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!

Ready-to-cook Pancit Molo balls

It was only today that I remembered buying a pack of ready-to-cook pancit Molo. Locals are fortunate to buy them at groceries here saving them time, money and effort in the tedious preparation of pancit Molo. Anyway every pack of the RTC pancit Molo has the balls and the lang-lang . Its the balls that entice the buyers and the lang lang that "dictates" the price and weight. For this blog entry, I opted for the AR brand (150 grams for PhP 21) since they had the more photogenic combination at that time though I'm more partial to the Cares brand. Separating the contents makes you realize that what you actually bought but for that price, it's already a bargain, can be cooked in many ways and can serve 2-3 people. It is then up to you what you can make out from a pack or more. For this preparation, I used 2 chicken broth cubes and just estimated the amount of water. Upon taste test I added a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and few drops of soy sauce. I boiled the lang

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 (

A new flavour for the Dinagyang 2011 Food Festival

Aside from the dances, drums and colorful costumes, Dinagyang also means food and Iloilo City has a lot to offer during this 3-day event. The festival brings them to the streets with the much awaited Dinagyang Food Festiva l . For four days, major streets in the city are lined with food stalls and kiosks that everywhere one turns it all about food. As this article states, major streets in Iloilo City will have a food festival there will be plenty of places to indulge in during D inagyang 2011 . ILOILO City's world-famous Dinagyang Festival will turn the spotlight on Ilonggo cuisine this year. Tourists are encouraged to try chicken barbecue the Ilonggo way and other tasty local dishes during the festival. There are also the world-famous Ilonggo delicacies and other concoctions to bring home after enjoying the Dinagyang ati-atihan and Kasadyahan competitions. Not only that. The 1s t Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) International Food Festival 2011 will attempt t

Valenciana

A close relative of paella, this dish originated in Valencia, Spain and probably brought by the Spaniards when they colonized the country. Always a staple in family gatherings, this yellow rice is a complete meal in itself, with pork, chicken, liver, chorizo, shrimps, bellpeppers, peas and raisins to name its basic ingredients. RECIPE Saute your choice meats and vegetables. Cook malagkit rice with turmeric and broth cubes then mix sauted meat and vegetables when almost done. Garnish with hardboiled eggs and onion leaves.

SIDRO: Iloilo's very own gourmet doughnuts

Just listening to Isidro Panizales Jr. animatedly talking about his life before and after being a “doughnut-preneur”, is like the different flavors of Sidro Doughnuts . Each variant seems to reflect different aspects of his almost three decades of living in America. From his work in corporate America for more than 10 years to that one little spark of deciding leaving work to pursue his delicious passion – life is like a box of doughnuts! IN A DOUGHNUT HOLE Sidro is an offshoot from the name Isidro but as Sid says, it’s a tribute to his father. The first Sidro Doughnuts came out of the kitchen and delivered to one lucky doughnut-phile on Dec. 18 last year. It comes in two sizes – Junior Doughnuts which at 30 grams each are perfect for parties and occasions. But if you can’t enough, there are the Regular Doughnuts which is more than 3x at 100 grams and comes with more toppings and flavours. Choose among nine specially concocted creations - Bugnay Berry, Calamansi, Dulce

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Search This Blog