FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Amalfi Cucina Italiana launched new items on their menu and I had the privilege to have a preview (and "pre-taste") of it all during a two-day, 22-dish food tasting session organized by its F&B consultant, Chef Miner del Mundo through the invitation of Ms. Arvi Sumayo, Marketing Manager of Great Foods Concepts Inc. And Day 2 turned out to be just as appetizing and delectable as another set of appetizers, soups, salads, main course, pasta and pizza. Read more about Day 1 . An appetizer named Crostini di Fegatini di Anatra al Ouva Caramelisato commenced our gastronomic afternoon. If I had a hard time looking for the right angle (and finally settled for the view from the top), finding this antipasto very delicious was just as easy as 1-2-3. The ciabatta bread had the perfect crisp then it becomes somewhat chewy. The goose liver pate went perfectly with the caramelized grapes - I didn't know this combination would really complement each other in a big gastronomic way....

Lamesa Grill Iloilo welcomes the early arrival of summer (and it's only February) with the ultimate cooler - halo halo! And what better way to enjoy this colorful melange of sweetened fruits, beans and other ingredients than creating your own mix and going back for more! Lamesa Grill's Halo-Halo Buffet brings in more than 30 ingredients you can mix and match plus enjoy to your hearts and appetite's delight. Happening daily from 2-5pm and for only PhP 99, one can enjoy the all the works for personalized halo halo. Take you pick from sweetened fruits like langka, saba, ube and kamote to fresh mangoes, melon and buko to canned peaches, pineapple, avocados and lychees. There's also nata, sago and gelatin to give color and texture to your creations. Giving a crunch to your halo-halo are rice crispies, pinipig, corn flakes and peanuts. One can also find sweetened garbansos, red and white beans. Finally garnish it chocolate filled rolled wafers and marshmallows! You can opt t...

There’s new joint along Iloilo City’s premiere heritage showcase, JM Basa Street and it highlights the Chinese influence in Ilonggo food and food ways. Opened just a few days ago, the Tarzan Magic La Mien noodle house prides itself with it’s freshly made noodles. One can actually see how they are stretched, pulled and all the acts of noodle making. This discovery came to be when a foodie-friend La Beth of Skyscraper City-Iloilo (forum) had her noodle fill there and gave a thumbs-up for her order. So I immediately trooped days later and found myself having a bowl of their combo bowl having beef, pork, chicken and innards. It was almost like having a bowl of Lapaz batchoy if not for the bean sprouts and a spiced flavourful broth. The difference was in the noodles too, though I haven’t seen the actually noodle making, I came late – a friend just ordered for me. It comes in a deep bowl filled almost up the brim and almost overflowing with broth. Good thing the soup is good that unknowin...

A special occasion prompted us to have lunch at the Cabugao Seafoods Haus in the town of Pavia. Located along the highway near the border with Sta. Barbara, the restaurant opened a few years ago in the light of the inauguration of the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan. It was among the first businesses to have sprouted along the airport route in the hopes of attracting people who will travel to and from the said place. And it paid big time as it is now among the most successful businesses and in my opinion the biggest success story when it comes to food. It even branched out in the town of Oton, which is along the southern Iloilo route. The restaurant has the native feel as it bamboos, wood and nipa are the ones making the structure. And from a single dinig area, more dining areas have now sprouted all over the place – it now has a big extension on the side completing their original eating area. They also have cottages for private groups plus an air conditioned area to those not...

I just came from a meeting for an upcoming event dubbed as "America in 3D" and when I arrived at The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo, it was like "America in 3D" all over again. But it was delicacies, drinks and desserts that time for it was the launching of their newest dinner buffet called American Adventure. As it promises guests to embark on a culinary journey of the flavours of America, guests will surely the taste of America with it's line up appetizers, salads, delicacies, main course and desserts. I kicked off my journey with a bowl of the clam chowder which was just as good as the one I had a few days earlier at The Venue . It was rich and flavourful, so good that sometime during the course of the buffet I had anotherone. There was a beautiful display of Oyster Rockefeller which turned out to be delectable that I got one each time I stood up and take another round. A play on Las Vegas, I assume, were these chicken nuggets they call Gold Nuggets. Indeed t...