Pritsong Manok and more at Airliner Restaurant in Mandurriao

It was the lure of the Pritchong Manok that brought us to Airliner Restaurant a fortnight ago for our weekly “Thank God, Eat’s Friday” lunch out session. A whole chicken that is roasted (litson) then deep fried (prito) seems to be the specialty of this restaurant located near the old Iloilo Airport (soon to be a bustling CBD developed by Megaworld) as it is blatantly advertised.

Though it may look like just a simple fried chicken but one can taste how it was oven roasted first before dipping it whole in hot oil. Even with no dip, the chicken packed in the taste of perfect frying and even roasting. But it came with a chili sauce that even made it more appetizing!

There’s a lot more on the menu of the native restaurant and Soup No.5 caught our attention. Known to be an aphrodisiac, this stew of a bull’s privates (and more) is a rich soup dotted with vegetables. Their version seems to be more on the sweet side.

Then there’s Tino-um na Manok which is the specialty of the town of Cabatuan, Iloilo. It consists of native chicken with simple flavorings then wrapped and served in banana leaves. Tino-um is the vernacular way of cooking – be it chicken, seafood or vegetables like mushrooms, but it seems to be oftentimes associated with poultry.

Instead of choosing just one, we opted for a Sisig Sampler – a choice from any three from Pork, Squid, Bangus and Chicken. The latter was out of stock so ours became pork and seafood. They all had a common denominator – that brownish sauce, which seems to be a sweet mix of sauce and vegetables (singkamas?), which make the sisig to almost taste the same. It was on the meaty parts that they differed - that is texture-wise. The Pork Sisig also reminded me of a sio pao filling though I can’t pinpoint which shop. The chicharon topping gave it some crunch.

The restaurant had its heydays when the old airport was still in operation because of the traffic the road got but now even 5 years after the Iloilo airport had transferred, it still standing tall or should I say “flying high”.

And I’d say you should unfasten your (seat)belts just as I did after checking in for a gastronomic departure at Airliner.

Adobong Pusit

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FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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