A taste of what's to come at Amalfi Cucina Italiana

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. Everyone really enjoyed, that Chef Miner asked for another to be served at our table ...

The soup was a Shrimp Bisque with Lemon and Truffles (Crema di Scampi e Tartuffo al Lemone). Its made from shrimps shells, wine and vegetables all blended together to create a flavourful concoction that's a good way whet up one's appetite.

An anchovy salad came next and it had arugula, soft boiled egg, tomatoes and herbed mozarella drizzled with red wine vinagirette (Insalata di Acchiuge e Arugula). It was a blend of strong flavours but mellowed out the fresh tomatoes and softboiled egg.

Another salad - Insalata di Tiepidadi petto di Pollo e Arancia came to the table next and it was a visually appetizing one. The poached chicken breast salad had mesclun orange and roasted shallot vinaigrette. The sweetness of the oranges went well with the balsamic "dash" making the chicken ooze with flavour in each bite.

Our pasta came in the form of Penne di Pollo e Ceci. A blend of penne pasta in chick pea puree with strips of free range chicken. Also there was Gnocchi al Ricotta e Tartufo. Gnocchi is a ball/round shaped pasta with Ricotta, Truffle Oil and Parmesan Shavings. It has a nice texture to it combined with the creamy and flavourful sauces and mushrooms.

Off to the main dishes and it started with Filleti di Branzino con Salsa Pomodori e Zaferano. A fillet of sea bass in tomato and saffron sauce garnished with crisps vegetables, the sauce brings out the goodness of the mildly flavoured fish.

A confit of pork with roasted bellpeppers, balsamic reduction and marble potatoes (Bocconcini di Maile e Pepe Arosto di Oliva) had a blend of delicious flavours. The pork was soft and having that yummy roasted skin was a major turn-on. But the balsamic reduction created a burst of flavour that made this an enjoyable dish.

Next was the Stracotto al Peppoli. made with US certified beef belly and braised in red wine. I just love the way the beef separates like corned beef when sliced that you can actually see the strands. Its soft and savoury, perfectly cooked to look and taste good.

And saving the best for last (in my case), was the baked salmon with artichokes, lemon and pine nuts (Filleti di Salmone al Forno con Carciofi). Perfectly cooked! Seared light just to give some crisp outside and it very juicy inside.Even just the salmon, itself tasted so good, even more so with the sauce. It reigns on top of my list for the second day of food galore.

But wait there's more, just two more and it's the Italian specialty pizza. But Chef Miner created cream based pizzas with cheeses serving as the "sauce" topped with mixed seafood or shrimps. Fresh arugula are placed before serving not only as garnish but the pizza is eaten rolled with or in the leaves, which ever way.

Two days and 22 dishes after, this gastronomic tour of Italy showed that there's more to pizza and pasta from this boot-shaped European country. And Amalfi Cucina Italiana strives to bring only the best and authentic Italian cuisine to the Ilonggos, to live up to the accolades of being of the the Philippines best restaurants!

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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