Sooo Pinoy in Davao at Kookel's Kooking Restaurant

From one food stop with a catchy name to another, our nightcap for our 4th day in Davao City ended up at restaurant of an interesting name - Kookel's. Say what? Kookel's! As in maybe like "Kook-a-Kookel's- Doo". With a logo featuring a chicken that seemed to be out an animated series, Kookel's takes pride in their specialty which is lechon manok!

I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo, Bora cay 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.

Kookel's Kooking Reataurant is located along Peace Avenue, Bangkal, Davao City on a two-storey building. It has two al fresco areas, one airconditioned dining area, one function hall and one resto-bar named Don Juan where the Sooo Pinoy team was in for the night. Inspired by some famous ancestral mansions in the region, Kookel's architecture gives it patrons a relaxing ambiance for them to enjoy the specialties of the house.

And it includes Kilawing Liempo which grilled pork belly then mixed with spices like chillies and ginger soured with lemon. A fitting and appetizing start for our gastronomic adventure inside Don Juan's Restaurant and Bar.

Then there's a Pinoy specialty - kare-kare, which got us all lining for rise despite how full our stomachs were. You can't eat kare-kare on its own, you got to have rice. And with a savoury sauce and soft & tender meat - it seems our stomachs may have opened up some space to accommodate a serving of it.

Fried native chicken, anyone?While most native chicken end up lechon style or in soupy dishes like tinola, binakol, etc., Kookel's do it the tried and tested way - fried! At first, you won't notice it as native until you see the feet which is unmistakably native. Then you're off to devouring each piece of leg or thigh - lost in the magical taste of fried chicken!

Then there'e this curious dish wrapped in banana leaves which turned out to be Tuna Belly with some spices and herbs. We kept on guessing which herbs and spices - seven in all they say, were used to season the tuna belly which was first marinated in white wine. The herbed tuna is then wrapped in banana leaves then grilled thus giving the dish a mix of local and international flair. It was served with an herbed dip which was another guessing game for us.

And we saved the best for last - lechon manok! Kookel's is among the leader when it comes to lechon manok in Davao City. There's really no need to explain, really. We were enticed by the appetizing aroma, the delectable juiciness of the chicken and who could resist that mouthwatering chicken skin!

It was indeed a party at Kookel's as we all not only enjoyed the sumptuous food but also the entertainment provided at Don Juan's Restobar. No less than Eric Gancio of the popular band,Yano, set the mood for the night to the tune of Esem and a host of other popular Yano hits! He's a regular at Kookel's adding more vibe to the already vibrant gastronomic scene with his brand of music!

The night at Kookel's felt as it was our last night in Davao as it was filled with fun, food and everything a finale could be. Nonetheless, with one more day to go, Kookel's already hosted a grand party that would became one of the hightlights of the epic Davao Food trip with Sooo Pinoy!

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

DAY 1: Round up | Dencio's Kamayan | Grand Regal Hotel | Barbeque Boss

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.

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.

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?"

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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