Pizza and Pasta with Love and Kisses

With pizza selections from Romance, Seduction and Desire to Lover Boy, Lover Girl, Love and Kisses, it is Valentine's Day 365 days a year at this pizza joint Ilonggos have grown up with. It is filled with gastronomic memories of yesteryears that those who grew up in the City of Love have only one in mind when it comes to pizza - Love and Kisses.

Fantasy Pizza

A simple lunch out with the ever hungry Lamon-Lagaw Group brought us at the newest branch of Love and Kisses, along JM Basa Street near the Iloilo City Hall. Despite the additional items of the menu, we set our eyes to their specialty - pizza, nothing else. So we got Fantasy which is marketed to be the "flavor you've been fantasizing about - with pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, mushrooms, mozarella cheese and onions". Now, is the pizza above worth fantasizing for?

We also got Simone. No, she's not a waitress but another pizza variant. "She is tender with her love but she can be a handful - with onions, sweet ham, bacon,bellpeppers, mushrooms, cheese and pepperoni". She wasn't only a handful but really a mouthful.

To celebrate Valentine ahead, I had the Spaghetti di Amore. At first, it looked like we've been "short-changed" because the sauce doesn't look enough for the pasta. But we were wrong, it was more than enough and was very good. It was meaty and thicks with hints of potted meat or liver spread. We also got this creamy Pasta Alfredo on the side.

I personally don't have pizza memories of Love and Kisses when iIwas growing up though I pass by the restaurant across University of San Agustin. It's more of a discovery for me eversince I started blogging. My first blogpost about Love and Kisses had me try all the available flavours in just one sitting. And that's the start of the memories I am making for Love and Kisses pizza.

Love and Kisses Pizza

with branches at:

Jalandoni Street across University of San Agustin

Nelly Garden along E. Lopez Street in Jaro

JM Basa Street near Iloilo City Hall

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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