Sooo Pinoy in Davao City at Waterfront Insular Hotel Dav

Our stint at Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao for Sooo Pinoy was among the most unforgettable part of our food trip in Davao City. Maybe because I was still high on my Cebu trip where I stayed at Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug, Cebu just a few weeks prior and meeting its brother in Davao was a sort of deja vu. And of course, the hotel's Isla Parilla Grill served among the most indulgent food that's still etched in my mind - Crispy Pata de Paella.

I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas in 10 months all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo, Boracay and Cebu that started last March. 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.

The Sooo Pinoy foodie team at Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao.
Photo c/o STRATWORKS

After a series of photo ops inside the vast and well manicured lawns and surroundings of the resort hotel, we got to see Chef (I forgot his name) in action. He was with his team at the open kitchen of Isla Parilla as they prepared the resort's specialties. There we did not only see them cook the food (just the remainder as the maion cooking was done before we arrived) but also on how they plate them.

As it was an open kitchen we can cover the whole scene from any angle we wanted from any direction.

And out came their picture perfect and mouth watering specialty - Crispy Pata de Paella. Without seeing what actually is one might think its just plain paella with some crispy pata on the sides but seeing the actual recipe unfold before your eyes may just seem "surreal" but in this case it was SO REAL.

Chef "Waterfront" explained that first they fried the pata then carefully take out all the meat then it is filled with their best selling paella recipe (look there are even green shells and shrimps!). It is like rellenong crispy pata but its just paella inside. It is also a complete meal having the rice inside pork legs. The meat is served separately and this could be the first of its kind in the country, they said. Indeed its my first time to have seen and I certainly won't forget it.

Next was Laing Espesyal - another dish that you won't have any idea what it is until it served on your table. At first we thought it could be a laing made with imported gabi leaves with imported coconut milk (sorry for my notion of "imported being special"-lol) or some really special and expensive ingredients.

The latter was more like as indeed there were something more expensive and special than the laing itself. They were the "sides" - a big prawn on its back exposing it perfectly orange body and a slices of lechon kawali. Both were on top of the laing which was "demoted" to as just a "bed" to these two.

But nonetheless the laing was still laing, creamy as it was savory. But ofcourse I also enjoyed the lechon kawali and the prawns. In fact I fully enjoyed the day we were at Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao and can't wait to be back if given the chance.

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

Sooo Pinoy Epic DAVAO Food Trip: June 25-29, 2012

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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