An American Adventure Buffet at Days Hotel Iloilo

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 they were fried to a crisp golden brown that went with a scrumptious pineapple-based sauce.

Aside from the salad bar that features mostly organic vegetables and fruits, there were also ready to eats salads like the Tuna Salad (above) which had chunks of tuna, onions, tomatoes, beans and egg in an aromatic and flavourful vinaigrette.

There's also this Marble Potato with bacon? bits, peppers and herbs. But my favorite was the Cobb Salad which was a deconstructed one and gave the foodies the chance to make their own. A mini salad bar on it's own that I binged on my combination of mango-cheese and bacon. I even had a second serving!

Moving on to the main course buffet, the Mashed Potato looked to beautiful to be scooped out but eventually it tasted even better so it served as my "rice" then.

It went perfectly with the Porkloin with Apple and Cinnamon. Though the combination is more often in the dessert category but the sauce that comes with the taste of that combination complemented the slices of porkloin.

The Fish Creole was almost a complete meal in itself. It had fish fillet was combined with a creole sauce recipe with celery, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes among others. Surprisingly also went well with the mashed potato, though I don't know if that's a good combo, but it was good.

There also was the Roasted Rosemary Chicken with the flavours herbs and spices evident on the skin while the Beef Stewed in Red Wine had tender beef in rich thick and delectable sauce.

The US Roast Beef had a station all it's as slices were reroasted and came to the table with a savoury sauce. But I had fun concocting a fruity sauce made with the pineapple sauce (chicken nuggets) and mango cubes (Cobb Salad) and turned out to be delicious - at least, for me.

Dessert as always was a sight to behold and none other defined it best than the Vanilla Bavarian Mousse with Strawberry Basil Puree. A simple mousse made to look and taste good by the fresh strawberry puree and fruit.

And speaking of fruits, they had the usual fruit platter that was made more enticing by the carved watermelon to which I asked one of the servers if I can have it on my plate, jokingly of course. But she thought I was serious!

Then there's up and coming item that is gaining popularity in Iloilo now, Lemon Meringue. They just had tartlets instead of pie but it tasted very good. Just the right mix of sweet and sour flavours of the meringue and lemon on a nicely done crust.

But the short bread cookie, half of it dipped in chocolate though as simple as it looked was among the favorite. In fact even during the clicks and flashes session, I already had one.

The Cookies N Cream Cheesecake was the signature dessert of the night and this blend is among the most popular flavour in almost all desserts. I just love how the cookie crust turned out to be a little chunky that one can still taste the goodness of the cookie.

As it was partnered with the cream and cheesecake, it was a fitting end to another gastronomic adventure I had at The Promenade. Indeed with all the mix and variety of the American flavours we had in just an hour or two, it was a food journey that is a preview of America in 3D, that is through delectable delicacies, drinks and dessert.

The American Adventure Buffet happens every Friday at 6pm to 10pm at the The Promenade located at Days Hotel Iloilo at the 4th level of The Atrium, Gen. Luna Street, Iloilo City. For reservations, call (033) 337-3297 or visit their website www.dayshotel.com.ph.

More photos on Facebook/Flavours of Iloilo

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 pork broth cube (

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

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.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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