Lumpiang shanghai combo meal at Orange Panda Fastfood

There's a new player in the Iloilo fastfood industry and it goes by the name Orange Panda. You'll never miss it along E. Lopez street and despite the concentration of restaurants in the area, it literally stands out - that glaring orange motif inside out. I dropped by Orange Panda a few days ago to try what they had to offer on their soft opening and I had lot disappointments zeroing on my order - lumpiang shanghai combo and panda red tea.

I had lots of expectations upon learning that this is the fastfood version of the Iloilo Summer House - among the most popular Chinese restaurants in Iloilo. But the moment I tasted their signature Panda Red Tea, uh-oh, it seems the worst is yet to come. I am adventurous when it comes to iced tea flavours but this one - I almost never finished it. 'Twas too sweet at the same time bland as if it was just water, sugar, flavouring and coloring.

Orange Panda is almost like a Chowking rip off based on their initial offerings - Chinese inspired combo meal. Ofcourse its understandable as it is under Iloilo Summer House. As they will compete with many other fastfood restos in the area, they seem to target students and residents in the area for there are many schools, boarding houses, hospitals and offices in the area. But price-wise they seem to fail especially in their combo meals. My lumpiang shanghai meal costs PhP 139 and that's without drinks (ranges from PhP 25-42) so one will still spend more than PhP150 for a full meal all. Not budget friendly.

And then there's the actual taste - the only items I liked on my platter were the chicharap and the butterscotch dessert. Their lumpia was bland even with the sauce, the sio mai too despite the chili dip and the bihon was very ordinary and the meatballs had no taste at all. And I can't believe it adds up to PhP139 (let me dissect the price, 49-solo lumpia meal, 30 for two sio mais, 12 for butterscotch so that leaves 48 for the bihon and chicharap.)

But I'll be back as maybe their other items will be in tune with my tastebuds and I might eventually like Orange Panda. But no red tea and meatballs please ...

Ready-to-cook Pancit Molo balls

It was only today that I remembered buying a pack of ready-to-cook pancit Molo. Locals are fortunate to buy them at groceries here saving them time, money and effort in the tedious preparation of pancit Molo. Anyway every pack of the RTC pancit Molo has the balls and the lang-lang . Its the balls that entice the buyers and the lang lang that "dictates" the price and weight. For this blog entry, I opted for the AR brand (150 grams for PhP 21) since they had the more photogenic combination at that time though I'm more partial to the Cares brand. Separating the contents makes you realize that what you actually bought but for that price, it's already a bargain, can be cooked in many ways and can serve 2-3 people. It is then up to you what you can make out from a pack or more. For this preparation, I used 2 chicken broth cubes and just estimated the amount of water. Upon taste test I added a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and few drops of soy sauce. I boiled the lang

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 (

A new flavour for the Dinagyang 2011 Food Festival

Aside from the dances, drums and colorful costumes, Dinagyang also means food and Iloilo City has a lot to offer during this 3-day event. The festival brings them to the streets with the much awaited Dinagyang Food Festiva l . For four days, major streets in the city are lined with food stalls and kiosks that everywhere one turns it all about food. As this article states, major streets in Iloilo City will have a food festival there will be plenty of places to indulge in during D inagyang 2011 . ILOILO City's world-famous Dinagyang Festival will turn the spotlight on Ilonggo cuisine this year. Tourists are encouraged to try chicken barbecue the Ilonggo way and other tasty local dishes during the festival. There are also the world-famous Ilonggo delicacies and other concoctions to bring home after enjoying the Dinagyang ati-atihan and Kasadyahan competitions. Not only that. The 1s t Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) International Food Festival 2011 will attempt t

Valenciana

A close relative of paella, this dish originated in Valencia, Spain and probably brought by the Spaniards when they colonized the country. Always a staple in family gatherings, this yellow rice is a complete meal in itself, with pork, chicken, liver, chorizo, shrimps, bellpeppers, peas and raisins to name its basic ingredients. RECIPE Saute your choice meats and vegetables. Cook malagkit rice with turmeric and broth cubes then mix sauted meat and vegetables when almost done. Garnish with hardboiled eggs and onion leaves.

SIDRO: Iloilo's very own gourmet doughnuts

Just listening to Isidro Panizales Jr. animatedly talking about his life before and after being a “doughnut-preneur”, is like the different flavors of Sidro Doughnuts . Each variant seems to reflect different aspects of his almost three decades of living in America. From his work in corporate America for more than 10 years to that one little spark of deciding leaving work to pursue his delicious passion – life is like a box of doughnuts! IN A DOUGHNUT HOLE Sidro is an offshoot from the name Isidro but as Sid says, it’s a tribute to his father. The first Sidro Doughnuts came out of the kitchen and delivered to one lucky doughnut-phile on Dec. 18 last year. It comes in two sizes – Junior Doughnuts which at 30 grams each are perfect for parties and occasions. But if you can’t enough, there are the Regular Doughnuts which is more than 3x at 100 grams and comes with more toppings and flavours. Choose among nine specially concocted creations - Bugnay Berry, Calamansi, Dulce

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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