Eat's Sooo Pinoy: Savoring the flavors of Iloilo

A few months back, Unilever Food Solutions launched the Ultimate Food Blogger competition in search for the “Foodie of all foodies”. It was part of its Sooo Pinoy advocacy that aims to get to the belly of what makes up Filipino cuisine. Together with the Department of Tourism, the culminating activity is a food tour to 10 gastronomic destinations and dine in more than 100 restaurants across the Philippines dubbed as Food Trip Na, Pilipinas!

Last week, the gastronomic tour kicked off with a 5-day and 22-restaurant food trip that spanned Iloilo City and Boracay Island. And Ilonggo restaurateurs and hotel owners graciously welcomed the Sooo Pinoy team as they ate their way around town.

DAY 1: WELCOME TO ILOILO

Chef Pauline Gorriceta Banusing presented a galore of typical Ilonggo cuisine dishing up Native Chicken Binakol and KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, Langka) to represent Freska’s best sellers downed with fresh dalandan juice and fresh Guimaras mangoes with buco gelato as dessert. And she created an Ilonggo dish with a twist – Pinamalhan na Pink Salmon Fillet!

As Iloilo is seafood country, our next stop, Hotel del Rio served the bounty from the sea - Sizzling Bangus Sisig, set up at Igma-an beside the Iloilo river. They also concocted a perfect summer and Sooo Pinoy cooler, Moringa-Citrus Smoothie; an icy blend of malunggay extracts and calamansi juice.

After a quick tour around Downtown Iloilo City, it was time for Green Mango Fastfood to showcase their best seller – Perfectly Fried Lechon Kawali. For their unique Sooo Pinoy dish, Chef Mandy Hisu-an Jr. presented Pepper Crusted Sibingan with Mango-Carrot Slaw served with Balsamic Dressing.

The next food trip brought us to Floyd’s Famous BBQ at the Ayala Techno Hub which served dinner consisting of their best sellers – Pork Barbecue, Chicken Barbecue and Crispy Pata. To top it all off, a plate of Moringa Pesto with Linguine Pasta served as their one of a kind dish for the event.

Finally, capping our first night, a short walk brought us to Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine at The Avenue where we were sampled Ginata-ang Pusit and their Sooo Pinoy dish, Moringa Crusted Blue Marlin. The fish was cooked using unsalted butter and topped with malunggay pesto and parmesan cheese among others.

DAY 2: FORGET YOUR DIET

Starting our second day was breakfast served at the Grand Tower showcasing the specialties of the Turo-Turo Express. It was a buffet of Pinakbet, Callos, Dinugu-an at Puto, Lumpiang Hipon and Bulalo as they were all best sellers as attested by Robert Alor, Gen. Manager of the Iloilo Grand Hotel. Bibingka (or puto maya) and Turon served as the Sooo Pinoy desserts.

It was then off to Emilion at JD Roadhouse for another galore of Ilonggo specialties. A bowl of Vegetable Chips occupied us with a crunch as we waited for the Laswa, Dinugu-an with Puto and another round of KBL (kadyos, baboy, langka) as we dine beside the Iloilo river.

Lunch was hosted by Breakthrough Restaurant along Villa beach. And as always it was a showcase of the best in Ilonggo cuisine bannered by the specialty of the house - Sinabawan na Managat. It was here that I was tasked to order for the group and I wasted no time pointing at the Kinilaw nga Pasayan, Sizzling Crabmeat, Aligue Rice, Pork Sisig, Sinugba nga Bangus and Pangat. It was made even more delectable with orders of Lechon Baboy, Native Lechon Manok, Lukon and Talaba. A true display of how Ilonggos eat and love to eat.

It was a perfect blend of Iloilo’s attraction – heritage and gastronomy, at the Camiña Balay nga Bato. The lady of the house, Luth Camiña and heritage advocate Eugene Jamerlan gave everybody a grand tour of the ancestral abode built in 1860. Food highlighted the visit as everybody enjoyed a bowl of Kapitan Ising’s Pancit Molo with kinihad, Dac’s kutsinta and the specialty of the house – tsokolate E, with mamon tostado.

Dinner that night was hosted by Esca’s Garden Restaurant of Chef Miguel Cordova and everybody enjoyed Kansi, Crispy Pata, Native Chicken Binakol, Lengua Estofado, Caldereta and Esca’s Sooo Pinoy dish - Linusgusan nga Pasayan nga Itlog na Pula.

DAY 3: NAMIT GID MANGIN PINOY

The Ilonggo’s signature dish, Lapaz Batchoy was breakfast on the third day and served as among the finale of the Sooo Pinoy food trip in Iloilo. Netong’s Batchoyan inside the Lapaz market gave everybody an authentic experience showing how batchoy is meticulously prepared and enjoyed.

An order of coffee from Madge Café surprised our guests as they were served in tin cans. And a visit to Deocampo Barquillos in Jaro fulfilled everybody’s pasalubong needs and a barquillos-making contraption was specially set up for us to observe how barquillos is done by hand.

Launched in 2010, the Sooo Pinoy advocacy aims to spread appreciation of Filipino dishes. Last year, the campaign went online discover the restaurants that serve the best Filipino dishes. And this year, the campaign that boosted Pinoys’ appetite for Filipino food will go around the country to sample the culinary delights of different regions. And Ilonggos take pride to be the first stop of this culinary tour around the Philippines!

Next food stop: Eat’s Sooo Pinoy in Boracay!

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FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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