I had a very satisfying and interesting lunch yesterday and I can still vividly remember how each of the dishes tasted. The food and ambiance at The Red Corner at Plazuela de Iloilo brings back the memories of the hip and modern take of these new breed of Chinese restaurants, I used to “dig in” in Manila years ago. Of recent memory, Hong Kong Kitchen started this trend in Iloilo few years back when it opened at Robinsons Place Iloilo. Now, its sister restaurant, The Red Corner is a testament on how the how discriminating taste of the Ilonggos was able to accept the drift of the times.
But it was more on the food and ambiance that made yesterday’s lunch a truly satisfying one. A meeting of gourmands, more like it, we talked about food and its impact on the tourism of Iloilo. Over the very appetizing Spinach and Seafood Soup, our talk started with the current situation of Iloilo’s tourism sector. While the soup was very enticing - spinach provided not only the interesting but a refreshingly taste perfectly combined with shrimps and other seafood and it’s a must order I would say while the state of Iloilo’s tourism pales in comparison – not much attraction and no tourist friendly places.
A familiar dish made its way to our table next - Qingdao Spare Ribs. I just love how crunchy it still was even though it has been wrapped in that special Chinese sauce it came with. It was tender to each bite with a little resistance and how the simple meat was made tempting with the right method of cooking and ingredients. Now if only, Iloilo City can be packaged that way and same way goes for our home grown restaurants to which others still still exist in the post war era in ambiance and service.
The Egg Foo Yong looked like a usual omelet at first, inundated with sauce but as we all dig in, it came with a burst of shrimps, meat, vegetables and a lot more. It was surprising indeed that what seemed to be familiar can become different within a single stroke. This could be a perfect way to package Iloilo, as the talk continued. We have the usual sights – churches, heritage houses and old buildings, among others, just the usual BUT there’s a need for it to be different and would come as a surprise and makes us stand out in the eyes of tourists.
I really loved the Fish and Bean Curd in Szechuan Sauce. It was a contrast of textures; the fried fish fillet melts in the mouth while the bean curd offers some resistance to each bite and all embraced with the flavourful Szechuan sauce. Not your usual “fish in sauce” dish I must say echoing the need for Iloilo to make it’s heritage (be it structures, culture or food) adapt with the modern times to make it appeal to the younger generation, even to Ilonggos themselves who in turn will take pride in it and spread the word.
Almost overlooked but not forgotten was the Fookien Fried Rice. If I were to describe it in layman’s terms, it’s like yang chow fried rice topped with a concoction of meat and vegetables in a very savoury sauce. A complete meal in itself with the toppings complementing not overpowering the rice – and here’s hoping (even just a glimmer of it) that politics and tourism plus heritage conservation will complement one another.
Like the Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin in Chinese Sauce, it’s usually pork I am familiar with cooked this way but as the Chinese gastronomy is varied then style and ingredients goes with it. And it turned out to be like the ones I am familiar with, just a different meat giving it somewhat a new gastronomic dimension. And that’s what most of our restaurants need now, as we turned to food – a new dimension, a resilient attitude and maybe courage to take on new challenges head on.
The Beef Brisket was indeed familiar – soft meat and flavourful yet constrained sauce. I just love how the meat “fall apart” into individual strands as one takes a bite. The sauce was very rich, flavourful and aromatic - typical of Chinese cooking. And for Iloilo tourism, we’d surely hate it to “fall apart” because of the lack of interest of the local government to give it a push.
Finally, we had Almond Jelly and Sago for dessert. It was refreshing for it was like a humble halo halo – with just sago and almond jelly set on crushed ice and some milk and sugar. I really loved the tamed sweetness it brought in contrast to the overly sweet ones I had before. And Iloilo need just to be that in my opinion, maintain its provincial appeal while having the amenities of a big city - no need for it to scream to be heard. Just with the right blend of attractions and tourism thrusts plus the right mix of people from both the public and private sectors to be at the helm of it all.
And just like this very wonderful meal at The Red Corner, we all hope someday Iloilo’s tourism can be as satisfying, appetizing and totally being “craved” for by tourists.
The Red Corner is located at Plazuela de Iloilo and is open from 11am until 9pm, extending if needed. Serving portions for this particular meal is not of regular size for this was a food tasting session organized by the owners of The Red Corner for us.