Day Hotel Buffet: A gastronomic journey called Indulgence

Buffets offer eye-catching, mind-boggling and stomach-grumbling array of food choices. Overwhelming from every direction, just from the mere sight of it, one can already exclaim “I’m full!” even without a single bite. And that’s how exactly how I felt at The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo

The grandest dinner buffet in town, “Indulgence” is the long standing Saturday dinner spread of the hotel. It promises a gastronomic trip around the world as it offers dishes from all corners of the globe spread throughout several stations that includes soups & bread, appetizers, salads, grill-carve-roast and desserts on top of the main buffet.

I began my food drive with a bowl soup. Simple yet savoury, the French onion soup perked up my appetite and was perfect with crostinis and croutons. Minutes later, I was stuck in appetizer traffic. There was a plate of ham, salami and other cold cuts plus galantina and devilled eggs. In contrast was a display of meatless hors d'oeuvre – different variety of Italian cheeses (provolone and mozzarella to name a few).

Beside it was tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs) totally distracted me (got a stick every time I refuel) and so did the vegetable samosas. A platter of baked mussels in an eye-catching display - too attractive to be ruined, beckons. I can’t seem to find the right gastronomic direction – left, right, straight or even a u-turn!

Good thing, the salad station eased my ride. Already prepared were Tuna-Tomato-Basil salad with Olive dressing and Marble Potatoes with Three Mushrooms mix. There’s also a Cobb salad made with chopped tomatoes, crisp bacon, roasted chicken breast, hard-boiled egg, mango, chives, vinaigrette and kesong puti. I slowed down a bit to make my own light and healthy mix from the assortments (fresh fruits and vegetables grown organically) that make up the salad bar and discovered the peppery goodness of arugula leaves with thousand island dressing!

Then I steered to the most popular Japanese contribution to world cuisine – sushi and sashimi. The selection include makizushi, nigirzushi, norimaki, futomaki as well as tuna sashimi. Here, I made a drive through for a quick bite – California maki and rice with egg! And I grabbed some sashimi with wasabi-soy sauce concoction alongside.

The journey continued that evening and an hour later I made a stop-over at the main buffet. Now where to begin? The mixed seafood, vegetable and coldcuts rice (already) looked heavy in contrast to the light Creamy Basil Pesto Pasta with Shrimp.

There’s Cioppino, a fish stew originating in San Francisco and typically a combination of crabs, clams, shrimps, squid, mussels and fish cooked with fresh tomatoes in a wine sauce. A Greek specialty called Moussaka was uncovered as a layer of eggplant and meat topped with béchamel sauce.

Chicken Parmesan (chicken breast crusted with spices and parmesan cheese) and Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon Barbecue Sauce were among the meat specialties I kept refueling on. Also in the selection was Lengua in Cream and Corn Sauce with creamy mashed potato on the side.

A queue at the carving and grill station revealed what patrons were ling up to –US roast beef plus salmon and dory grilled on request and topped with sauce. A perfect break to charge and continue the rest of my food journey.

“Lead us not into temptation…” I looked back just in time to see a missionary finishing the phrase as he stood in front of the desserts station. Indeed, one can easily forget to step on the brakes when confronted with this unmatched dessert buffet collection. No other buffets come close – I must say.

The most eye-catching were the Mango Cones high up on the display – cream-filled cones with mango and chocolate topping. Equally inviting were Heavenly Bite Chocolate Cake – richest chocolate cake I ever had, and the Strawberry Tart Pie. The selection has beautifully crafted individual desserts that include Kiwi Fruit Mess, Chinese Crème Brulee, Pineapple Mousse and Caramel Walnut Cheesecake For the health conscious there’s some carrot cake, banana pudding and a fresh fruits in season alongside.

Wait there’s more – fruity cheesecakes, assorted trifles, panna cottas with fresh fruit topping, verrines, cookies and bonbons. There’s also a crepe station, a soufflé section, an ice cream bar – now what more can you ask for!

Two hours later and with a glass of kamias (iba) shake, my food expidition came to an end. But there’s a lot more to discover on your own. Take the Indulgence gastronomic journey every Saturday from 6-10pm at The Promenade, Days Hotel and experience the best buffet in Iloilo City!

The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo

4th Level of The Atrium

Gen. Luna Street, Iloilo City

Tel Nos. 337-3297, 336-8801 to 10

www.dayshotel.com.ph

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This article appeared on The News Today last March 25, 2011

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 native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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