Crab relleno and more at Aboy's in Bacolod Ci

To continue Lamon-Lagaw groups eatscapade, we found ourselves into out first out of town eatinerary to end the month of November as we crossed the sea to Bacolod City. We had lunch at Aboy's Restaurant located far from the city center and it was these "bulging" crab rellenos that got my attention. To those who are not into the "tinkering" of crabs, these are just pure enjoy as as we (I'm one of those-lol) just dig our forks into each crab and enjoy.

There was indeed a lot of crabmeat garnished with mixed vegetables reminiscent of sizzling crabmeat we almost always order at Breakthrough here in Iloilo City. It was as if the whole plate of crabmeat was stuffed into one crab shell! Though we were almost full that time we did enjoy forking down these crabmeat right from the shell. But it was a (shocking) surprise to know that each crab relleno costs around Php160 each.

To suppress the shock, how about some adobong taba ng pusit which I blogged separately because it's one of the highlight of the visit to Aboy's.

Their adobado nga pagi (stingray cooked adobo style with gata) was also good. Sauce pa lang ulam na.

They also had chicken and pork adobo swimming in oil. Though we didn't get one, the aroma of the adobo was so rich that I can conclude the sauce/oil was indeed so indulgent.

We had their Bicol Express but it wasn't that spicy even with all the display of chili peppers.

The caldereta also had a rich sauce but it tasted just ordinary, yet still delicious.

i was excited about the dinugu-an, as it was black and smelled sour. But when teh taste test came, it was hints of sweetenss just like Breakthrough's and Tatoy's here. So it wasn't really my type.

They had a display of fresh and processed seafood which the customers can choose from and how it will be cooked.

We played safe so just had the usual - managat fish. The top half was grilled while the bottom half was cooked simply sinabawan.

We also had an order of kinilaw nga isda, which was not really in my range of taste for kinilaw.

There was also some delectable laing, rich and creamy, just downright good.

And some lechon paksiw - I just adore roasted pig skin jutting out in some saucy or soupy dishes.

And how about some healthilicious pinakbet - its healthy, just count how many vegetables you'll get at the same time delicious.

Nestor "Aboy" Evaristo started this restaurant back in 1992 in a small shack serving the basic turo-turo fares. Now, the restaurant can seat almost 500 pax with aircondidtioned and al fresco ambiance in an almost garden like setting.

Aboy's Restaurant

Goldenfield Commercial Complex, Liroville Subd.

Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

(034) 435-0760

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 cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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