FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

A play, not only of colours but of texture and flavours, this presentation of fresh green lato and steamed orange crabs was among the eye catching pieces in a special dinner buffet I attended a few days ago. The seaweed had a nice gelatinous crunch to it and only had hints of saltiness as opposed to my first ever lato experience which had me gasping for fresh water. The crabs meanwhile were perfectly cooked and it packed in the juices in the meat giving it an aromatic gastronomic experience.

I thought it was just another container of wafer rolls but when I read the label, it said Squid Rolls and it couldn't get more literal than this. Usually squid rolls are just like those fish and shrimp balls sold in street side stalls, just made into rolls but this changed my "outlook" the next time I hear "squid roll". This is like my favorite papered squid or squid flakes but had been flavoured like "sweet, spicy and crunchy dilis" which are more familiar. Then like barquillos, these flavoured squid flakes are rolled and packed in containers. Now the next question was/is, how much does a container cost? Usually 2-3 pieces of these at Iloilo Supermart costs around PhP140 and an order of these squid rolls has around 10 rolls made with 2 squids ...

Two Sundays ago, I got samples of Afriques' latest offering - Labahita in Oliva , which is among the special goodies collection Chef Miguel Cordova has released in time for the upcoming season of gift giving. Indeed, Christmas is just around the corner and if you're a gourmand then this is something you'd likely to be interested in. I chanced upon Chef Miguel at Esca's Garden Restaurant finalizing his concoction which is made with dried and salted labahita fish (can't be sure if it's what locals call as lison - that big type of pinakas one sees at the markets), garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and chili flakes among others, all drowned in quality olive oil. (Sorry for the candid shot, Chef). From the looks of it with this angle, it looks like pork adobo swimming in oil since it has big chunks of labahita and flakes at the same time. the aroma of the olive oil is very evident plus with the spices and herbs mixed into it, the smell alone is enough reason to raise

Make your Christmas parties and Noche Buena more delightful with these luscious desserts that come close to the top of favourites this Christmas season. Spread the love this Christmas by sharing our delicious Blueberry Cheesecake to friends and family! Enjoy the rich texture of our cheesecakes with the intense character of blueberry! Get this lovely treat for only P1,000! Bound to be a big hit with all family and friends - treat your friends and loved ones with our signature 8" Super Gooey Caramel Pie! Get this perfect gift for only P400! Make sure these fabulous Christmas Cookie Treats are on the menu! A sweet combination of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies made extra special with their lovely light texture. Get a box of 20 cookies for only P300! More than just love to spread this Christmas; spread some sweet and sexy Strawberry Cheesecake! Enjoy the rich texture of our cheesecakes with the family and friends and leave some sweet-sexy taste of whole strawberri

A few months back, I enjoyed a boxful of napoleones plus my last trip from Bacolod yielded some mango and caramel tarts and recently I finally solved the “faceless” egg crackers I was raving about. Unknowingly, I had been a patron of Merci Pasalubong Treats for delicious sweets from the City of Smiles . Merci, meaning “Thank You” in French is a family business that started in 1995. It is the market brand of CM and Sons Food Products . Merci started as a small bakery supplying bread to a single store at the Libertad Market in Bacolod City. Sixteen years after, it now has 27 branches across Western Visayas, two of which are in Iloilo). Through the invitation extended by the James Toga, President of the Negros Bloggers, to the Iloilo Bloggers Inc., I attended the blessing and opening of its newest branch – at the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan last Dec.19, 2011. A simple blessing attended by the top honchos of CM & Sons Inc with Cabatuan Mayor Bob Maroma and Iloilo Provincial Tourism Di

It was one afternoon filled with music and songs plus a lot of fun and witty characters as SM Supermalls brings an all original musical extravaganza entitled It’s Christmas: The Musical. Ilonggos filled the beautifully Christmas garbed SM City Iloilo activity area to watch talents from Theatre Down South brought life to characters that include an elf, a toymaker, a fairy and a host of other magical characters. It all begins during a Christmas shopping rush with a girl, tired of tagging along her father, makes a stop then fell asleep on a bench. When she wakes up, the silence and emptiness of the mall greeted her and she realized it was already closed. Panic embraced her and all she could do then was sat in a corner and cry. She does not notice that a Mannequin in a nearby shop has moved out of its place and watched her curiously. She was startled and frightened at first when it spoke to her but then she realized its friendliness and the fact the she’s her only companion that time.

Ilonggos are surely busy preparing for the holidays - where to bring the family for some treats, what’s on the menu for the Noche Buena and what gifts to buy and which goes to whom – the never ending questions of the holiday rush. And you should already have answers to these for Christmas is just around the corner. But don’t fret if you haven’t for I’ll be listing down of my personal favorites as well as the “IN” gastronomic gifts and giveaways for the Yuletide season. DULGIES' ALFAJORES AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE SATINE. Make an impression with these insanely delicious one-of-a-kind cookie treats. The former is a Dulce de Leche filled short bread cookie smothered with confectioner’s sugar while the latter tastes as good as a real cheesecake! (PhP 190/20pieces and PhP160/dozen respectively). Don't forget their heavenly cheeseroll and ensaimada too! THE CHOCOLATIEST CHOCOLATE CAKE. There are many good tasting chocolate cakes in the city but only Uncle Tom’s could claim being t