The Ilonggo Christmas tradition continues – Tinapayan’s Gingerbread Village

Tinapayan Bakeshop always delights Ilonggos, young and old, with its annual grand Gingerbread Village display at The Atrium. The Display which was put up weeks ago is located at the main entrance and will run until January 2012.

"It's in our childlike nature, I guess, that led me to start the Gingerbread Village," says Evelyn “Owa” Que, manager of Tinapayan." It's like your dream of being somewhere - in a dreamland, living in a different pole."

Tinapayan's Gingerbread Village is both an animated and gastronomic display as aside from the gingerbread houses that makes the village; it has movable displays like human figurines, carnival attractions and more. The highlight of the display is a train that regularly runs around the village to the delight of the onlookers.

It takes a long time for the Gingerbread Village to take shape. “You have to color flow it and paint it with Royal icing” says Ms. Owa. “The most difficult part is making the base, which is made of gingerbread cookies - it's fast to bake, but takes three weeks to toast” Que said.

As early as August, the pattern for the village is made and baking starts by October and by the last week of November, the village must already be on display. The first village spanned only one table but even then, the village was a sight to behold. Gingerbread was invented in Drayton in Shropshire, England. It is a sweet that can take the form of a cake or a cookie where the predominant flavor is ginger and once hardened, it can last for years.

A great display for the season and even better if you can take home a gingerbread house to add flair to your home. You can even put a light inside the gingerbread house, making it an added Christmas treat at home. These gingerbread houses which are on sale for Php895 only at Tinapayan Bakeshop.

Acknowledgement: Some portions of this write up were sourced from article written by Ms Kathy Villalon for The News Today

I dream of bacon at Days Hotel Iloilo ...

I could smell the aroma and hear the crackling sound of bacon as it sizzled on the griller but when I was about to devour it, I just couldn't taste it. I took a mouthful again and it just remained elusive. On my third try, I finally had a bite of something but it tasted nowhere like a bacon. Then I woke up and realized I was biting into my pillow and just came from dreamland ... I found myself enjoying one of the Superior Rooms at Days Hotel Iloilo a few days ago. It's among the newly renovated rooms and among the few that actually has a window to the outside world. I had a very humongous bed and around four of myself could fit in - but maybe three for "me" to be comfortable. But I'd rather be alone enjoying the room and the pillows for I just love the pillows at Days Hotel Iloilo ever since. The Superior Room is big for its class and has simple yet classy interiors. It has a sitting corner and a sort of office nook perfect for business travelers as...

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 por...

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

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

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

Search This Blog