Diwal and other Ilonggo flavors at Mandarin Oriental, Manila's Paseo Uno

Chef Pauline Banusing, renowned for representing Iloilo’s famous culinary scene, visits Mandarin Oriental, Manila’s Paseo Uno once again for a 10-day fete highlighting the island’s seafood delicacies, particularly the famed shellfish diwal (angel wing clams), as well as its other gastronomical delights. Held in conjunction with Makati’s 342nd Foundation Day celebrities, the food festival celebrates the ties between Makati and its sister city Iloilo. “Diwal and Other Ilonggo Flavours” is held from May 25 to June 3, for both lunch and dinner.

Grilled Diwal (simply grilled “angel wings” from Capiz)

Diners can look forward to lining up at the grilling station for the succulent diwal, a specie native to the Visayan region; Grilled Managat (Mangrove Jack); and Talaba (large oysters from Aklan). Also on the menu are Ilonggo specialties such as Chicken Inasal, Iloilo’s most popular chicken dish; Chicken Tinuom (steamed chicken cooked in banana leaves); Uhong na may Gata (oyster mushrooms from San Miguel Iloilo with coconut cream and grilled pork); Adobado na Alimusan (cultured mudfish from Guimaras); Kinilawin na Tanigue na may Tuba (slices of tanigue fish marinated in a special native vinegar from the mountains of Leon, Iloilo); Lukon na may Aligue (fresh prawns from Roxas City with crab fat sauce); and Sinugba na Lokos (grilled squid stuffed with lemongrass, cilantro, ginger, and tomatoes) among others.

Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing, Iloilo’s culinary ambassador and celebrity chef.

Chef Pauline’s versatility stems from her roots as a student of the Culinary Institute of America, New School of New York, and at the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s New York), where she had rigorous training to meet the most challenging of culinary demands. In May 2006, she had her Mandarin Oriental debut as a featured chef at an Ilonggo food festival dubbed as “Manamit!” at what was then the Captain’s Bar (now the MO Lounge), where she delighted guests with a medley of her hometown’s signature cuisine. She had two more successful food festivals at the hotel, her most recent one being the “Diwal-iciousVisayas: Bounties of the Sea” held in September last year.*

“We look forward to working again with Chef Pauline”, notes Executive Chef Rene Ottlik “and presenting to our diners her divine recipes of Iloilo’s prized delicacies”. He further highlights: “Having had already three successful promotions in the hotel in the past, Chef Pauline is no stranger to Mandarin Oriental and we are confident that she will again bring excitement to Paseo Uno when she unveils the distinctive flavors of her native Visayas”.

The buffet is priced at PHP 1,818+, while Friday and Saturday dinner is priced at PHP2,200+, inclusive of Paseo Uno’s Luxury Buffet.*PR

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

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?"

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.

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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