Craving for fried lumpia

It just came from nowhere!

Out of a sudden, my stomach grumbled from fried lumpia dipped in vinegar and I found myself going around the city looking and trying to satisfy this craving. First stop was at Dapli by Breakthrough along Lasalette building but they only make vegetable lumpia on Fridays - I really wonder why. Then at Dainty House Restaurant around the block, I missed the last order then. Over at the foodcourt at The Grand Tower, actually I never got there since it looked closed across the street.

That brought me to The Atrium mall and to the foodcourt I directly went. And there it was, a plate of fried lumpiang shanghai beckoning me in silent screams of "come and get me". Indeed I wasted no time getting an order to which I complemented with a another craving - kare kare. So it was a very late lunch and an early dinner too ( 'twas around 5pm). At PhP10 each, the lumpia was quite filled but I didn't really quite appreciated it since I literally let it swam in sinamak - the Ilonggo spiced vinegar. The kare kare from the Breakthrough stall (they ran out of veggies that time :( ) was just okay, made with cow's skin (usually for the Ilonggo pata). The guinamos (bago-ong) was much better for it was very flavourful and not the usual sweet style used in most restos in Manila or elsewhere. This one had the typical Ilonggo smell and taste of guinamos, that I finished my two cups of rice with 2 and a half pieces of lumpia left. And then i finally devoured and savoured each piece - saving the best for last!

The next day, I was out again, still craving for fried lumpia. I looked around town and finally settled for these freshly made ones at four pesos each. It was a fiesta as I bought ten pieces but regretted it on my first bite since it was like lumpia wrapper wrapped lumpia wrapper LOL. It almost had no filling at at all. To remedy this, I drowned them in vinegar - yup I used a bowl rathen than a platito for the sinamak so that each bite would still be as tasty as they can be not to mentioned the sides of my mouth having that burning sensation for hours.

Indeed I got what I paid for for both instances and sometimes, it doesn't really matter as long as I satisfy my cravings. Now looking at these lumpia, makes me feel dizzy ...

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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