Sooo Pinoy in Iloilo at Emilion Modern Filipino Cuisine

Ilonggo specialties welcomed the Sooo Pinoy Foodie Team as the Roadhouse where Emilion Modern Filipino Cuisine was located. I remember the famous Chef Gene Gonzales coming to Iloilo years back to launch the newest offerings of Emilion. From then on, the restaurant has enjoyed the Ilonggo patronage because of its affordable price and authentic Ilonggo and Pinoy flavour.

I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines and Iloilo is the first food stop . The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area. The food trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds to the Filipino Cuisine.

As the second restaurant on our second day, Emilion has prepared the very typical Ilonggo specialty – Laswa (topmost photo). There’s nothing “malandi” about this dish for it’s just stewed vegetables with seafood, that time – shrimps. I almost grew up with laswa as we have a backyard vegetable garden at home. But now, all these are just available at the market, just ask for a laswa mix and you’ll be given saluyot, okra, squash and string beans among others. It’s like the Ilocano’s dinengdeng but much simpler as it is just stewed with salt as seasoning. A perfect partner for fried meat or fish.

Emilion also showcased their Dinugu-an and Puto which are perfect snacks. They have this daily afternoon snack buffet that includes this combo plus a host of other Filipino snacks like pancit and native delicacies. For only PhP99, it’s a very affordable snack buffet that already includes bottom less drinks. Now that’s really affordable!

And there’s KBL – kadyos, baboy, langka which is my favorite Ilonggo dish. It starts with grilled pork hocks or just even regular meat, and then it has unripe jackfruit and the kadyos beans. These beans are very well known across Western Visayas but almost “alien” to other regions. It is characterized by its dark violet color which also turns the broth somewhat pale purple.

The broth has hints of sourness but not like sinigang. Thanks to an endemic souring fruit we Ilonggos call batwan. It grows in clusters in trees like big grapes and can be found only in Western Visayas. But they are available in pureed form sold in bottles during food fairs. They can be also used in another Ilonggo dish called pinamalhan – a paksiw made dry.

The food trip at Emilion showcased how the Ilonggo food scene offers very affordable yet sumptuous offerings. From local dishes to Filipino staples, it has a lot to offer even to those with discerning palates. Truly, it was a Sooo Pinoy visit at Emilion Modern Filipino Cuisine.

Filipinos are encouraged to join and support the Sooo Pinoy movement, a partnership between Unilever Food Solutions and the Department of Tourism, and go on a gastronomic adventure that both fills the stomach and enriches our awareness of our own identity. To know more about the campaign, food lovers are invited to like the Sooo Pinoy page on Facebook and follow @SoooPinoy on Twitter

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Takway

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