FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Dining at Uncle Tom's would be incomplete with out their signature fried chicken. It's Iloilo City's version of the house that fried chicken built as they are synonymous with deliciously crisp fried chicken. They come in combo meals with rice and their other specialty - ribs. But you can also have only all these fried chicken delight if you want - just order their fried chicken basket with choiced cuts chicken fried to perfection. Its a must for voracious fried chicken lovers. Their menu is varied as they also served native dishes like this Seafood sinigang we had which had fish and shrimps among others. A perfect complement to the fried galore we had that night.  I also love their whole line of pancit dishes like this Pancit Bam-i which is a combination of canton and sotanghon noodles mixed iwth meat and vegetables. Its very flavourful and a good side dish to any order. Uncle Tom's branch in Diversion Road offers not only these delectable food but...

Ilonggo and Filipino cuisine take centerstage as The Promenade at Days Hotel Iloilo presents IHAW-IHAW Thursday s. The highlight was the ihaw-ihaw (sugba) station which had pork, chicken wings, pork liver, chicken liver, and chicken baticulon (gizzard), among others. Part of the recently launched Asian Odyssey Lunch Buffet series, this Thursday buffet promises a gastronomic journey of familiar and well-loved Filipino cuisine with an Ilonggo touch.  Take for example the soup we had last time, it is a signature Ilonggo soup - Manok sa Monggo, Ubad kag Malunggay . It is only in Iloilo (and some parts of Western Visayas) where ubad (the pith of the banana trunk) is common in vernacular cuisine. And its a good thing that Days Hotel Iloilo included this local cuisine in their line up so as to promote local and heritage Ilonggo dishes. One of the best-sellers last Thursday was Chicken Skin Chicharon . How can you refuse this freshly made chicharon that packs a big crunch in...

Tiramisu is one quintessential Italian dessert that has been adapted all over the world.  Literally meaning "pick me up" or "lift me up",it is made of ladyfingers dipped/soaked in coffee (and rhum nowadays), layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, and flavored with cocoa.  Kefir , on the other hand, is a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains and is believed to have its origins in the Caucasus Mountains. It is prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk with kefir grains. Traditional kefir was made in skin bags that were hung near a doorway; the bag would be knocked by anyone passing through the doorway to help keep the milk and kefir grains well mixed. Aside from just being a healthy drink, kefir can also be made into cheese - the softer variant, and still has the signature taste of kefir. And as cheese, it can be made into a variety of other "products" like this Kefir Cheese Tiramisu. Through the able ...

Last year, I found myself inside one of the gastronomic landmarks of Iloilo and among the oldest bakeries in the Philippines. Established in 1896, Panaderia ni Pa-a (formerly Jaro Bakery) is very popular then and now with a singular item - pan de sal.  With it's signature French bread quality - crisp outside and soft inside, it has influenced the gastronomy of the Ilonggos especially those residing in Jaro. P Panaderia ni Pa-a was named in honor of Jose Uy's father, Uy Paa who was a native of the Southern China province of Fujian. Founded by Jose Uy's great grandfather, Chiquito Uy, the bakery has withstood the test and taste of time and lived up to more than a century of baking and maintaining the quality and taste of it products especially the famed pan de sal. R enovated a few years back, it is now house in a modern facade that hides the fact of its more than a century of existence except for the signboard that says "Established in 1896...

If it this looks good, I can assure you it tastes even better. I chanced upon this on Facebook and shared over chat to friends. And surprisingly, the next day, one of them already started "making" one. The title says it all, it's a chewy chocolate brownie cupcake filled with peanut butter sandwiched between two Oreo cookies. It may not look appetizing up front - just maybe some plain chocolate cupcakes, but one bite reveals its hidden gastronomic treasures. The chewy chocolate brownie itself is so rich, thick and chewy that it is so filling even on the first bite. The Oreo-peanut butter center gives it a new texture and taste dimension that you'll certainly want more. Will this particular  Chewy Choco Oreo-Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcake find itself commercially available soon? You'll be the first to know...

Ubad sold at the Santa Barbara Public market. This is different from ubod but practically the same. Confusing? Well ubod is the pith or the center of a coconut tree while ubad is the pith of a banana tree. To have an ubad means a whole banana tree has been cut down and stripped to bare its center. So goodbye to banana fruit, leaves and heart. To prepare an ubad for cooking, first thinly slice, around half a centimeter, the cleaned pith (must be very white and sized like a fluorescent lamp to be sure of the quality.) . Then using a barbecue stick, remove web like fibers "interconnecting" these slices (these are actually hardened banana sap). When finished you can crush is into smaller pieces and add to your cooking. Ubad is mostly used as extender to the usual meat and vegetable dishes, the most famous of which is the ubad-kadyos-chicken combination. Another dish that goes well with ubad is the usual ginisang monggo . With pieces of pork and malunggay as ...

Ilonggos rediscovered the "taste of umami" as Ajinomoto brought the UMAMI Culinary Challenge to Iloilo. It was part of the "opening salvo" of SM City Iloilo's "7 Appetizing Days of Culinary Events" dubbed as Food Lovers Festival 2013.  The Ajinomoto UCCis an inter-school cooking competition focusing on the tastiness of umami as the 5th basic taste. It will engage student participants in group competition categories that will decidewho is the most knowledgeable and skilled team in creating dishes that maximize the full potential and usage of the umami taste. The UCCis also an umami experiential event wherein students will not only compete, but they will also learn non-culinary skills from food industry experts.  August 12 and 13 saw the elimination rounds of the Umami Culinary Challenge Iloilo and the final showdown August 18 will determine which team will represent Iloilo in the Visayas round of UCC in Cebu City. Given the task of pickin...