"If it looks good, eat it!"

Foodie, traveler and TV host Andrew Zimmern always ends his show, Bizarre Foods on Discovery's Travel and Living Channel, with these words. Though there's nothing bizarre on what's about to come but still those words truly reflects on what I always believe - that eating starts with the eyes.

Three Cheese Cheesecake

Buffets always offer eye catching, mind boggling and stomach grumbling array of food choices and that's exactly what awaits at Meshi - A Japanese Buffet at The Promenade restaurant of Days Hotel Iloilo.

Have a visual and virtual feast on the some of the offerings this buffet have in store for its patrons.

California maki

Sashimi

Assorted breads from Tinapayan Bakeshop

California sarada (salad)

Nasu No Mushimono (eggplants with sesame seeds in savoury sauce)

Jagaimo sarada (potato salad with shredded crabsticks)

Gyoza (Japanese dumplings)

Sakana Tsukune (chicken lollipops?)

Chahan (Mixed fried rice)

Yaki Ramen with Tonkatsu sauce

Iyasai Itame (sauteed vegetables) with Miso

Butanika Shogayaki (pork in ginger sauce)

Tori Kara Agi (fried chicken)

Sakana Nitsuke (Fish stew)

Chocolate cake

Chocolate pudding with strawberry

Creme brulee

Meshi - A Japanese Buffet
Every Wednesday from 6PM-10PM
PhP420++

Sweet Cravings
(Desserts only)
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 6-10pm and Sundays 11am-2pm
PhP200++

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo
For inquiries and reservations call:
337-3297 or 336-8801 to 10 or 0917-7003297 or 0918-9333297

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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