FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

It was my busiest Dinagyang celebration ever! For 5 days and 4 nights, it was all about food, food and food as I made my way around town joining in the festivities that highlights as the same time "sidelights" the festival. I've discovered new places, new dishes, new events and especially new friends who share almost the same passion. It was indeed an enjoyable and awesome celebration of Dinagyang 2012 . First stop was the home of one of Iloilo's most celebrated chefs, Ms. Maridel Uygongco . I tagged along through the invitation Ms. Regine Algecera , executive producer of two cable tv shows (for both Sky Cable and Cable Star). In her kitchen, Ms Maridel demonstrated the preparation of her YSL recipe she made during the My City, My SM, My Cuisine event. It was a very casual video shoot with all of us enjoying not only the designer ibos she prepared but also the fun of it all. I then rushed to Maki Japanese Restaurant where a friend celebrated his birthday p

It was Claude Tayag's article in the Philippine Star , years ago, that opened my thoughts about Tiolas. He shared having a galore of Ilonggo dishes for lunch in a restaurant on the edge of a cliff, having a spectacular view of Guimaras Strait, with fire trees in full bloom and with the sea breeze and breaking waves completing the sights and sounds of this hilltop community. That vision got stuck in mind since then and when I had a chance of visiting Tiolas, a few weeks ago, I literally jumped in. It was quite a fast road trip passing by the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal and Miagao. Tiolas is the last community in the town of San Joaquin before one enters the province of Antique. Except for the fire trees for it wasn't their bloom time yet, it was everything the Claude Tayag describes it to be - great view, windswept, waves crushing and gastronomic.  Sugbahan sa Tiolas has the simple and genuine food as describe by Claude, though I wasn't sure if this was the actual

It was my first time to attend the patronal fiesta of the Villa Arevalo district, last Sunday, paying homage to the Sto. Nino . And it was at the Camiña Balay na Bato where I tasted one of the tastiest roasted turkeys and it was so good that I remembered taking a photo when it looked like this - already stripped to the bones. Actually, we were among the last ones to arrive Mr Eugene Jamerlan and I were stalled by the fireworks competition along the way coming from another food event at SM City Iloilo . Going back to this turkey, I heard that this was marinated in butong (coconut water) with salt and other spices. And using a technique called "cold fusion", the flavour was able to penetrate the turkey better as the cool temperature softens the meat thus making it absorb more. Okay I just made up that term - lol but it seems to be like that (thanks Natie for reminding me it's called brining ). Prior to it being roasted, it was stuffed with tanglad (lemon grass) a

It all started with an almost non stop talk about food while traveling all the way up north in Luzon. In conversation were Ms. Corazon Alvina of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and Ms Millie Dizon , VP for Marketing of SM Group of Companies, among others. And when they arrived at their destination, the idea for My City, My SM, My Cuisine was born as the project complements the retail giant's thrust of showcasing the best of the regions and food is among the highlights of travel to most parts of the Philippine archipelago. Thus, a week before Dinagyang 2012 , the event centre of SM City Iloilo was transformed into regal showcase of Ilonggo gastronomy and culture as the mall welcomed the arrival of My City, My SM, My Cuisine into it's fold. With replicas of the symbols of Iloilo like the Arroyo Fountain (below) and the Molo Bandstand (above) with the Miag-ao Church as background to the (almost) aristocratic buffet set-up, it was a fusion of history, culture and gastro