A summit of pizza, pasta and chicken inasal

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 Mang Inasal. 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 crispy kangkong with sago't gulaman cooler on the side.

We then walked towards The Avenue and checked out theVenue to follow up our meeting earlier. Got our inquiries answered, saw the facilities, looked at the possible menu selections and thought working even harder to get the best deal.

Then we proceed to the Iloilo City Tourism Office and with the help of Director Ben Jimena, we got ourselves scheduled for a courtesy call with Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog next week. Hopefully the mayor will see a good cause in the upcoming event for us to get support and endorsement. Just as important as well, we signified the same thought and found ourselves in the offices of the Iloilo Business Club, Iloilo Economic Development Foundation and Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Back to sponsor hunting, we went to meet the manager and the owner of Day's Hotel and Bourbon Street bistro but they were out on an official business. Crossing over the Iloilo Capitol, we also visited the Provincial Tourism Office and the person we were to meet was also out of town. Deciding to go back on a later date, we went to deliver our letter to the Iloilo Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association at Nelly Garden Arcade. We finally ended the day with a galore of pizzas and pastas from a well popular local pizza parlor, Love and Kisses. Pasta alfredo, tetrazzini and marinara plus pizzas named Love, Kisses and Blueboy? recharged us as we ended this day, still, on a blur.

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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