Holiday rush for Tinapayan Cakes

With these mouthwatering cakes on display at Tinapayan bakeshop at The Atrium mall, one can surely be caught in the middle of the mad holidays rush. But it surprisingly, it wasn't the scenario that greeted me when I dropped by the Atrium during Christmas and New Year's Eves.

Instead, there was a special line set up for those who were just there to buy the cakes for their respective Noche Buenas and Media Noches. Snaking through a portion of the bakery was an organized set up that even with all the Ilonggos reaching up to main mall of The Atrium as what my fellow food blogger, Greg of Cafe Ilonggo witnessed, it didn't took more than 20 minutes for the line to move from start to end.

This is in line with Tinapayan's policy of no reservations during the holiday rush as these would take up much space in their coolers so cakes and other desserts come and go from the actually baking facility in the mall to the bakeshop and into the customer's hands.

As the guard told me, as early as 730am when the mall opens, people lining up never stops and what you see on my photos above are just the "off peak" hours which is around 2pm onwards on these two "Eves". it would be the most convenient time to rush who don't want to "rush in" but on the downside, you may not be able to choose your favorite cakes like Tinapayan's Premium Cake line up for the holidays.

But nonetheless, the Chocolate Roll and the Brazo de Mercedes are among the best sellers as I've been told so with their Crema de Fruta and a whole lot more. And as I going home with my Tinapayan Premium Dessert - the sinfully delicious Turtle Pie, I wasn't the only one on the jeep bringing a box of Tinapayan goodies - I counted 5 boxes having that Tinapayan signature. Indeed, Ilonggos are in the Holiday rish for Tinapayan Cakes!

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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