a typical fiesta scene in a barrio that I got to taste this cholesteroliffic and delicious pork dish. I can still vividly remember that decades old gastronomic memory - very tender and almost fall of the bone pata, vivid orange sour and sticky broth, large chunks of unripe langka; all in one big large kaldero ! And it's been really a while since I've tried to recreate that taste memory and a few days ago, it was worth another try. Here's my simple recipe for Pata Lauya

Kusay

Often mistaken to be, sounding-alike, as kinchay , kusay has a very distinct aroma and flavour. A rather unfamiliar herb mostly anywhere, my Tagalog officemate call this as sibuyas na mura and in Manila groceries labeled as kutchay . It do looks like onion chives but kusay is flat unlike the hollow chives. We have kusay planted in our backyard for occasional uses like soup garnishing. However, it often takes a trip to the Central Market to buy them in large quantities if ever we make Pancit Molo since it is an important ingredient in the filling mixture and as garnishing.

Budyawi

Bujawi (budjawi, budyawi) is what Ilonggos refer to the fruit of the buri or century palm tree . Abundant in many parts of the province of Iloilo, the buri has many many uses from the leaves to its trunk. It produces a fermented drink (tuba), alcohol, vinegar, syrup, and sugar. The trunk yields large quantities of starch. The bud (ubod) is used for salad or as a vegetable. The kernels of the young fruits are edible and are made into a sweetmeats. The mature seeds are used for beads? (rosaries) and buttons. The petiole yields so-called buntal fiber of which, the famous Baliuag and Lucban hats are made, or which, when crudely extracted, is sometimes twisted into rope. Mature leaf is used for covering tobacco bales, rarely as a thatch for houses, while the ribs are used for making brooms. From the unopened leaf is obtained a very fine fiber, corresponding to raffia fiber, which is utilized in making cloth, fancy articles, and as string. Fibers ...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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