Savor and capture each moment at Amular Studio+Cafe

Amular Photography Studio+Café is the latest addition to the burgeoning Plazuela de Iloilo strip. Owned by photography enthusiasts Daniel Amular Jr. and Ces Sarria-Amular, the husband and wife team brings a new concept for café-goers and photography clients in Iloilo City - a coffee shop and photographic studio in one!

The studio+cafe merges the fine art of photography with well-discerned coffee concoctions and desserts. The café has a modern and high-end feel yet gives customers that refreshing and relaxed environment with smooth jazz music played throughout the day. Consistent with its theme, the interior is decorated with framed photographs of its clients.

The café serves specially concocted brewed coffee and coffee drinks – both hot and cold. House-blend coffees are made from all-natural, all-organic beans - free of pesticides, and genetic modification. Arabica and Robusta beans are grown by indigenous farmers from all over the country. For each cup customers buy, they are helping sustain the indigenous farmers’ livelihood.

Together with its trade partner Advocafe (www.advocafe.com), each cup of coffee goes a long way in helping sustain the education of indigenous children and youth, and in supporting initiatives for environment concerns and adaptation to the changing ecosystem.

Hot coffees available are Americano, Expresso, Espresso Doppio, Cappuccino, Caffe Latte, and Caffe Mocha. Each order starts from the beans, ground, and expressed according to one’s desired strength: Extra Mild, Mild, Regular, Strong or Extra Strong. Cold versions of are also available such as Iced Americano, Iced Mocha, and Iced Cappuccino.

The café also has its signature indulgent shakes - with no whipped cream only creamy vanilla ice cream! Try their top selling Vanilla Vertigo Shake, Cappuccino Shake, Coffee Shake, Chocolate Shake, and Strawberry Shake.

Amular Photography Studio+Café also serves pastries and desserts. Choices range from cupcakes to bars, from pies to quiche, from cookies to biscotti – all of which are homemade using only the finest ingredients available. Aside from the all-time favourite Super Gooey Caramel Pie, top selling cupcakes include Supermoist Chocolate Cupcake, Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla Buttercream Cupcake. Other favourites are Lemon Butter Bars and Ultimate Fudgie Brownie Trifle.

Sandwiches are served throughout the day. Must try are the Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Grilled Chicken Cheese Sandwich, and Beef Steak Cheese Sandwich with Caramelized Onions --all served with chips on the side. Or get all three sandwiches in one plate by ordering the Super Sandwich Platter!

Inside the Studio+Café is a full-service digital photography studio offering the following services: Wedding & Events Photography; Portrait Photography for families, children, and babies; Product & Food Photography, Advertising photography; and Glamour and Fashion. Customized coffeetable books, art books, frames and art prints will also be made available for sale to the public.

“It was a passion which started as a hobby more than 10 years ago which led to my professional career in photography” says Daniel Amular Jr. With his degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University and a master’s degree in Business Management from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Dan specialized in the account management side of the advertising industry as a profession.

His background in advertising and marketing gives him an edge in conceptualizing and creating images desired by clients. He carries over the discipline and high demands of commercial work in his photography.

Ces Sarria-Amular earned a degree in Mass Communication from St. Paul University Iloilo where she graduated Cum Laude, and a master’s degree in Business Management from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. For five years, she taught major communications and business subjects such as PR, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and English courses as a fulltime professor at St. Paul University Iloilo; where she was also the PR Officer.

Now, she takes on the same path as a fulltime studio manager and professional photographer. Her intent dedication to her craft and her unique approach in creating visually appealing and striking images add to the style that is Amular Creative Photography.

Amular Photography Studio+Café is open daily from 8AM to 11PM. The café area can also be booked for birthdays, school parties and other occasions. Please call 508-1242 for more details. For more information you visit their website at www.amularphotography.com or email at amularphotography@yahoo.com.

Photos courtesy of Amular Photography

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 cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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