It’s Everything Yogurt at Yogu

Like a doll house amidst the sea of night spots, Yogu literally stands out with its white and pink motif. Hard to miss, this sweet (and sour) shop is also hard to resist – that is if you are in the fro-yo craze. Located right across The Avenue complex in “Smallville”, Yogu beckons patrons and passers by with its fancy shop and a simple yet catchy tagline – Everything Yogurt.

But what is yogurt, one may ask. It’s a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of lactose produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its characteristic tang. (from Wikipedia ). One of the closest things of being a yogurt is Yakult. No need to explain further since almost everybody, where they liked it or not, had a Yakult experience.

Now back to Yogu, its almost stark white fixtures inside and out, reflective of its product, is already a taste of what’s to come. Yet one might also feel intimidated as if dropping by might render the place dirty. With “kiddie” chairs and tables, one can sense the limited line of products he can expect inside. And yes, the menu is simple – yogurt smoothies, yogurt crepes and frozen yogurt.

Can’t decide what to get? Then the default order is always the banner product - in this case a cup of frozen yogurt. A regular size cup sells for Php70 while a large one for PhP 95. Then the hard part comes choosing the toppings. Each one costs Php15 but for PhP30 you can have three.

It’s a galore of toppings ranging from the usual chocolate and candy sprinkles to assorted nuts – cashew, almonds, etc. There are also fresh fruits and preserves plus popular candies and brands like ChocNut, Toblerone, Flat Tops, Kitkat, etc. Graham plus breakfast staples like frosted flakes, granolas and fruit loops also are among the wide arrays of toppings.

Yes I did take my time choosing what to make my large cup of frozen yogurt (I wished they had an extra super size or even bottomless cup - lol). And finally settled for the visually appealing yet healthy range – fresh mangoes, strawberry preserves and cashew.

The mangoes provided sweetness that contrasted the taste of the yogurt while the strawberry preserves another level of, uh again, sweetness. The chopped cashew nuts added texture and a different flavour. Even with out the toppings I would certainly enjoy a large cup of plain frozen yogurt.

Though I have tasted better fro-yos before but Yogu being among the first in Iloilo City is already good. Yup, good not because of the shortage of fro-yo shops but it really tasted good. And I can’t wait to go back for more yogurt at Yogu!

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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