Pizza and pasta at The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo

Flavours of Iloilo, together with some members of the Iloilo Bloggers Inc., were invited to be part of Tinapayan’s first ever Chocolate Cake Decorating Contest last Oct. 1, 2010 at The Atrium. While the "final four cakes" were being deliberated upon, we treated to a quick fix of pizza and pasta at The Promenade.

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo offers both great food and view of the hustle and bustle of Iloilo City. The Capitol complex dominates the foreground while the districts of Lapaz and Jaro looming beyond. It creates a perspective that goes well with the gastronomic delights it boasts. It houses not only the popular Days Hotel buffets but also serves food items between breakfast, lunch and dinner times.

The moment I saw the snack items, it instantly reminded me of Bourbon Street Grill and Bar in “Smallville”. How the food was presented to how it tasted, it was reminiscent of my visits to the said restaurant. ’Twas no coincidence since the hotel and the bar have the same owner.

First was a very tasty and flavourful pasta that turned out to be puttanesca. Fettuccine in tomato sauce with olives, capers and anchovies then topped with parmesan – a perfect recharger after that shoving and pushing in the crowded mall. One of the better puttanescas I’ve tried so far and surely will have it again or even at Bourbon Street.

Then came a square pizza with one of the thinnest crusts I’ve seen. The House Special pizza had spicy beef, Andouille sausage, olives, mushrooms, peppers and capers over cheese and tomato sauce. With overwhelming drops of Tabasco sauce, it was deliciously hot that we craved for more despite the inferno in our mouths.

The Villa function room (above) garbed for “The Night of Unearthing Glamour”
while the Molo function room in a subdued setting.

After the result of the contest was announced (we just heard them from above), we also got a glimpse of the newly renovated function rooms of Days Hotel Iloilo. Named after some the districts of Iloilo City, these function rooms are located on the 4th level of The Atrium. From the classy ambiance and facilities to the amiable service and first rate gastronomy, these functions provide the perfect venue for any gathering from small groups to conferences.

Days Hotel Iloilo
4th Level, The Atrium, Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City
Tel No. 337-3297 / 336-8801 to 10 / 0918-933-3297 / 0917-700-3297

(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 por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

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. ...

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

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?"

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