Flavours of Iloilo 2012 Highlights: Much munch March!

It's a tongue twister alright and indeed the month of March twisted my palate with a lot, I mean A LOT of gastronomic places in Iloilo and beyond. From discovering what's new and what's hot in the Iloilo food scene to rediscovering what I may have taken for granted in the past or those that seemed so unreachable given some personal limitation, the merry month of March suddenly presented them all!

I've tried and tasted all the buffets The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo has to offer except one - the Daybreak Breakfast Buffet. Of course I live far from the city and to have breakfast here means I have to wake up eraly, travel during the time when I'm supposed to be dreaming. But the tides turn when march started when top travel blogger Eric of www.byahilo.com was in town and I connected him to Days Hotel Iloilo. That in turn gave me the chance to be part of the "connection" when we were given a complimentary overnight stay that led to finally catching the long elusive Daybreak Breakfast Buffet. (But last December I really exerted effort to have another breakfast buffet - Misa de Gallo Breakfast Buffet)

The night before we had another gastronomic "attack" and it was at The Avenue in Smallville. The complex has several restaurants each specializing in Filipino (Bauhinia), Tex-Mex (Mojave), Italian (Amalfi), American (Bourdon Street) and Mediterranean (Terra) cuisines alongside a coffeeshop (Coffeebreak), a dessert shop (Nothing but Desserts), a disco/club (Aura) and a function room (The Venue) among others. And during dinner we ordered the specialties of each restaurant so we tasted them all in just one sitting, literally. The complex was indeed an avenue of greats foods and dining concepts!

And speaking of concepts, I had one interesting lunch last March as I sat down and savoured the specialties of Red Corner by HongKong Kitchen at Plazuela de Iloilo. It was more than eating as that meeting of gourmands turned out to be correlating food to the tourism potentials of Iloilo City. It was gastronomy and tourism rolled into one that day.

One of the year's biggest discoveries for me was this hole in the wall Indian-Nepali restaurant along the highway going to Arevalo. Bhai Shaab's Punjabi Fastfood introduced my palate to some Indian specialties like Tandoori chicken, assorted Indian breads, vegetables with assorted spices and of course my favorite - Lassi. I don't remember how many times I've been there but all I know everytime was really one delectable experience.

Among the highlights of March and 2012 as a whole was being part of Sooo Pinoy Food Trip Na, Pilipinas nationwide gastronomic trip. A partnership between Unilever Food Solutions and the Department of Tourism, the campaign started a few months back with the Ultimate Food Blogger competition in search for the “Foodie of all foodies”. It was part of the Sooo Pinoy advocacy that aims to get to the belly of what makes up Filipino cuisine. The culminating activity is a food tour to 10 gastronomic destinations and dine in more than 200 restaurants across the Philippines !

And how really ecstaticI was (aside from being part of it) when the tour kicked off in Iloilo City. For two and a half days the, Sooo Pinoy team composed of UFS chefs, Manila-based and local media and bloggers, and local officials from the Department of Tourism, among others - enjoyed the "Flavours of Iloilo" as we toured restaurants, hotels, heritage houses, hole in the walls and centuries old bakeries for them to discover and for us to rediscover Lapaz batchoy, pinamalhan pancit Molo, kansi, KBL (kadyos, baboy, langka), laswa, chicken binakol and barquillos among others. It was food binge from sun up to sun down that even lasted until the wee hours of the morning - of course they won't pass the nightlife here. Indeed it was a Sooo Pinoy, Sooo Ilonggo gastronomic experience in Iloilo.

The next two and a half days were spent on the island paradise of Boracay as Sooo Pinoy aims to search for the great Pinoy food finds in this melting pot island. Boracay was indeed more than the famed white sand beach and exuberant nightlife, as we found out touring hotels, resorts, restaurants and hole in the walls, among others. Sooo Pinoy in Boracay Part 1 | Sooo Pinoy in Boracay Part 2. It was indeed an unforgettable EATScapade in Boracay as I love to put (and eat) it.

Barely four days at home after that yummy Boracay trip, I was off to Cebu City to attend the 5th RAFI Triennial Awards. Launched in 1996, during RAFIs 30th year anniversary, the triennial awards was established to recognize individuals and institutions who have committed themselves to building a more humane, equitable and caring society. It reflects the philanthropic, humanitarian and holistic ideals and values of the RAFI founders, Don Ramon Aboitiz and Don Eduardo Aboitiz. Our hosts gave us a very warm Cebuano welcome with a comprehensive heritage tour and lots of Cebuano delicacies. The event took place at the Cebu Ball room of the iconic Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.

But my Cebu escapade didn't end there as I stayed 3 days more after the event for me to discover more Cebuano gastronomic specialties like the wonderful dinner I had at Cafe Elysa. But it was the day trip to Aloguinsan, the eco-adventure capital of Cebu which not only marked the beginning of summer but also among the highlights of this Cebu trip. Under the summer sun in Aloguinsan, we were serenaded with songs and dances as well as native food and drinks, we took a walk among the mangroves, had a baroto tour, more folk dishes like puto buli and inagtan nga manok, walked along a virgin beach and lots lots more.

It was really indeed a much munch month of March - a perfect first quarter ender for 2012!

Mama's Kitchen and Sinamay House in Arevalo

A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...

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

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 por...

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 us...

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. ...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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