Meshi - What's on my buffet plate?

The gastronomic joys of a buffet that you get to enjoy a variety of dishes depending on your appetite. So basically, I often starve myself before I get myself into a buffet. But that's the not the case during this Japanese Buffet "Meshi" at Days Hotel Iloilo months ago. Instead of starving ourselves before, we just came from another food tasting session around 3 hours before. But blame isn;t upon us, have we known that we were to be invited to this glorious spread, we could have had managed our schedule to fit our appetites.

But nonetheless, I might have broken my buffet record that instant as I had around 3-4 plates of a variety of Japanese specialties. Good thing Japanese cuisine consists of light dishes that despite being full (we had four mini bowls of soups prior to that). As usual with all my Japanese buffets before, it always starts with sushis, makis, and all those in between. It may look just appetizers but actually its heavy for it laready has rice in it.

Then comes the tempura, gyoza and salads. I just love the potato salad made Japanese by adding tobiko, fish eggs or roe that is often seen with makis - those orange trimmings. A dip in sauce makes these fried and steamed dishes more appetizing.

And now for the main course but with the quantity I got they didn't seem to be the main course. I don't usually like ginger but the pork with ginger sauce proved to my favorite that time. And still there was the grill meat and seafood that I just remembered when it was presented to us. Even just the sauce, it was an appetizing plate.

The desserts both looked and tasted good. Flans, gelatins, mousses, creme brulee - you name they had it that time. Each was crafted to make it a visual treat that one might just look at "eat".

And finally, the three cheese cheesecake that not only looked good but really tasted as divine as one might expect. Though I only got thin slice (ahem) it was as filling as it could have been. Or maybe I was just very full for it was among the last ones I had that time.

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

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...

Ube brazo de mercedes from Lapaz Bakeshop

It was just an impromptu food trip in and around Lapaz market a few months ago when I discovered this ube brazo de mercedes from the Lapaz Bakeshop. I got to taste and take home this ube dessert that later on became a staple at home. Lapaz Bakeshop sits on the corner of Tinda Lapaz right across Grand Dame Hotel. A restaurant named Lapaz Kitchenette was the previous locator of the space and it was famous for it's PhP59 buffet . The bakeshop is among the bigger "small town" bakeshops in the city with it's wide range of breads, pastries and cakes plus shorts snack items. It even has branches in some towns in Iloilo including one in my hometown, Sta. Barbara. It was a quick side trip made by Sir Eugene that time that introduced me to this ube variant of brazos. He bought a few slices of this dessert and brought it inside Madge Cafe inside the market. It was perfect with the cafe's native coffee and the filling is somewhat like ube halaya. The meringue is jus...

Roberto's Queen Siopao

What makes Queen Siopao one of the most sought after food items at Roberto's is more than how the sio pao tastes. Indeed it tastes good and delicious and it's BIG. It has chicken and pork adobo, Chinese sausage, egg and bacon inside that big "pao". But it is only available on certain times - like three days every two weeks. Long before, it was 3 days a month only but as it became more popular, they made it every fortnight. So you ask why a popular item like this be of limited offer? The reason I got before was the availability of the bacon but I didn't buy it. But now with a minimum order of 30 pcs it can be made available at your convenience. It is sold at PhP70 a piece.

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...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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