One fine afternoon at Camiña Balay nga Kawayan in Guimaras

I just love traveling to Guimaras where a mere 15 minutes brings you a world almost a thousand miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city. And another 25 minutes from the Jordan wharf is the Camiña Balay nga Kawayan in Guimaras and Springbloom Farms where this picture perfect "picnic" took place a week after we had a sumptuous lunch during my first visit to this rest house of the Camiñas in Sibunag.

The vast farm has mostly pineapples and papayas all around the bamboo and wood house with a stunning view of Lawi Bay and on clear days, both Iloilo and Negros (on opposite diections). Our welcome food were the signature Camiña Tsokolate and its quintessential partner ibos(suman).

And to make it more Guimaras, mangoes were served. They don't only look good but tastes the sweetest event if it wasn't really the season for mangoes, typically summertime peaking in April when the province celebrates Manggahan Festival. I just wish I could eat the mangoes in this photo...

More ibos and "palawan" (a kind of rootcrop similar to gabi) gave us more reason to stay on the table.

And of course there on the table was the "signature" of the Camiña Balay nga Kawayan - bino-ug nga baboy. It's basically grilled pork with a salt rub and cooked over high heat giving it a crisp and crunchy outside yet still juicy inside. Now my mouth waters even with the thought if it ...

The vast papaya and pineapple plantation makes the Springbloom Farms among the big suppkiers of these fruits in the market and anytime now, the pineapples are ready to be harvested while the papayas; well they're really on full fruitty bloom.

An impromptu trip brought us to Guisi, around 30 minutes from the farm, and the white sand beach and the century old lighthouse were among its best tourist drawers.The beachfront is quite undeveloped giving it a more natural feel of seclusion and connecting with nature.

The Guisi lighthouse, used during the Sapnish Era, reflects it age and its grandeur that time which we can only appreciate now in ruins. But if this place can be restored as a historical site and be made more touristy it will have a lot to offer - including the spectacular 360 degree view from the top of the rusty lighthouse. As of the moment only a few can brave the climbing the spiral staircase and stand on top of the structure without any support ...

Going back to Springbloom Farms, we had time to catch the last rays of the sun for the day and it was a perfect backdrop to end the day with a glass of wine. A toast to what the island of Guimaras can offer even in just 4 hours - yes, we went there past 2pm and went home past 6 o'clock.

But we felt time stood still, that day - we didn't rush or anything yet time find a way for us to enjoy the food, the scenery, the history and a lot more, in that short span of time. That's the rejuvenation the island of Guimaras gave us that time and I personally can't wait to be back there ...

Camiña Balay nga Kawayan in Guimaras and Springbloom Farms are located along KM 17 in Concordia in the Municiplaity of Sibunag in Guimaras. It is around 15 minutes from the the Trappist Monastery and almost right after Camp Alfredo going to Alubihod beach.

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

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the usu

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.

An Ilonggo favorite - Suman Latik

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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