Roberto's House Restaurant

If a list of iconic restaurants in Iloilo City is made, chances are Roberto’s Restaurant along JM Basa Street in the heritage district of Downtown Iloilo City would be among listed. This snack shop has retained the old world charm of Iloilo City as little has changed over the years in the way the restaurant looks and operates.

It has managed to survive with little or no competition all these years, but when competitors decided to challenge Roberto’s, it didn’t even budge. Big league competitors in the likes of Jollibee and Mang Inasal have stores a few steps away yet Roberto’s always almost full no matter what time of the day.

So what made this restaurant strong enough to co exist with really big competitors despite its feeble appearance?

It’s neither the ambiance nor the service, for in this category Roberto’s, flops. Many shared their not so good experiences about buying over the counter, eating inside the restaurant and even suppliers have complaints or two. Most of the time people just order to go and enjoy good ol’ Roberto’s food in the comfort of the homes and offices. Roberto’s may have improved their fixtures but the ambiance of the whole restaurant stays the same, a chaotic blend of the old and the new.

It really is the food and the familiarity of the Ilonggos that made Roberto’s survived. Hamburgers made this snack shop famous and they still served them now. Then there’s their pancit line up – bihon, sotanghon and canton, revered by many.

Their assorted meat menu is also among their best sellers – meatballs, camaron relleno, morcon and fried lumpia to name a few. They also have combo meals combining the above menu with some vegetables or snack items for one big plate of good eats.

And then there’s Roberto’s Queen sio pao. This sio pao has bacon and Chinese sausage on top of the chicken and pork adobo and hardboiled egg. The King has ham instead of bacon. What makes the Queen a gastronomic novelty is that it is available for only 3 days a month. (and for special orders.)

So in the contest between ambiance and taste, convincingly the latter triumphed but it’s not yet too late for Roberto’s to change the feel of their restaurant and even expand with more branches. With these plus an improvement on the quality of service on top the good food they serve, Roberto's will surely survive and claim it's place in Iloilo gastronomic history.

Roberto’s House Inc.
61 JM Basa Street, Iloilo City
Tel No. 335-0484 / 337-1595

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

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