A bigger and better AURA Club beckons

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 reflective glass walls to harbour the party with within while giving hints of an on going party to the outside world.

The main room boasts of several new features and among these is the brand-new elevated seating area along the entrance. The new seating area has 100% consumable tables or bottle-service-only tables that give guests a very extensive view or sight line of the whole club. Majority of the area of the previous open-air balcony has also been enclosed to make it part of the main room giving additional space for 80 more clubbers.

But the major part of the renovation is the addition of an al fresco portion known as the Terrace Bar. Acting like an ante room to the main club, the Terrace Bar also boasts of its own state of the art design. LED lights adorn the seemingly weaved wall, a ceiling that mimics the clouds gives a truly open air ambiance. It also has its own bar and DJ station too.

But despite the use of decorative lighting, the new Terrace Bar extension is a study in green design. In fact, all lighting during operating hours in its guest area is 100% LED. It uses fresh air exclusively, through its open-air design, enabling wind to ventilate the whole area. Smoke is also naturally filtered out in a very efficient manner without need for a costly exhaust system. For this brand new space, energy use is put to a minimum.

A grand launch is scheduled on May 5, 2012 as AURA is set to unleash a big Hawaiian Party Weekend!

Aura’s Terrace Bar is now open Mondays-Saturdays, 7PM to 3AM on weekdays, and 7PM-5AM on weekends. Guests must be 18 years old or above to gain admission.

Some photos and text were sourced from Aura Club on Facebook

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 native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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