A very special lunch at Cabugao Seafoods Haus

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 used to the sweltering heat of the sun.

While waiting for our orders to arrive we found a cage of lovebirds near the parking entrance.

And it was their native litsong manok which came first to our table. Though I don’t like the way it was arranged, like a deck of cards being spread with each part of the chicken lining up, the taste was very good enough. Also it came cold, no hints of being grilled, but it was good that I ate a lot, dipped in sinamak.

We also had kinilaw nga pasayan and tangigue. The fish ceviche looked and tasted perfectly – with salted eggs adding more flavour to the dish. The shrimp kinilaw was also good though it didn’t look appetizing.

The sinabawan nga managat looked tempting and tasted just right, not too salty nor bland.

The grilled pork chop was dry but tasted better than the previous one I had which was very salty. Good thing the sinamak-toyo concoction was there to save the day.

The adobado nga alimusan is among the popular orders. The sauce had the right flavour and consistency that complemented the fish thus making it appetizing even for those who don’t usually eat “catfish” like me.

The grilled managat was a misdirected order – they got confused and gave it to us when we didn’t order any. But I managed to capture it before it was wheeled off to the right table.

It was another delicious gastronomic experience at the Cabugao Seafoods Haus and even with some miss hits (just in my case), it was a worthy visit that I’ll surely be back and even recommend to anyone. After all, taste is subjective, and you might find them all worthy your discriminating taste.

Cabugao Seafoods Haus

Along the highway in Cabugao Sur, Pavia Iloilo

Tel. No. 033 320-1805

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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