FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

It's unfamiliar name got me curious and when I got to see it, I wasted no time getting my first bite. And it was heavenly - the shortbread was just of the right hardness - strong enough to stay in shape yet soft to be almost melts in the mouth. The dulce de leche filling was of the right amount thus having a tamed sweetness but the powdered sugar gave it texture and sweetness that "once you pop, you won't stop". A very addicting treat from Dulgies Cafe and is a very perfect giveaway anytime of the year or just a perfect dessert partnered with coffee. It comes in packs of 20s and sold for PhP190.

Bangus is such a common item so is sizzling sisig. Even Bangus Sisig seems all too familiar that it often gets overlooked during the “ordering” process. But thanks to Sooo Pinoy , I discovered that even common and familiar items are just Sooo Good to be overlooked.  Unilever Food Solutions’ Sooo Pinoy advocacy was recently in Iloilo to get to the belly of what makes up Philippine cuisine. In a project called Food Trip na, Pilipinas with the Department of Tourism, it will tour ten cities and dine in more than 100 restaurants around the country. And Iloilo was the first stop of the food trip and it was at the Igma-an Restaurant of Hotel del Rio where the hotel showcased it best seller and one of a kind dish for the event. Hotel del Rio takes a lot of pride for their Bangus Sisig and after just one bite, I don’t need to ask. Very flavourful and seasoned to tickle and fancy the tastebuds, their “timpla” had the right tang and blend of spices. I could finish a serving all by...

Chances are your nose might be almost touching the computer screen in an attempt to smell the aroma of this epicurean treat. Now I can’t blame you since I did the same seeing the galore of spices when I got a bottled sampler last night from Chef Miguel Cordova.  It was a few days ago when Chef Miguel informed me of his latest gourmet treat – a homemade cheese made from carabao’s milk and immersed in olive oil. But how simple sounding (“homemade cheese in olive oil”) it was then turned out to be a “complicated” (at least for me) melange of herbs and spices in olive oil embracing the cheese cubes.  Chef Miguel is trying out a lot of things in the kitchen, as always, and right now it seems that cheese making is the “bug that bit him”. He shares that the carabao’s milk is sourced from Calinog at the Carabao Center of WVSU. Experimenting on different methods to get his desired taste and texture, he finally got the one he was looking for. But as it is another gourme...

Among the quintessential methods of cooking seafood for the Ilonggos is pinamalhan. Rooting from the Hiligaynon word "mala" meaning dry, pinamalhan is describe as a "paksiw made dry". Various kinds of fish - from bangus and sapsap to bilong-bilong andsalmonite are stewed in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, pepper - the recipe varies almost from each household, basically a paksiw recipe or maybe almost like that of adobo. It is then stewed and when almost dry, oil is added to give it a smooth finish.  This style of Ilonggo cooking was highlighted by Chef Pauline Gorriceta Banusing during the Unilever Food Solutions' Sooo Pinoy event dubbed as Food Trip Na, Pilipinas in Iloilo City last March. In cooperation with the Department of Tourism, the campaign aims to get into the belly of what makes up Filipino cuisine . For the first leg (out of 10) of the nationwide food trip, Iloilo City hosted the Sooo Pinoy foodies at Freska Ilonggo Seafoods and Inasal Restaurant. ...

A little more than hour from Cebu City, zigzagging through a scenic mountain route, the town of Aloguinsan beckons. This coastal town in the western Cebu offers a different kind of summer fun as I have discovered - in just a day. It includes a historic, cultural and eco-adventure getaway flavoured with lots of gastronomy. A TASTE OF HISTORY The Farmhouse in Aloguinsan gives one a taste of green culinary adventure. A modern day bahay kubo with “ang halaman doon ay sari-sari” as it boasts of not only an organic vegetable garden but also a livestock area, chicken coop, vermiculture and tilapia pond. There's even an organic piggery where the hogs were busily devouring leaves that time. It stands on what would have been the municipal hall complex but now restored inside-out to be the town’s tourist information and pasalubong center as well as restaurant and training facility. The restoration gave the place a homey feel with a sala, dining room and kitchen. It will also...

It was just fitting to usher in a new AURA CLUB with something new on their menu and it was the Aura Fries that caught everybody's gastronomic attention when a bigger and better club was blessed and had it's soft opening last April 20, 2012. But it is no ordinary serving of French Fries but seemingly it's their own version of a French Canadian dish called poutine. Rooting from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, poutine is made with French Fries and cheese topped with brown gravy or sauce. The result is a melange of flavours and texture; fatty goodness of the fried potatoes and the creamy melted cheese made delectable by the signature brown gravy sauce. Now that's a good start of better things to come. After several weeks of extensive renovation, a bigger and better Aura Club at The Avenue Complex reopens to bring the Ilonggo clubbing experience to new heights. With 50% more space than before, the Aura Club expansion includes a much wider space for the main room with blue refle...