La Dolce Vita: A True Italian Culinary Experience

There is more to the real Italian palate than pizza and pasta, so go beyond the surface with Italy’s delectable dishes! Starting this February 4, experience an Italian feast for your senses at The Promenade in Days Hotel, Iloilo City.

Start your gastronomical experience with the sumptuous choices of Antipasti (appetizers). You’ll never say no with Focaccia, oven-baked Italian garlic bread delightfully smothered with herbs. Also, try some of Grissini, the special, crisp Italian breadsticks.

Pair these with Carpaccio, the thinly sliced meat that have been marinated in capers, olive and lemon, served with Parmesan slivers, and you’re in for a great start!

Now you’re ready for the next best thing: The Entrata (Main Course), and Italians certainly have a gift when it comes to cooking meat. One recommended choice is the Pork Saltimbocca, pork marinated in wine and scrumptiously topped with prosciutto and sage.

Another Entrata favorite is the alla Cacciatore. One cannot go wrong with delicious veal meat splendidly cooked in wine, herbs, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Naturally, there will be pasta and pizza, and La Dolce Vita buffet, every pasta lover’s dream has come true – the Pasta Station. Choose your favorite pasta and pair with a wide array of sauces and toppings, and the attendant will prepare these for you on a hot pan. Pizza is also served in this station, and heated to give you that crisp, flavorful slice that you’ve always loved!

Now, down to everyone’s favorite, Dolce (dessert)! The dessert table in La Dolce Vita looks like it came out of a story book. Take pleasure in selecting through a line of luscious Italian desserts simply waiting for you.

To give you a peek, one absolutely delicious choice would be the fusion of crème brulee and tiramisu with creamy chocolate, aptly named Crème Brulee Tiramisu, served in adorable little cups.

Another recommended dessert is the Semi Freddo Trifle which is a melt-in-the-mouth cake made of layers of lady fingers, together with lemon custard, blueberry, and cheese.

Those with a taste for fruit will certainly enjoy Vin Santo Zabaglion, which is a luscious custard dessert flavored with red wine, grapes and strawberries.

There definitely are many more delectable Italian dishes that you can indulge in at La Dolce Vita, the Italian Buffet in The Promenade at Days Hotel, Iloilo City. See for yourself and, every Friday, go ahead – indulge in a true Italian culinary journey!

La Dolce Vita Italian buffet is available every Friday at The Promenade, Days Hotel Iloilo.

For reservations, please call (033) 337-32-97

Fruits from the grocery

These packs of cut up fruits were bought from SM Delgado's grocery. Got enticed by their color and luckily, they were as good as they looked, especially the papaya. Each was just less than Php 22, really a bargain!

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

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?"

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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