Chocolate Cake Decorating Contest highlights Tinapayan's Chocolate Festival 2010

It was a crowded Friday afternoon at The Atrium mall as Ilonggos witnessed the first ever Tinapayan Chocolate Cake Decorating Contest. As early as 1pm, throngs of people gathered at the lobby, eager to see how participants from different schools in Iloilo City will make the most eye-catching chocolate. This contest is the highlight of Tinapayan’s annual chocolate festival dubbed as Sinful Desires.

With an allotted time of 90 minutes, twelve teams of two transformed a plain chocolate cake into edible works of art that were both visually appealing and gastronomically enticing.

A set of five judges scrutinized each finished product after it was displayed at Tinapayan bakeshop for onlookers.

Members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc. were invited to witness the event and also to provide some online mileage for the contest. After the judges finished their preliminary assessment, we were given access to go near the cakes and take some photos for our blogs. But after a brief moment, the top four entries were then transferred to The Promenade (restaurant) atop Days Hotel for a more detailed judging.

At first we were dismayed since we haven’t finished taking photos yet but later (unexpectedly) glad to be invited to the restaurant. After the scrumptious snack plus a good view of the city, we got an exclusive up close look at the cakes that impressed the judges. A few clicks and flashes later, we were then informed of the results (30 minutes before it was announced) and then rushed to get more photos of the winning entry (to be posted soon).

And finally jubilation from the winning team reverberated throughout the mall as the entry from West Visayas State University best two entries from St. Therese College (which came in second and third). The same entry from the state university also won the people choice award that merited the creators an overnight stay at Days Hotel which co sponsored the event together with The Atrium Mall, Iloilo Supermart and Tulip Chocolates.

Tinapayan Bakeshop
(alongside Iloilo Supermart)
The Atrium, Molo Plaza, Villa Arevalo, Marymart Mall, Mandurriao and Jaro.
Hotline 0919-643-2428

(Acknowledgments: Very special thanks to our gracious hosts; Ms. Evelyn Que, Owner of Tinapayan Bakeshop, Mr. Johnny Que, Owner of Great Foods Inc, J. Scott Sarria, General Manager of Days Hotel Iloilo and Arvi Sumayo, Marketing Specialist of Great Foods Inc.)

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 native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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